
A Review of the Amazon Books Store - acangiano
http://programmingzen.com/2016/02/10/a-review-of-the-amazon-books-store/
======
pklausler
Looks like a great way to buy a bestseller from Amazon without having to wait
for shipping. But it's not going to appeal much to the kind of people who are
willing to spend hours wandering the aisles of a real bookstore. One of the
things that makes me a very happy Portlander is that Powell's City of Books
([http://powells.com](http://powells.com)) is always _crowded_ with blissed-
out bibliophiles perusing the million-plus new+used volumes.

But I could be all wrong. I don't understand the business of books at all,
because I would think that a store like Powell's would flourish in other
literate locations (e.g., Minneapolis / St Paul), and yet it remains sadly
unique in the U.S.

~~~
Qworg
There are other places like Powell's: Haslam's in St. Petersburg, FL -
[http://www.haslams.com/](http://www.haslams.com/) and others.

Edit: Thanks for the location correction - I lived there for five years and
should know better. ;)

~~~
pklausler
Thanks so much for the tip. Are new and used volumes shelved together at
Haslam's?

~~~
CapitalistCartr
No, they are in different sections.

------
Booktrope
In the various reviews I've seen for this store, no one seems to have raised
the question of, how would a store like this be profitable? It's selling books
at the same prices as Amazon online, but with the added overhead of being in a
very high-rent space in an upscale shopping center. There seem to be lots of
employees for a book store. At the discounts that Amazon offers, their margin
on books is thinner than most bookstores. Sales would need to be very high to
make this pencil out, from what I can see.

This might be a play like the old Crown Books stores which sold only best
sellers at a big discount with the idea of making it up on volume. But Crown
did not last long. Amazon does have good data about what people buy, so
perhaps they could maximize revenue per square foot by packing popular sellers
in. On the other hand, one departure of this store from typical bookstores is
that books are all facing out on the shelves, meaning fewer titles and
probably less revenue per square foot.

I'm wondering how this approach to bookstores could pay off for Amazon, except
by putting competitive pressure on any other bookstores in the area. But
Barnes and Noble closed the store it had in this shopping center quite some
time ago. Is it advertising, an attempt to upscale Amazon's brand? Amazon has
the number one favorable brand among consumers from what I've read, and it's
certainly where most people go these days for books -- last report I saw said
over 80% of book buyers use Amazon. So what the business purpose of this store
is, unclear to me. But it's Amazon, and surely they're just a few steps ahead
of what I can see.

~~~
ozten
Those physical Microsoft stores are often practically vacant.

But what would the marketing budget for a really well placed billboard be per
month? What if you could walk into the billboard? Host launch parties starring
famous bands, getting you into more news stories. Fans can make a pilgrimage
to something tangible.

Apple stores are clearly profitable, but I wonder if "close to break even"
isn't a good enough goal for brand awareness stores like these.

~~~
jrgifford
Really? The one here in Cleveland always has people in it - not packed, but
always more customers than employees.

~~~
ISL
Interesting. The Microsoft store here in Seattle (same shopping mall as the
Amazon Store) generally has more employees than customers when I walk by in
late evening. In contrast, the Apple store ~100m away, facing the Microsoft
store, is reliably busy.

------
notatoad
>The second advantage is actually a side effect of their limited selection
approach. They are essentially offering a pre-selection service to the public.

this seems less like "a review of the amazon books store" and more like "an
amazon user finds out what a book store is"

------
rb808
Does anyone have a good online bookselling that isn't Amazon? I started using
abebooks before realizing its Amazon owned. bookdepository.com is good, but
not great. oreilly.com is good for their stuff. B&N is OK I guess.

~~~
giaour
I like to buy specialty books directly from publishers. Art books are often
difficult to find elsewhere, and tech books tend to come with nice extras.

I used to prefer FNAC, but they only exist in France.

~~~
FanaHOVA
We have FNAC in Italy :)

~~~
asendra
And in Spain :P

~~~
personlurking
"As of 2015, the company has stores in France, Belgium, Brazil, Monaco,
Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland" (Wikipedia)

It seems they sold off their Italian stores in 2013.

------
hashberry
_" The central section however is dedicated to various gadgets, mostly created
by Amazon itself, such as Echo, Fire TV, Kindle Fire, etc. In this the shop
reminded me a little of the Apple Store, which clearly inspired the layout of
this section."_

The focal point of the "amazon books" store is its tech, not books. They are
using "book store" as a cover. The U-Village is an upscale shopping experience
and easily allows for impulse buys on new $100+ tech products. It's their
version of the Apple Store.

------
dropdatabase
I wonder if the book store is large enough to host a data center or if there's
already one in there

~~~
giaour
I think Seattle City Light would be a bit too expensive.

------
RobotfromOT
What? No Jeff Bezos robot?!
[http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/2247.html](http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/2247.html)

------
swehner
Short summary: verdict - useless

------
cubano
Knowing the terrible privacy- and tracking-issue history as related to the
Amazon app, I would never install it for any reason, much less just to check
prices.

In fact, after reading this, it makes me wonder if the real purpose behind
these stores isn't simply to force people to install the app.

~~~
jonknee
> In fact, after reading this, it makes me wonder if the real purpose behind
> these stores isn't simply to force people to install the app.

Oh yea, the Bezos long con where by he knows if he makes a store you will
visit it and you WILL install his app... Or maybe he just wants a place for
people to use and demo their physical devices?

~~~
cubano
According to the article, there are no prices posted in the store and the only
way to get them is to install the app, so apparently yes you WILL install the
app if you actually want to buy something.

And just in case you are not aware of the security issues with the Amazon
app[1]

[1]
[http://www.computerworld.com/article/2489480/security0/amazo...](http://www.computerworld.com/article/2489480/security0/amazon
--at-t--snapchat-rated-among-the-least-trustworthy-with-data--eff-finds.html)

~~~
jonknee
Actually, according to the article:

> For those with a dead battery or who are not inclined to take their
> smartphone out of their pocket, there are a few scanners around the
> bookstore, which you can use to scan books and discover their prices.

People who refuse to install the Amazon app are also very unlikely to visit
the Amazon store. Just get your books elsewhere.

Also your link has nothing to do with security issues in the Amazon app and is
just a ranking from the EFF for how companies respond to records requests.

> Amazon, Snapchat and AT&T rank among the least trustworthy technology
> companies when it comes to how they handle government data requests,
> according to a report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

~~~
cubano
> People who refuse to install the Amazon app are also very unlikely to visit
> the Amazon store. Just get your books elsewhere.

Exactly...that's what my original post said I was going to do, so we agree.

I don't really understand what the big deal was.

~~~
jonknee
Because you theorized that the stores were a plot to get people to install the
Amazon app. Which is absurd.

> "it makes me wonder if the real purpose behind these stores isn't simply to
> force people to install the app"

