Whitcoulls vs. the eBooks
So maybe I should have already posted about my latest joy.
My new Kindle 3.
Love love love. I’ll post about it in the future, just felt that I had to say this now.
Whitcoulls & Borders in New Zealand are very likely going to be closing down. Why? Various reasons. The question I have is how much of that has to do with the competition they face from eBooks?
Kindles, Nooks, Sony Readers… so many variations, all do the same thing. Allow you to buy and download digital books to read on a device. Pros?
- Cheaper - don’t need to pay for all those pesky things like transport, paper, x amount mark-up etc.
- Faster - zomg! No waiting for books to arrive from overseas or local stores getting them in stock
- Good use of space - no more overflowing shelves of books, no more having to pack books away, all my books, on one portable device that I can carry with me
- I could keep going on and on and on… but I won’t…
Cons? Well really that sensation of holding a book. The smell, the texture, the nostalgia. You don’t get that with an eReader. As an avid book fan, it doesn’t bug me really. I will still purchase the books I absolutely and utterly love. I’ll still keep most of the books I own (not all the books in the world have been released in eBook format, yet.) I get to have the best of both worlds.
How can physical book stores like Whitcoulls and Borders compete?
Whitcoulls did make an attempt at it. Started selling eBooks from their website and bringing in the Kobo. Problem? They were selling eBooks practically at the same price as physical books. What’s the point? I would rather get a book cheaper elsewhere.
So while I will regret the loss of nostalgia. The experience of browsing through shelves, picking up a book, feeling it’s spine and gently cracking it open and inhaling that ‘new book’ scent, adios Whitcoulls.
You forgot one important thing with me. You forgot to think about my needs as your customer.