B&N Pulls DC Comics Over Kindle Fire-Exclusive Deal

Personally, I say good move on B&N's part. But then again, I'm not much of an Amazon fan either, so take it with a grain of salt.

B&N Pulls DC Comics?

Sheldon: I think you mean comic books. Comics are feeble attempts at humour featuring talking babies and anthropomorphized pets found traditionally in the optimistically named funny pages.

Yay, DC comic books on Kindle Fire.

>Barnes & Nobles is looking to flex their virtual monopoly muscles.

yes, their virtual monopoly on the titanic. digital is the future. hell, it's the present. if you want to keep your brick&mortar stores open and stocked with printed material, you need to play nice.

I think the reality is that Barnes & Noble is not a big vendor of comic books. I would guess that mail order subscriptions and comic book specialty stores would represent the bulk of comic book sales.

when was the last time I bought something from B&N ? 10+ years ago right? because their shit is so overpriced.

Just bought something from Amazon last week. LOL

The the Kindle Fire is a formidable product that you can get right now for $199. http://pnoy.me/9F

Something I will never understand. Why can't BN match their store price with their online price? I know the selling price gotta be more expensive in a retail store because of rents, overheads, etc, but if I buy a book from the retail store, why can't BN pretend they sold it to me online and just charge me te cheaper online price? A sale is a sale, so why does BN cares whether it sold me the book via a store or online?

Hey, I'd be upset about this, too. Don't be hatin'.

Plenty of people buy comic books in graphic novel format at Barnes & Noble if the San Diego stores are any indication. And while it's nice to call it a virtual monopoly, the fact that so many people buy their books online indicates otherwise.

Personally, Barnes needs to do this while they still have the clout to. The mom and pop book stores put themselves out of business by not collaborating and adjusting to the competitive environment. Borders was slow to adjust as well, and we know where they are now. Barnes is still the nations largest book seller and not being on in their catalog hurts.

I agree with Barnes doing this also. I think it's ridiculous that I have to pay again for a digital version of a book after I already bought the Hard Cover, but to not have the option at all while another online vendor does... That right there can kill a competitor. I mean, imagine if your local gaming store sold PS3's but was not allowed to sell Sony Branded Games.

"...would undermine our promise to Barnes & Noble customers to make available any book, anywhere, anytime."

So making it worse by not carrying the physical copy is somehow honoring that promise? Damn... this guy needs to get into politics.

I agree with B&N. I have an e-reader, but I still go to the bookstore quite often because I like the environment. I like browsing for books. And I still sometimes decide to get a physical book instead of an ebook. To offer that service to people who are making their purchases with another company is foolish. Do you think that Walmart would sell old versions of Apple products if Apple decided that only Target could sell new versions?

OK, so who is Marvel doing a deal with?
...
DC aren't the only people who make superhero comics and despite a few popular titles I prefer the Marvel universe.

1) It isn't a comic 'book' when it's only in digital form!
2) Many of us prefer to hold a real physical book in their hands (especially in certain places where computers/tablets/smartphones/netbooks are awkward to handle e.g. the little restroom)

I think B&N and Amazon do it all wrong. They could save both paper-business and virtual-business by combining efforts. Why not offer the electronic version "free" when you buy the paper-version? That'll give a real incentive to obtain the actual comic book. That would at least be more acceptable as to why the stores charges a slightly higher price.

But this kind of thinking is probably to easy. Instead of thinking customer first and greed later they must do it the hard way. Moan and complain. In the end only the customers gets screwed over by this.

BTW. If they're so upset why don't B&N return the favour by making a deal with Marvel... oh wait.... that too is way to simple.

Oh screw them.

"We will not stock physical books in our stores if we are not offered the available digital format." Hahahahahaha. You only stock books from large publishers anyway not allowing ANY other publisher in PERIOD! AND DC Comics what in the WORLD are you doing? Exclusivity is not the way to go. Did no one learn anything from the IBM only era. As soon as the compatibles came out IBM's bullying ways just didn't matter anymore. The same thing is going to have to all the large bookstores online and otherwise.

Because the two are separate items. Think 'usage rights'. When you purchase an eBook what you're really buying is a license to view the content on your eReading device. That license does not allow you to copy it to a friend's eReader or other like rights. Barnes and Noble does not originate licenses except if/when they, too, are also the publisher. Each created/sold license is tracked in sales and a percentage of each sale makes its way to the original author. Same rules apply to books. Technically you are not allowed to create and pass physical copies to your friends.

While some would like to see physical and electronic as one in the same, the content originators rarely ever agree. Barnes and Noble simply can't flip a switch and change that unpopular reality.

As for price variances between their online and brick-n-mortar stores, completely agree that is asinine. Please, leave that deceptive tactic to the franchise that pioneered and refined it; thank you BestBuy.

Um, its Neil Gaiman's Sandman, not Neil Gaiman's Sanman.
There, I just OUT-GEEKED you all! HA HA!

Also, colour copying a comic book would probably cost more than buying an original, so it is never enforced.

From professional experience Amazon has a policy when dealing with publications that they tend to demand that if a book or publication is to be sold through them, especially if it is subscription based, that they get the lowest price over other competitors. So, for example, if I have a magazine I want to sell through both Amazon and B&N, in order for me to do it with Amazon I have to sign a contact that says I will offer my magazine at a lower price then I would through B&N.

They still have physical stores open? All the stores here closed.