Barnes & Noble Reducing Orders of New Trek Books?

[DimesDan]

I know up thread some people were wondering about the popularity of Trek Lit. Well, it can't be doing to bad because The Persistence of Memory, and The Body Electric were both NYT bestseller.

Good for Mr Mack, it's well deserved.

I think you're missing the point JD, I wasn't doubting the popularity of the Trek Fiction line, as I assume others weren't either. The books are still being wrote, money is still (probably just about) being made on their sales which proves there is some popularity about them.

What I highlighted and others have commented on, is that it's seemingly less common to buy a Trek book from a bricks and mortar shop. I myself "picked up" all three Cold Equations from the Book Depository and it would be interesting to discover what the percentage of sales are at the moment regarding internet sales vs brick and mortar sales.

As a side, that NYT bestsellers list, does that just include sales from North America or does it take global sales into account?

 

[Ktrek]

Over the weekend, I went to the local Barnes & Noble to get "Devil's Bargain". They didn't have any copies in either the Star Trek section or the "New in SF & Fantasy" section

This time, I was told that the book could only be ordered for home delivery, not delivery to the store. Fortunately, since I'm a member of their Preferred Reader club, I got free delivery. But I didn't get the usual 10% discount on book purchases for members.

Since I've been going to B&N since Borders closed to get that 10% discount, and I can get new MMPBs through Amazon also at full price but with free shipping (I order enough every few months to qualify for free shipping), B&N is reducing the reasons I need (and want!) to visit their store. And that reduces the chance I'll make an impulse purchase, my daughters will find something they *must* have in the manga aisle, or my wife will want a book in the paranormal romance area; that means less money they'll get from me. And I'm obviously not the only one put off by their tactics in this dispute with Simon & Schuster. I'm pesisimstic whether B&N will still be around in 5 years...

Let's think this through OK? You would rather spend the gas money at $3.60 a gallon there and back and save $80 cents with your member discount instead of paying the 80 cents and getting free shipping worth $2.98 direct to your door and no gas expense? You see where I'm going here? What you are saving in member discount and what you are spending on gas it is likely that you are actually spending more going to the store. Plus if you pre-order it online it arrives usually before the release date. Seems like a no brainer to me!

Kevin

 

[Christopher]

^Well, that depends on the distance, doesn't it? If his car gets, say, 20 MPG in the city, then the store would have to be 10 miles away in order for the round trip to expend a full gallon of gas. But he said it was his local store, suggesting something closer. If the store is less than 2.2 miles away, then the gas expense is under 80 cents, and thus the book costs slightly less than it would if purchased online, even with free shipping. And if gas prices fall, it would cost even less. (Not to mention that if it's within a mile or two, you could walk or bike there.)

Plus there are other advantages to visiting a brick-and-mortar store -- the opportunity to browse and stumble across interesting books you wouldn't have found otherwise, the enjoyment of the store's ambience, maybe the relationship with its staff if you're a regular, the support for an endangered institution, etc.

 

[Reanok]

I like browsing the bookshelves at Barnes&Noble I've started reading some new scifi books by Ben Bova.His Mars trilogy was well written about living and working on Mars and how exciting Space Exploration can be. The clerks have been really helpful when it comes to finding some of the new Startrek novels or ordering other books that they don't have in their store.I like my local bookstores.

 

[DrCorby]

Since I've been going to B&N since Borders closed to get that 10% discount, and I can get new MMPBs through Amazon also at full price but with free shipping (I order enough every few months to qualify for free shipping), B&N is reducing the reasons I need (and want!) to visit their store. And that reduces the chance I'll make an impulse purchase, my daughters will find something they *must* have in the manga aisle, or my wife will want a book in the paranormal romance area; that means less money they'll get from me.

Let's think this through OK? You would rather spend the gas money at $3.60 a gallon there and back and save $80 cents with your member discount instead of paying the 80 cents and getting free shipping worth $2.98 direct to your door and no gas expense? You see where I'm going here? What you are saving in member discount and what you are spending on gas it is likely that you are actually spending more going to the store. Plus if you pre-order it online it arrives usually before the release date. Seems like a no brainer to me!

I understand your point. However, trips to B&N are seldom straight-there-and-back, but usually part of a series of stops/errands, so it's hard to say how much gas is used to only go to B&N.

And I'm sorry if I left the impression that it's entirely a monetary consideration. I LOVE bookstores. I love browsing through shelves of books, both in bookstores and in libraries (which we usually visit once a week). My wife is the same way, and we've infected our kids with the same affection.

Getting us in the actual store can lead to purchases, though sometimes delayed. There have been instances when we look at something in the store, go home, do some research, and then purchase online. (A Rosetta Stone language set, for homeschool purposes, comes to mind.)

^Well, that depends on the distance, doesn't it? If his car gets, say, 20 MPG in the city, then the store would have to be 10 miles away in order for the round trip to expend a full gallon of gas. But he said it was his local store, suggesting something closer. If the store is less than 2.2 miles away, then the gas expense is under 80 cents, and thus the book costs slightly less than it would if purchased online, even with free shipping. And if gas prices fall, it would cost even less. (Not to mention that if it's within a mile or two, you could walk or bike there.)

Plus there are other advantages to visiting a brick-and-mortar store -- the opportunity to browse and stumble across interesting books you wouldn't have found otherwise, the enjoyment of the store's ambience, maybe the relationship with its staff if you're a regular, the support for an endangered institution, etc.

The store is about 3-4 miles from home, so it's not a pilgrimage. Plus, it's now the only non-used book store in town that isn't a university/textbook store or a religious book store (as far as I can discover, to my shock). The local WalMarts and drug stores don't carry Star Trek books. So, I'm trying to support the B&N store, in hopes it won't close its doors. But by not carrying new Star Trek titles, I don't have that monthly imperative to swing by their store regularly; it becomes more of an irregular stop. Thus, my spending in their store also becomes more irregular.

 

[CaptPapa]

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.

Try Walmart online. That's where I buy new Star Trek titles now, at 25% or more off and get free shipping to the store. I'm in the store once or twice a month anyway, so . . .

 

[Sxottlan]

When I asked a B&N employee over the phone if the one new Trek book per store was because of "this thing" between them and S&S, I was told an emphatic "no." They don't even have the courtesy to be truthful to the customer about negotiating over more money.

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

That is not a issue. The nearest B&N is just a few minutes away. Besides, gas is going to get used up either way.

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.

There are no more book stores besides B&N. At least around here. I was under the impression that B&N was the only chain of book store that remained in the country.

And department stores never sold books here. Walmart used to carry them and that's where I went to buy them, but they stopped carrying them at least eight years ago.

B&N is literally it, which is what is so frustrating about this. I've never had to pre-order, which I guess is besides the point here since B&N will not do it for Trek books because of this feud. I've always been able to pretty much walk into a book store and get what I want. You'd think B&N would keep the same amount of books on the shelves during these negotiations, but all this will do is drive people to online.

And since I apparently don't buy enough from Amazon right now, I still have to pay S&H. Which makes that book $13 for now. And I'm not a part of the B&N membership and probably won't be after this because why bother if it's going to be such a hassle to even locate the book that I want?

 

[cardinal biggles]

When I asked a B&N employee over the phone if the one new Trek book per store was because of "this thing" between them and S&S, I was told an emphatic "no." They don't even have the courtesy to be truthful to the customer about negotiating over more money.

B&N's corporate offices are notorious about not communicating information to their store-level employees. It's more likely the bookseller you spoke to had no knowledge of B&N employing any 'tactics' (like reducing the quantity of orders) during their negotiations with S&S and hadn't heard of the situation until you asked about it.

 

[Christopher]

I was under the impression that B&N was the only chain of book store that remained in the country.

No, not the only one, though maybe the only nationwide one. There's also Books-A-Million, which has a couple of hundred stores in the south, northeast, and midwest US and is the second-largest surviving bookstore chain. In my part of the country, there's a local chain called Joseph-Beth Booksellers that has four big stores in Ohio and Kentucky -- although it used to have more stores and has weathered a bankruptcy filing in recent years. I'm sure there are others holding on as well.

 

[bfollowell]

In my part of the country, there's a local chain called Joseph-Beth Booksellers that has four big stores in Ohio and Kentucky -- although it used to have more stores and has weathered a bankruptcy filing in recent years. I'm sure there are others holding on as well.

Your part of the country? What part of the country are you from? I'm originally from central Kentucky and have shopped the Lexington Joseph Beths many times. You wouldn't happen to be another country boy would you?

- Byron

 

[Christopher]

I'm from Cincinnati. In fact, when the Cincy Joseph-Beth store first opened, I lived just a couple of blocks away from it. I'm a few miles farther away now.

Oh, and the J-B publicity guy has talked to me about the possibility of arranging a signing event for me and other regional SF/fantasy authors at the Lexington store. Nothing solid yet, but hopefully it'll come together before long.

 

[BillJ]

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!

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.

Haven't seen Trek books stocked like that since the late-90's.

 

[bfollowell]

I'm from Cincinnati. In fact, when the Cincy Joseph-Beth store first opened, I lived just a couple of blocks away from it. I'm a few miles farther away now.

Oh, and the J-B publicity guy has talked to me about the possibility of arranging a signing event for me and other regional SF/fantasy authors at the Lexington store. Nothing solid yet, but hopefully it'll come together before long.

Too funny. I lived in Georgetown and worked at the Toyota plant there before transferring to Indiana 15 years ago. I was just down the road from you. Of course, I didn't know anything of you then...

Keep us informed if you head to Lexington. I could always plan a trip in to visit Mom & Dad. I'd love to get you to sign a book. Well, how do you sign an ebook?

- Byron

 

[Sxottlan]

Okay, personal crisis over.. for now. First location again did not have Devil's Bargain (despite the computer implying that they did), but they were actually able to call a second nearby location and found a copy.

And I was able to pick it up the same day I finished Allegiance in Exile. I almost had to start reading a non-Trek book!

B&N's corporate offices are notorious about not communicating information to their store-level employees. It's more likely the bookseller you spoke to had no knowledge of B&N employing any 'tactics' (like reducing the quantity of orders) during their negotiations with S&S and hadn't heard of the situation until you asked about it.

Fair enough, but doesn't seem very fair to the employees.

 

[Christopher]

Well, how do you sign an ebook?

I once saw someone ask an author to sign the cover of their Kindle or Nook or whatever it was.

 

[ATimson]

I'd love to get you to sign a book. Well, how do you sign an ebook?

One idea (that I'm shameless stealing from... I believe Terri Osborne) is to simply make a binder of printed cover images.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I'd love to get you to sign a book. Well, how do you sign an ebook?

One idea (that I'm shameless stealing from... I believe Terri Osborne) is to simply make a binder of printed cover images.

Actually, I did that first. Terri then nicked the idea and ran with it.

Cover on one side of a white unlined index card, marketing copy and/or contact details on the back.

 

[JD]

^So that is OK then. I've had that idea before, but wasn't sure if it would be considered OK. Although if I did it, it would probably be on a sheet of regular white paper or photo paper so I could frame it.

 

[bfollowell]

^So that is OK then. I've had that idea before, but wasn't sure if it would be considered OK. Although if I did it, it would probably be on a sheet of regular white paper or photo paper so I could frame it.

This.

I was really just kidding with my question. I think what I would do would be to have the author sign a blank sheet, scan it, and then insert it in any of their books that I had.

- Byron

 

[E-DUB]

A little OT, but I went into a "Books-a-Million" for the first time today. They have "Star Wars" titles separated out at the end of SF, but "Trek" books are integrated in with the other SF by author's name. WTF is that all about? It's "Franchise Discrimination", I tell you.