Take the Nook off your Christmas list. The new e-reader from Barnes & Noble (BKS) has already sold out, and more won't be available until after the holiday has passed. The next batch will be available, at best, by January 4, 2010.
In a statement, the company said, "While we increased production based on the high consumer interest, we've sold out of our initial Nook allotment available for delivery before the holidays." If you still want to give the device as a holiday gift, Barnes & Noble will give you a gift certificate to tide the recipient over until the device itself comes around.
Barnes & Noble isn't the only e-reader purveyor to run into this problem. On Wednesday, Sony (SNE) announced that it couldn't guarantee that its e-reader, the Reader Daily Edition, would make it home for the holidays. These missteps can only be described as lost opportunities, especially for Barnes & Noble. The splash it made with the Nook drove the message home that there was a viable competitor to the Amazon (AMZN) Kindle. But, misreading demand could drive shoppers into Amazon's arms, costing the traditional retailer market share in this new segment of the market.
Barnes & Noble wouldn't reveal how many Nooks it has sold, but did say that sales exceeded expectations. Of course, the fact that the company ran out of them already told us that.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-23-2009 @ 4:26PM
John F.C. Taylor said...
I love to read, but this news won't bother me at all. If it's not a real paper & ink book, it's no fun. I've tried audio books, but big disappointment there.
11-23-2009 @ 5:42PM
Bob Butcher said...
I think audio books are the way to go, but it has to be both a good speaker and a good subject. I like Tim Dorsey as an author and his books "Torpedo Juice" and "Cadilac Beach" are two of the funniest books yet especially "Torpedo Juice". A speaker can make a good book bad and a bad book half way decent, it just all depends but if you can't sleep at night or you want a long boring drive to go by quicker an audio book is the way to go.
11-23-2009 @ 5:54PM
Gary said...
I love my e book. I travel a lot and each year, spend a part of the summer abroad and to carry the 6 oz e book rather than 6, 7 books, is great. Yes, it did take a while to get used to and yes, there will always be books that I want to actually have, but it is convenient and has already paid for itself in one summer. It is also ideal for older readers as the size of the font can be changed from tiny to huge, which is a great benefit. Might not be for all, but once I gave it a chance, it really made my life, much easier in regards to travel. Plus, it holds pix, which is nice, and so many other things.
11-23-2009 @ 6:17PM
Mike said...
Why did AOl's bullshit teaser link say sold out until NOVEMBER 2010.
Aol is such a pile of dung.
11-23-2009 @ 7:07PM
UFOchick said...
These are like the amazon readers. They track what you read and can remove the books from YOUR reader at any time even after they are paid for. It's already happened by accident with Amazon. Wake up people!!! Technology isn't best.
11-24-2009 @ 8:44AM
Joseph said...
Actually, Amazon deliberately removed the book n question, not accidentally. (It was over a copyright infringement issue). Barnes & Noble has already made it clear that if they sell a product they have no right to sell- as Amazon did and routinely does, e.g., bootleg CDs, etc.- that they will not punish the customer for THEIR mistake.