To: Randy Ellingson who wrote (27443 ) 11/20/1998 7:20:00 PM From: Rob S. Read Replies (1) | Respond to
I think price of small purchases, like typical books, is important to many people if it is 10% or more difference. If it's only 5% it may still make some difference but other factors, such as ease of browsing and familiarity, could easily outweigh it. A big factor is finding what you need and getting it when you want it. Barnes & Noble now has 4.6 million titles compared to Amazon's 3+ million. Besides braging rights, some customers who want scarce or out-of-print items will find it makes more sense to buy from Barnes~.com. That can edge the convenience picture slightly in their favor. At any rate, we are now discussing whether Barnes~.com is SUPERIOR in their offerings compared to Amazon.com whereas just a few months ago the discussion was whether anyone would ever be able to match the Amazing one. In the near future, Barnes~.com will supplement their offerings with store delivery, shorter lead-times, store locator map service, in-store multi-media kiosks and other services to go beyond what Amazon.com can offer. Amazon.com will need to accelerate expenditures to try to duplicate what Barnes~.com already has in place. This will be a battle with small margins as the reward for the next five to eight years.
