by prakashk on 5/25/17, 7:27 PM with 4 comments
by Cpoll on 5/25/17, 7:56 PM
Spine-out doesn't facilitate browsing, so I can't see why this is a bad thing. More books doesn't equate more options or a better experience.
> and prominently featuring the opinions of exemplary randos.
Fantastically dismissive, but the book buyer is also a "rando," so it's a useful metric.
> The store selection is populist, elevating aggregate user ratings; the author’s name is, notably, the smallest thing on each card.
The only problem I see is that it doesn't need to be there at all. It's prominently featured on the cover of the actual book, right above the card.
by PhantomGremlin on 5/25/17, 10:38 PM
As you walk in the first thing you see is a sign that says, more or less: "all books are list price unless you're an Amazon Prime member". Which is not something that influences me in a positive way. They're basically saying I need to pay them $99/year to shop there.
Not that I'd want to shop there. I just don't see the point. As this article notes, there is very very little physical inventory. You can play with Kindles. Maybe that's the point?
by TillE on 5/25/17, 7:58 PM
Amazon has never managed to come anywhere close to the joy and value of accidental discovery that you can have from browsing the categorized shelves at a well-stocked bookstore, or better yet a university library. They've never even really tried as far as I can tell, so I guess it's not a surprise that their attempt at a physical bookstore would miss one of its biggest advantages.