E-books in physical bookstores, even without internet

[Kali Yuga]

OK, so let me get this straight.

Let's say I want to go somewhere, sit down at a table, have a decaf, browse a few book titles, maybe read a few pages to know if I like the book, then buy the book.

With a wireless ebook reader, I can do all that at any of the half-dozen cafes that are closer, cozier, and less corporate (if that matters) than the nearest B&N.

So what reason is there for me to go to the bookstore to do all this, exactly? Conversely, why would a store want the high cost of operating a brick and mortar store (rent, staff, utilities, etc) when they can sell me their goods digitally at any time, any place, and without the need to draw me into a specific physical space, at a fraction of the cost?

The emotional attachment we may feel towards a particular kind of commercial space may have some appeal, but it does not alter the fundamentals. Many bookstores are going to go out of business, and these types of things won't save them. There won't be much point to a "bookstore" if it turns out to be a Starbucks with a tiny shelf of books.

[Crusader]

All of you seem to look at it as an either/or situation. I think this could be a good idea for bookstores to supplement their customer base and provide in the needs for both treebook and ebook lovers.

It's doubtful that anyone would go into the store specifically to go buy an ebook. Online is much easier BUT imagine you are out shopping and have a few minutes to kill. You pop into the local bookstore, browse a bit and something catches your eye. Normally you'd try to remember the author/title and buy it online at home. Now the store actually has the option for you to buy the ebook and get it e-mailed to you. It's just another added convenience. Not the primary business model but a way to cater to needs.

The kiosk idea is a great idea, but that would only work well without DRM. How will they handle all the different formats, authenticating all the devices etc? Will the shop ADE add their ID to your reader? Much simpler to get the link e-mailed to you and have the authentication work the same as online shops.

I'd find some value in this service. Then again I only get to visit a bookstore once every six months or so.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by Crusader

All of you seem to look at it as an either/or situation. I think this could be a good idea for bookstores to supplement their customer base and provide in the needs for both treebook and ebook lovers.

Yeah, not sure why people think this is so black and white. It is also obviously not targetted at diehard ebook users. I see it as the French bookstores trying to transition (slowly) their base towards the new technology, by trying some new things. I'm all for it, and hope they find a good way to move more people towards ebooks.

[FlorenceArt]

Of course a download kiosk within the shop would be best, but I'm not sure the kind of bookstore I enjoy visiting could afford that kind of investment (hardware, software, trained staff, maintenance...), so the idea of getting a coupon or an e-mail with a download link isn't all that crazy to me.

I enjoy browsing books in a bookstore, but that's not enough to make me visit a bookstore, even if there's coffee I need to know that I can trust the store staff to make a pre-selection of quality books that I can browse and make my own selection from. This, for me, is the advantage of a book store. And I don't expect that kind of service from big stores such as W.H. Smith or Fnac. For me these supermarkets of books have no advantage over Amazon.

I can imagine a future where Fnac has a download kiosk, but I'm not holding my breath because that kind of service would be no improvement over online stores, to my taste. I'm not sure there is a future for the kind of bookstore I like, but if this can help them, even a little bit, even for a short while, I'm all for it

[calvin-c]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

OK, so let me get this straight.

Let's say I want to go somewhere, sit down at a table, have a decaf, browse a few book titles, maybe read a few pages to know if I like the book, then buy the book.

With a wireless ebook reader, I can do all that at any of the half-dozen cafes that are closer, cozier, and less corporate (if that matters) than the nearest B&N.

So what reason is there for me to go to the bookstore to do all this, exactly? Conversely, why would a store want the high cost of operating a brick and mortar store (rent, staff, utilities, etc) when they can sell me their goods digitally at any time, any place, and without the need to draw me into a specific physical space, at a fraction of the cost?

The emotional attachment we may feel towards a particular kind of commercial space may have some appeal, but it does not alter the fundamentals. Many bookstores are going to go out of business, and these types of things won't save them. There won't be much point to a "bookstore" if it turns out to be a Starbucks with a tiny shelf of books.

There are 3 advantages, that I can think of, that a B&M bookstore has. First is advice, but that's pretty much hit or miss. If you have a bookstore that hires clerks (or is owned by someone) with similar tastes, then you're lucky & should probably support them. Of course online sites also make recommendations based on your tastes, but it's harder to ask them why they recommend a new author/book.

2) it's probably a nicer place to spend your lunch hour than Starbucks-although again that depends on the store (and on the Starbucks)

3) it's a good place to meet people with similar tastes. And yes, you can do that online as well-but people you meet online rarely invite you to come over next Saturday for barbecue. (OK, sometimes they invite you but it rarely works out that you can actually do that.)

Starbucks is as good as a bookstore for meeting existing friends, but I consider it less likely that I'll meet someone new there that has similar interests to mine. And I agree that putting a 'small' shelf of books (like the book section in many grocery stores) doesn't attract me in the least.

[Kali Yuga]

Originally Posted by calvin-c

There are 3 advantages, that I can think of, that a B&M bookstore has. First is advice, but that's pretty much hit or miss.

Yeah, pretty much. Mostly "miss." And that's spoken as someone who used to work at a bookstore.

Otherwise, just to be clear I'm not saying that "bookstores are a bad thing" or that "bookstores ought to go away." My position is that bookstores are almost certainly headed for the same fate as record stores and photo stores -- wide-spread closures, and the survivors will likely be specialty stores. This is partly due to online p-book sales. partly to e-book sales, partly due to big-box stores like Walmart and Target getting into what is left of the game.

Secondarily, I do not see how things like trying to sell ebooks in a brick & mortar store will be sufficient to reverse this cycle.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by raulf

I don't see much future (or sense) in that. Why bother walking / driving / riding the subway to the nearest bookshop with a nice, friendly, chatty owner (avoiding the one with a tightass moron owner, that happens, sigh, to be closer, and the impersonal megabookstore that is closer, too) when you can do it faster & easier without leaving your living-room? and as freezing cold as it's been this week!

Umm, because the bookstore has gourmet coffee, a fireplace, fancy paninis, and live poetry readings?

And it is sort of a social outlet as well as a shopping experience?

And they carry tins of Republic of Tea?

[FlorenceArt]

Originally Posted by calvin-c

Of course online sites also make recommendations based on your tastes, but it's harder to ask them why they recommend a new author/book.

Actually those taste-based recommendation have led me to read a lot of bad or barely OK books in the last years. What I want is a human selection based on quality. Then I can choose within that selection based on my taste, or because I read a few pages in the store and liked it. Unfortunately, very few stores offer this kind of advice, but it's the only one worthwhile in my opinion. If I could find an online shop that offers this, I could do without the b&m stores.

[Kris777]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

well, i think you have a point that it's certainly not for everyone. but i do see two interesting immediate benefits :

1. for the client (say, me, for instance, since i understand not everyone feels the same way), what i like about going to my neighborhood bookshop is the friendly ambiance and the discussions with my very nice and knowledgeable bookshop owner. but i don't go there very often any more because i try not to buy any more paper books, and to be honest i miss it (i really enjoyed wandering around and discussing books two days ago when i went in to buy a book as a christmas gift for a friend). so i would *love* to be able to preserve the "bookshop experience" without weighing myself down with more paper books. and i am sure that technology will rapidly advance to the point where we won't have to wait for the second step of going home to download our purchase, because there will be a way to get the file directly in the shop.

2. for the booksellers, particularly small, independent ones, it's a really easy way to start selling ebooks, without the expense and potential hassle of setting up / managing a website (which they might not know how or want to do), and it gives them a way to stay relevant even in a context of more and more digital media.

to be honest, it reminds me of this short speculative film which personally seems like the best of all worlds to me (i found a version which has added english subtitles, so i'm posting that one, but watch out, the first minute or so is blank, the film starts after that) :

nice video, thanks . What is the name of ebook reader that people use here?

[FlorenceArt]

Originally Posted by Kris777

nice video, thanks . What is the name of ebook reader that people use here?

It's an ebook

Personally I love the guidebook with built-in GPS