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New Amazon Books Bookstore
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So it will only carry books that are already doing well? Wow...takes way all that stress associated with personal preference or independent thought ;)
So your pretty much have to bust your hump in the same way as you do online on Amazon..
Is there any way to find out if your book is in or not?
Maybe it will become the new title of success. So popular it is now available at an Amazon Bookstore near you!
It's the same kind of thing they do for their best seller lists, most popular lists, etc. You've got to sell, get lots of reviews, grow a platform and work your way up. This development says more, I think, about the book business. For the last decade, most have predicted that online marketing would kill bookstores. Amazon seemed to place a big bet on it. Now, they are conceding that there may be something to bricks and mortar, at least in so far as it is needed to kill off B&N once and for all.
Effie, I haven't found that out yet. There will probably be a note about it on your book page or a tab to click. I suspect they feel like if you have to ask, you're not in there. I can tell you that I'm not.
Seems kind of ironic that the main reason I hardly EVER go into a brick-and-mortar bookstore anymore is because of the company who just built a brick-and-mortar bookstore.
Right? Its bad enough that Amazon is putting bookstores out of business by online sales now they are taking them out head on.
I was confused when I heard that Amazon is building a brick-and-mortar store. Didn't they drive just about every other bookstore out of business? Is that why they want a physical storefront now? There's no competition left?
One reason why Amazon may have opened their own bookstore is because their competitors have refused to stock any book published by an Amazon imprint, of which they have 13. It is a proven fact that consumers are more likely to discover a new author by browsing through a physical bookstore than by browsing online (I read somewhere that consumers who go into a physical bookstore specifically to buy a book by a known author buy two more books by authors the consumer had not heard of before).So while Amazon claim they stock books based on popularity, you can bet they stock their own authors first, and anyone else is gravy. It's the same with their website: does it not strike anyone as odd that the Amazon bestseller lists seem to be dominated by their own imprints these days?
Like most people, I haven't actually been to the store but, based on reports, I can't really see how it's going to be much of a game changer. They're only stocking 5,000 titles compared to a good-size indie store which would have 20-40,000, and Barnes and Noble, even more. Most complaints I hear about B&N (aside from all the tschotschkes for sale) are lack of in-depth stock, so 5,000 seems like a piddling figure. Add to that they're paying premium staff salaries (reported $18/hr, a good thing but pricey); they're located in a premium real estate site in a Seattle suburb; and they're charging the exact same prices as the online store (which are paper-thin profit margins, esp for hot, new releases), so, for me, hard to see how the current model is going to be much of a going concern instead of a vanity project.And the fact that cash is not accepted and no prices are posted (have to use an app on your own mobile device, or scan machines throughout the store) just sounds precious and annoying to me...
I can't imagine they'll put Barnes & Noble out of business, if so then Amazon is one step closer to taking over the world.
M.A. wrote: "One reason why Amazon may have opened their own bookstore is because their competitors have refused to stock any book published by an Amazon imprint, of which they have 13. It is a proven fact that..."I can vouch for that. I published my first book on CreateSpace when it had a close business relationship with Amazon, but had not yet been purchased. A B&N manager wanted to carry it, but when I contacted corporate to complete the agreement, I got the run around. I kept hounding them up the line until I got to the marketing vp who said to me, "Your book will never see a B&N shelf."
They are in a struggle to the death, but I think that Amazon will accept a much-weakened B&N in a standoff. The Amazon stores are/will be the next step in taking them out if they can.
I'd still like to be in the Amazon stores, not that I ever will.
Am I the only one that thinks the pictures of the Amazon store look exactly like the inside of a Barnes & Noble?
Samantha wrote: "Am I the only one that thinks the pictures of the Amazon store look exactly like the inside of a Barnes & Noble?"Please notice that all books are shelved with covers out, as opposed to spines out.
Alex wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Am I the only one that thinks the pictures of the Amazon store look exactly like the inside of a Barnes & Noble?"Please notice that all books are shelved with covers out, as oppo..."
Hmm...That is interesting. Do you suppose there's a deep meaning behind it?
Theresa wrote: "I was confused when I heard that Amazon is building a brick-and-mortar store. Didn't they drive just about every other bookstore out of business? Is that why they want a physical storefront now? Th..."there really needs to be emoticons on here. typing out LOL just doesn't do my laugh any justice.
On the deep meaning behind face out books(if that was the question):When I worked in an independent book store, I used to experiment with making obscure books sell by putting them face out. We had the freedom to arrange our sections as we saw fit, and I remember selling a lot of copies of odd little cookbooks that had been languishing unnoticed just by turning some of the classics spine out--Julia Child, Joy of Cooking--making room for the lesser known ones to be face out. After this change in shelf arrangement increased sales,I would return the facing of my experimental subjects back to spine out and watch sales drop. I'd do it in a timed and organized manner, being an educated person working retail and having nothing better to do with my investigative mind than run my little sales studies. (At the time I was not an author.) In a store where everything is face out, they'll need triple the shelf space of other stores, but this should put all books on an even playing field for visual discovery.
I love to do that kind of "quick and dirty" study. Interesting outcome. In B&N you pay for cover out. Now, we know why. Thanks, Amber.PS Did you notice any change in rate of sales for the heavy hitters when they were spine out?
Segilola wrote: there really needs to be emoticons on here. typing out LOL just doesn't do my laugh any justice...."
So true! I don't think they even make an emoticon that could capture the look on my face when I heard the news!
Alex wrote: "I love to do that kind of "quick and dirty" study. Interesting outcome. In B&N you pay for cover out. Now, we know why. Thanks, Amber.PS Did you notice any change in rate of sales for the heavy h..."
I don't recall that the classic cookbooks sold less. People came looking for them. They weren't impulse buys. That was why I used them for the control group, so I wouldn't be hurting sales.
I followed up to see if I could get my books in it and learned the following: Amazon Books is a physical extension of Amazon.com. Books are selected for the store based on customer ratings, pre-orders, sales, popularity on Goodreads, and Amazon curator's assessments.
So, obviously and not surprisingly, Amazon.com controls what books go in and it looks like they have an algorithm (you think they wouldn’t?) to make the decision. Also, check the website linked here: http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&n...
Note that the books are displayed cover out. Rumor has it that this is the first of very many.