Kindle sales have 'disappeared', says UK's largest book retailer

[ApK]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Exactly.

Does the Telegraph always just regurgitate everything it is fed without adding any perspective or critical thinking?

As long as they verified the accuracy of what they're fed, I'd settle for that in a new source.
If my only choices are dry regurgitation of facts, or sensationalized advocacy journalism, I'll take the regurgitation.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by ApK

As long as they verified the accuracy of what they're fed, I'd settle for that in a new source.
If my only choices are dry regurgitation of facts, or sensationalized advocacy journalism, I'll take the regurgitation.

In this case, it is regurgitation of sensationalism.

I will also take unembellished aggregation of facts, but reduced kindle sales at a bookstore does not imply reduced kindle sales overall.

Kindle sales are probably past their peak, but that does not imply reduced e-book sales. You don't need to keep buying new readers to keep buying new books.

None of this even considers the huge growth in phones and tablets, each of which work well for some for reading e-books.

The article pretty much states that e-books are passe. I call BS.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Why should they be any different than the rest of big media?

Fine.

Why should I care that their continued existence is in peril? (Not implying that you think I should.)

[morituri]

I was in London over the Xmas break. I went to a few Waterstones; none of them displayed the Kindle in a prominent way. I was looking for a Voyage but didn't find any.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by morituri

I was in London over the Xmas break. I went to a few Waterstones; none of them displayed the Kindle in a prominent way. I was looking for a Voyage but didn't find any.

I heard the same thing from a local at another site.

The report was that when they first signed the deals, the Kindles were front and center near the entrance but that after the recent "hyperlocal" revamps, where local store managers had more input in book ordering and display, the Kindles had been moved mostly out of sight.

Sounds simple enough: hide the Kindles and put local interest books upfront and pbooks will sell and Kindles won't. Doesn't mean people looking for kindles didn't go buy them elsewhere, though. Just that Waterstones won't get kickbacks off the ebooks those people buy.

[pegasi&prefects]

Seriously, how many Kindles do you need? While each paperback book is distinct... says the girl with five copies of The Lord of The Rings and six of Jane Eyre before I did a massive charity books donation.

Also, eInk readers, while I love my PW and Kobo, are mostly for the hardcore enthusiasts these days. They are the most pleasant way to read, and the easiest on the eyes IMO, but in practice, I read more on my phone, Android tablet and iPad, because I tend to have at least one of them with me anyway.

I am as tired of the deathknell of ebooks as of the deathknell of print. Co existence, yo.

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by pegasi&prefects

Seriously, how many Kindles do you need?

Apparently I need 4.

[GA Russell]

Last month I read an article in the paper, maybe the Wall St. Journal, in which the lady columnist said that for the first time ever, the new Kindle model is not the best Kindle available. (Her opinion, of course.)

I have to think that not many Kindles need to be replaced each year, so maybe a decline in Kindle sales this year merely reflected a lack of need among folks who read eBooks to buy a new one.

[Red Falcon]

I think the reason sales are down is two-fold.When the Kindle was first released in 2007 the smartphone was not yet a mainstream success and tablets did not really take off into the first I-Pad in 2010.Once these devices became widely available most people went with them instead of an e-reader.And second most users who bought e-readers either keep there device a long time or when they die just stick with there phones\tablets instead of buying a new e-reader.The e-reader as I see it is a niche device that is most suited to the type of person who is a dedicated readers.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by Red Falcon

I think the reason sales are down is two-fold.When the Kindle was first released in 2007 the smartphone was not yet a mainstream success and tablets did not really take off into the first I-Pad in 2010.Once these devices became widely available most people went with them instead of an e-reader.And second most users who bought e-readers either keep there device a long time or when they die just stick with there phones\tablets instead of buying a new e-reader.The e-reader as I see it is a niche device that is most suited to the type of person who is a dedicated readers.

Electronic Ink is also the best solution for people who spend a lot of time reading outdoors. Mass transit commuters and military come to mind.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

In this case, it is regurgitation of sensationalism.

I can't quite see sensationalism in such a bloodless and sexless story , but I guess it would be in a book-centric world.

And I do think leebase's point in #14 about Amazon numbers being secret is a good one. Plus, I vaguely remembered, and just found on the web, this twelve-year-old slam from longtime Washington Post editor Robert Kaiser*:

The Post does not print other papers' uncheckable "exclusive" stories. And I can tell you that there have been dozens of bad--that is, wrong--ones over recent months. The Telegraph, Daily and Sunday, has not earned our respect for accuracy or careful reporting.

I have no need to be on the winning team when it comes to print vs. eBook. And I suppose there will be years when the long term trend against paper is temporarily reversed. However, the article misses that paper, as a reading device, can't much improve, while there still is a lot of room for eReader technology improvement -- especially when it comes to price.

When eInk-type readers are sold in Poundland, Waterstone's outlook may become less sanguine. How long that will take, I don't know.

Originally Posted by GA Russell

Last month I read an article in the paper, maybe the Wall St. Journal, in which the lady columnist said that for the first time ever, the new Kindle model is not the best Kindle available.

Because their customer base tends to have smartphones, Amazon no longer needs to include as many Kindle features. For this reason, all the eInk models since the Kindle Keyboard are less useful than those which came before. A general text reading device, and music player, and seamless worldwide no-monthly-free email and news machine, has degenerated into one optimized for books alone. And the price hasn't gone down nearly enough to compensate.

______________________
* I am not putting a link to the next quote because it seems to no longer be available at washingtonpost.com, and the only places on the web I can find this tonight are partisan political sites.

[murg]

Originally Posted by pegasi&prefects

Seriously, how many Kindles do you need?

At least one more...

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by leebase

The "people buy their Kindles from Amazon" also doesn't hold water. Watersons USED to sell a lot of kindles...now they sell almost none even though they are still offered. That speaks SOME to the fate of eInk readers.

Where do you get that fact from? I don't think there has ever been any suggestion that Kindle's were a big seller for Waterstones, for all the reasons already mentioned in the thread I'd bet their sales have always been pretty minimal.

So its a complete non-story. Just like the one about using ereaders damage your eyes, when they were actually talking about using tablets with the light way up high in a dark room.

The 'news' that ereader sales have reached their peak and are now falling, or that physical books are still a huge part of the market. Well, is that news to anyone, really?

[dublincheri]

Two Kindles is my current supply, though I think my PW1 will be gifted or sold soon enough. I tend to read on the Voyage almost exclusively unless I'm somewhere with only my phone to hand. My current Kindles have both come from Amazon (my first was from Tesco).

If I set foot in Waterstones it's usually to buy a gift for someone which means physical book.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by soulfuldog

So its a complete non-story. Just like the one about using ereaders damage your eyes, when they were actually talking about using tablets with the light way up high in a dark room.

...and that study showed no 'eye damage', but slightly delayed sleep onset & decreased REM sleep (each by about ten minutes).