Comments on: In-store POD for A&R chain in Australia, while e-books may not be doing so well at Dymocks

By: ficbot

ficbot — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:06:13 +0000

I think this is promising news. When I lived in NZ, there was only ONE bookstore in the entirety of Hamilton, and it was a teeny tiny Dymocks. Not at all very satisfying. I went to Auckland and spent two full days in the two-story Barnes and Noble because I was in such withdrawal! And then I had trouble because I did buy some books and I had to get them home with me somehow when I left the country! How nice it would have been then to have an ebook device like I have now where I could have bought any book I wanted and then had nothing to carry home! That was 2005! Isn’t it amazing how far we have come in just a few short years? Now, with my new iPod Touch, I can order the latest best-sellers off Fictionwise—from my bed!

By: Thadine

Thadine — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 23:52:00 +0000

Dymocks should rethink the way they are selling iLiads and eBooks. I bought my iLiad from them, but only because I knew they were selling them from sites such as this one – yes, they have a large display in their main store, but it’s confusing and really not welcoming for non-techy people. It’s not even clear what they’re actually doing there… In fact, I wasn’t even aware they were selling eBooks. I don’t think they are even trying to sell iLiads/eBooks instore – when I went there to buy my iLiad, the sales assistant was shocked, and had to check if they even had any in stock; he advised me to order online instead. There are no accessories available. I wanted to get a new travel charger, but would have to order it from overseas. Same goes with support – I think having to deal with overseas support rather than local is a big turn-off for trying out new technology. I hope they don’t give up and assume bad sales are due to the technology, rather than the way they’re selling the products.

By: Laine Brown

Laine Brown — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 22:04:44 +0000

It’s not surprising they haven’t sold too many ebooks. They charge nearly twice as much as places like Fictionwise. Also I don’t think their system works well. I bought 2 ebooks from them. They sent me 2 links for downloading – neither worked. And their help line never replied. So I won’t be trying them again.

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:57:19 +0000

Thanks, Rob. I still think the numbers are low, especially if you consider the number of e-titles and the words that appear just ahead in the article:

But Australians aren’t showing any signs of tiring of the look and feel of a traditional crisp paper book.

Of course, I’d prefer for you to be right! I certainly wish Dymocks the best of luck.

David

By: Rob Preece

Rob Preece — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:51:16 +0000

“only” ten thousand books and “many hundreds of readers”? That doesn’t sound like a bad start to me. Of course, customers may use those many hundreds of readers to check out the competition. I wonder how many thouand books have they printed on their Expresso if they’re offering that as a successful alternative?

I continue to believe that the hardest part of selling eBooks is persuading readers to give it a try.

Rob Preece
Publisher, http://www.BooksForABuck.com