The New York Times bestseller list is, at this point, an institution. Reaching number one is a coveted spot that not only allows you to sell more copies of your book, but also lets you put “NYT Bestselling Author” in front of your name on your next one. The prerequisite for the list, is, of course, selling lots of copies of your book. So how did a book that barely exists and nobody ever heard of manage to become a bestseller? [More]
books
Amazon Tells Third-Party Booksellers To Speed Up Deliveries
By 8.8.17
That paperback book you ordered from Amazon for your upcoming beach vacation might just arrive faster than you thought. But it’ll come at a new cost for the third-party seller providing the title: Amazon is once again tightening the reins on sellers who don’t use the company’s fulfillment services, reducing their required delivery window. [More]
TSA May Want To Flip Through Your Summer Reading Next Time You Fly
By 6.26.17
At this point, most travelers know that your electronics, your shoes, your food, and your liquids are going to have to come out of your bag (or off your person) and get extra screening just so you can get on a flight. But now, it seems books — good, old-fashioned paper books — may be joining that list. [More]
Barnes & Noble CEO Uses Amazon To Justify His Company’s Continued Existence
By 5.24.17
In the age of online shopping, are bookstores irrelevant? The new CEO of big-box bookstore chain Barnes & Noble doesn’t think so. If they were, why would Amazon be opening physical bookstores across the country, with a new one opening in New York City tomorrow? He sees this growth as proof that bookstores are still relevant. [More]
Book Stores Fuming Mad Over State Law Forcing Them To Keep Records Of All Autographed Books
By 5.12.17
Walk into an independent book store in most cities and you’re likely to find signed copies of various authors’ books sitting around. Sometimes the authors will sign a bunch as part of an in-store appearance; sometimes the writer or their publisher will ship a box of signed books; sometimes authors just go into stores and do ninja-style signings without anyone knowing. This is all fine in most of the country, but no longer in California, where a new law requires anyone sells virtually any autographed item to include a certificate of authenticity and to keep detailed records of each item for years. [More]
Barnes & Noble Blames Coloring Books And Adele For 8% Decline In Sales
By 3.2.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Investors don’t want to hear that a retailer’s sales are down, so when Barnes & Noble had to explain to its backers and to industry analysts why comparable stores sales figures were down 8.3% over last year, the bookseller had some scapegoats to blame: coloring books and Adele. [More]
Has Amazon Helped Indie Bookstores?
By 1.26.17
Bookstore chains like Borders and Barnes & Noble were among the first retailers to feel the sting of Amazon, with its vast variety of titles and speedy delivery times, not to mention its huge share of the ebook market. However, the online goliath doesn’t appear to be having the same diminishing effect on the number of independent bookstores. [More]
Amazon Opening Its Next Physical Bookstore In NYC This Spring
By 1.6.17
New Yorkers who like the experience of thumbing through a book made with paper and smelling the fresh ink before they buy it will have another place to browse this year. As we suspected in July, Amazon says it will open its next physical book store in Manhattan this spring. [More]
Audiobooks Are Gaining Listeners While E-Book Sales Take A Dive
By 9.23.16
Using your eyes to read books? That’s so 2015, according to a new report that says audiobooks are becoming more and more popular while e-book sales have started to slide. [More]
Some Editions Of The First Harry Potter Book Contain A Valuable Mistake
By 8.12.16
You might want to take a close look at that hardcover copy of the first Harry Potter book, as some versions contain an error that makes them super rare, and pretty darn valuable. [More]
Sales Of Audiobooks Are Gaining On Print Books
By 12.8.15
While rising prices are causing sales of e-books to slump, there’s another, somewhat unlikely challenger to the traditional print book throne: audiobooks, formerly known on family road trips as “books on tape,” have been outselling paper copies much of the time. [More]
Could Barnes & Noble Stores Be Shrinking? Company Looking At New Formats
By 9.9.15
After years of struggling to maintain sales, Barnes & Noble may be looking to revamp its image, starting with smaller stores. [More]
Authors, Booksellers Call For Investigation Into Amazon’s Alleged Anti-Competitive Business Practices
By 7.14.15
Last year, Amazon and book publisher Hachette engaged in a contentious feud that at times saw the online retailer use its considerable clout to make it difficult for consumers to purchase books by Hachette-published authors. Now, eight months after the two companies came to an undisclosed agreement, groups representing thousands of authors and booksellers are pointing to the online book retailer’s actions as reason for the Department of Justice to open an antitrust investigation into Amazon. [More]
Amazon, Penguin Random House Avoid Dispute, Reach Deal For Physical & Online Book Sales
By 6.18.15
Public feud avoided. Less than a month after reports began swirling that Amazon and the world’s largest book publisher Penguin Random House could potentially come to blows over a new contract for online book sales, the two entities have reached a long-term agreement. [More]
Could Amazon & Penguin Random House Be Headed For A Hachette-Level Feud?
By 5.26.15
Almost exactly a year after Amazon and book publisher Hachette entered a very public feud over an e-book pricing dispute, the mega online retailer is reportedly on the cusp of engaging in a new battle with the world’s largest book publisher, Penguin Random House. [More]
First Amazon Customer Spent $27.95 And Got A Building Named After Him
By 4.22.15
Being the first to try something new cost one guy just $27.95 and got him not only the book he ordered but his name on a building. The first non-company Amazon.com customer spent less than $30 on April 3, 1995 on Fluid Concepts And Creative Analogies: Computer Models Of The Fundamental Mechanisms Of Thought by Douglas Hofstadter, and now his moniker is splashed on the edifice of one of the company’s buildings in Seattle. [More]
Oyster, The ‘Netflix For Books’, Aims To Take On Amazon With Launch Of E-Book Store
By 4.8.15
When Oyster launched in 2013, it claimed to be the e-book version of Netflix, offering customers an all-you-can-read lending library of around 100,000 books for a monthly subscription of $9.95. A year and a half later, the company seems to have realized that a buffet of sometimes unheard of books isn’t exactly what consumers are looking for. So in an attempt to bring the latest and greatest titles to readers, the company now plans to secure its foothold in the e-book market with the launch of a retail component aimed to compete with Amazon, Apple and other online booksellers. [More]
Walmart Will Reportedly Only Sell UFC Champion’s Book Online Because Of Violence
By 4.6.15
They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but that seems to be exactly what Walmart is doing when it comes to the soon-to-be released memoir from UFC women’s bantamweight champion and Olympic medalist Ronda Rousey. [More]
