Barnes & Noble Reducing Orders of New Trek Books?

[JWolf]

There are just as many Star Trek eBooks on the website shelves as there have ever been.

But one thing I do notice about B&N and Star Trek eBooks. BooksOnBoard and Amazon have Star Trek eBooks at a discount (BoB usually cheaper) and B&N is full price.

[E-DUB]

I haven't had a problem.............yet. Mrs. Dub worked for Borders for 18 yr and every time I buy a book at B+N I still feel vaguely treasonous.

I know the whole "free market" thing is supposed to be "supply and demand", but if I go to a store looking for a particular product and they don't have it, how is that "demand" being calculated?

Maybe we should demand "equal space" with the SW crowd. Anybody know any of those "flash mob" folks?

[Therin of Andor]

E-DUB wrote:

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Maybe we should demand "equal space" with the SW crowd. Anybody know any of those "flash mob" folks?

In the weeks before "Star Trek" (2009) premiered, I posted several pics here of the situation in several Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane bookshops (both specialist SF and general).

"Star Wars" shelfstock was reduced and "Star Trek" shelfstock increased. In several places, amounts were reversed. Simon & Schuster Australia even started air-freighting ST titles - and absorbed the extra costs - rather than previous dependence on sea-freighted supplies.

A few months later, "Doctor Who", "Twilight" and "Star Wars" clawed back some space.

Marketing is cyclic. I expect ST to build again soon. "Star Wars" may dwindle yet again, but it'll be back, with the announced of an eventual new movie installment.


Galaxy Bookshop, August 2009 by Therin of Andor, on Flickr
(There was also a giant stack of the then-new novelization at the friont entrance!)

[Ktrek]

I assume that dwindling copies of books in the retail store is because many Trek fans buy ebooks or order hard copies online. I used to make the monthly trip to my local B&N to get the latest book and for the last few years they have never had more than two copies in stock. Quite often when I went in the store the copies were not on the shelf but in the back room and I had to ask an employee if they could find me a copy. To save myself the aggravation I started buying from B&N online. Since I am a member I get free shipping. I don't get the 10% discount online but if I look at what it cost me in gas to the store and back I save more by pre-ordering online and have it nicely packaged and delivered to my door. I used to like to hand pick my copy but when you only have two copies to choose from and they are both usually nicked up it's just not worth it to me anymore. Another thing I like about pre-ordering on B&N is they ship it as soon as it arrives in their warehouse and thus I get my copy before the local store does these days.

Kevin

[Sxottlan]

Kopernikus wrote:

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Here in Germany, when I go into a bookshop and they don't have the title I'm looking for.. ..I ask one of the employees and they simply order it for me and I can usually pick it up within 24 hours.

I called the Barnes & Noble back tonight and asked if I could order a copy of Devil's Bargain for pick-up. I was refused. The employee told me the store computer system did not give her that option. I did not ask, but I assumed it had to do with this feud with Simon & Schuster.

All she could do was order it for home delivery. When I asked when the next copy would be in, she did not know. I was told to call back in a couple days. Useless.

I figured I would just go to Amazon tonight to, I kid you not, buy my first book off the internet. I dissemble a little bit. I've bought CDs and blu-rays off of Amazon before, but never an actual book.

The S&H brought the total to nearly $13, an extra five dollars for a book that I wasn't even really excited for. No thanks.

So I guess I'll just wait and keep calling B&N and reserve it once it actually gets in.

[Therin of Andor]

Sxottlan wrote:

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So I guess I'll just wait and keep calling B&N and reserve it once it actually gets in.

You'll end up spending the $5 in phone calls and petrol.

Do you not have any department stores with book departments? Apart from the B&N/S&S feud, any bookshop should be able to order any book by ISBN.

[King Daniel Into Darkness]

Therin of Andor wrote:

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Galaxy Bookshop, August 2009 by Therin of Andor, on Flickr
(There was also a giant stack of the then-new novelization at the friont entrance!)

How I'd love Trek to have such prominence all the time!

[ProwlAlpha]

I haven't seen a sight like that since early last decade. Ever since the cancellation of ENT, book shelf space has gone down and less. Now, even WOW books are on top and get multiple copies while the newest Trek book is on the bottom with a lone copy.

[Christopher]

E-DUB wrote:

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I know the whole "free market" thing is supposed to be "supply and demand", but if I go to a store looking for a particular product and they don't have it, how is that "demand" being calculated?

If the store doesn't have what you want, you go to customer service and request it. That way they know there's a demand for it.

Sxottlan wrote:

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I called the Barnes & Noble back tonight and asked if I could order a copy of Devil's Bargain for pick-up. I was refused. The employee told me the store computer system did not give her that option. I did not ask, but I assumed it had to do with this feud with Simon & Schuster.

All she could do was order it for home delivery. When I asked when the next copy would be in, she did not know. I was told to call back in a couple days. Useless.

I figured I would just go to Amazon tonight to, I kid you not, buy my first book off the internet. I dissemble a little bit. I've bought CDs and blu-rays off of Amazon before, but never an actual book.

You know, B&N has online ordering too. Amazon doesn't have a total monopoly -- not yet, anyway.

[Therin of Andor]

King Daniel wrote:

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How I'd love Trek to have such prominence all the time!

Coinciding with the theatre run of ST IV through to its release on VHS, then around about Seasons Five-Seven of TNG and the 25th Anniversary of TOS, and then ST (2009), would be the three times I recall bookshops around me having this kind of representation.

Some people still don't see it, though. Not long after ST 2009 came out, people from Melbourne and Brisbane posted here that their cities were seemingly "not supporting the new movie" by stocking the tie-ins - and yet, when visiting those cities myself, I was able to post pics of the movie posters throughout their CBDs, and dedicated book and toy displays in both specialist and general bookshops.

ProwlAlpha wrote:

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I haven't seen a sight like that since early last decade.

In Australia, we had displays like that in numerous bookstores in 2009. The one above was a specialist SF store, but even the regular chains dropped back "Star Wars" (often four shelves to two) and increased "Star Trek" (in some places one shelf to four) - for several months.

[JD]

I'm surprised more you guys don't just switch over to e-books. That way you're always pretty much absolutely guaranteed a copy will be available as soon as you hit the release date. You can even pre-order them and they will automatically download onto whatever you're reading it on, whether it's a tablet, computer, or e-reader as soon as the device connects to the internet on the release date.

[Ktrek]

Sxottlan wrote:

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I called the Barnes & Noble back tonight and asked if I could order a copy of Devil's Bargain for pick-up. I was refused. The employee told me the store computer system did not give her that option. I did not ask, but I assumed it had to do with this feud with Simon & Schuster.

All she could do was order it for home delivery. When I asked when the next copy would be in, she did not know. I was told to call back in a couple days. Useless.


So I guess I'll just wait and keep calling B&N and reserve it once it actually gets in.

If you like shopping Barnes and Noble it makes no sense to not be a member. It's only $25.00 a year and that gives you "free shipping" for online orders and 10% off anything in the store, with occasional 20% off coupons at various times of the year. I have always saved more than the $25.00. And besides I got my copy of Devil's Bargain over a week before the actual release date by pre-ordering online.

Kevin

[Relayer1]

Therin of Andor wrote:

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In the weeks before "Star Trek" (2009) premiered, I posted several pics here of the situation in several Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane bookshops (both specialist SF and general).

"Star Wars" shelfstock was reduced and "Star Trek" shelfstock increased. In several places, amounts were reversed. Simon & Schuster Australia even started air-freighting ST titles - and absorbed the extra costs - rather than previous dependence on sea-freighted supplies.

A few months later, "Doctor Who", "Twilight" and "Star Wars" clawed back some space.

Marketing is cyclic. I expect ST to build again soon. "Star Wars" may dwindle yet again, but it'll be back, with the announced of an eventual new movie installment.


Galaxy Bookshop, August 2009 by Therin of Andor, on Flickr
(There was also a giant stack of the then-new novelization at the friont entrance!)

Some years ago I used to go to a bookshop called The Galactic Outpost in Worcester (U.K.) that had a bigger Trek section than that - it was fantastic ! They even had new copies of the old numbered novels. It closed.

Mind you, that may have had something to do with their rather 'unusual' business practices - I travelled for over an hour to get there one Saturday to find it closed with a note in the window saying that it was closed because all of the staff had gone to a Babylon 5 convention that weekend...

[Cadet49]

I've noticed the reduction as well at my local Chapters Indigo as well. Perhaps, with the creation of a new version of Star Trek, via the 2009 film, there is less interest in purchasing books set in the original continuity? It would be interesting to see how sales would be for novels based on the new version of Trek. Personally, I always loved TOS and TNG growing up, and will watch those previous episodes nostalgically, but for new Trek content, I prefer the modern action- adventure feel of the 2009 film, with its faster pace of narrative. If I were to buy Trek books, I as a consumer, would personally prefer to read about the new versions of Kirk and Spock ... just my personal taste, though.

[Infern0]

You guys have a "trek shelf" in your bookstores?

We don't even get that over here, if you are lucky you might find 1 random trek book in misc sci fi

And I do mean if you are lucky