Is Barnes & Noble Headed for Bankruptcy?

• Report this Comment On January 18, 2012, at 10:11 AM, random306 wrote:

  Of course they are going bankrupt. If they want to salvage any of their value,they will need to spin off any assets more then 3 years prior to the BK. If not the trustee may seek to include them. Looking out 3 years their e reader is the only asset they have. Everything else will be a liability.

• Report this Comment On January 18, 2012, at 11:53 AM, foolindeed1 wrote:

  Complete nonsense. Barnes & Noble's online store at bn.com has the same prices and free shipping over $25 as Amazon.com. Also, if you buy online at bn.com you can return to local B&N store that is very convinient and cannot be matched by Amazon.  Also,   If you walk in with the Nook to Barnes & Noble store with their Nook ereader, you’re allowed to read any available eBook for free while in the store via free provided in the store Wi-Fi and you get free technical support in case of issues in any of the store. According to Consumer Reports, CNET, PCWORLD, etc. pro reviews and recommendations the best eReader is Nook Simple Touch at $99 without ads - twice the battery life, faster page turn that Kindle Touch ($139 without ads.), and microSD slot for extra capacity (not on any Kindle.)  Nook eBook store has better selection then Amazon's with over 4.5 million of pay/free ebooks.

  How about that for the reason to shop there?

  The only

• Report this Comment On January 18, 2012, at 11:58 AM, random306 wrote:

  Sure. They have all that. But all those stores cost money to staff and keep the lights on. You stated yourself that they arnt collecting a premium for these services. How exactly is that sustainable? Why is kindle outselling nook?

• Report this Comment On January 18, 2012, at 12:00 PM, foolindeed1 wrote:

  The only advantage Amazon has is local sales taxes but that loophole goes away soon.

  Yes, BKS considers going ahead with Nook IPO - why is that a concern for anyone, are you afraid of IPO's? Nook will still be BKS's eReader with tight connection to physical stores and the parent BKS will retain the controlling share in the new Nook company.

  So again, what's here to be concerned about other than to be concerned that Amazon-paid teenager "analysts" of Fool web site are allowed to post their nonsense as the news...

• Report this Comment On January 18, 2012, at 12:19 PM, saron1 wrote:

  MotleyFool used to advocate for Due Dilligence.

  At a couple of B&Ns in the BayArea:

  - on weekends there is a constant line at the checkout (post NewYears). On weekdays, its still quite busy.

  - Constant line at the Coffee area

  - All coffee chairs full with students, mobile workers, families

  - Pricing/choices a bit less than Starbucks

  - B&N announced 2% increase in book-sales in the Dec. quarter, for the first time in years

  This is a popular Brick&Mortar, regardless of Nook reader. The color Nook is pretty much commoditized...this next year we'll see better 3rd party products which will obsolete Kindle and Noook. The value is in the application which gives access to the in-store products. So spin-off makes sense.

• Report this Comment On January 18, 2012, at 12:25 PM, TMFBane wrote:

  Thanks for all of your comments, everyone. This is a fascinating question to me.

  I'm a huge fan of both Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. Sadly, our local Barnes and Noble (in Georgetown, DC) is closing -- I will be very sorry to see it go.

  I wouldn't read too much into that particular store, but it does raise the question we were wondering about: can the brick and mortar side of the business survive in the current environment? I know lots of people who browse at the retail stores, and then go home and order the books they looked at on Amazon.com.

  And what happens to the Nook if the physical stores decline in number or eventually go away entirely?

  Anyway, I think it's a worthwhile debate to have, even if you disagree with our thinking. For the record, both Dave and I are over 40. We can only wish we were teenage analysts!

• Report this Comment On January 18, 2012, at 1:33 PM, sepaton wrote:

  Amazon will be bankrupt within 4-years following the loss of their sales tax advantage.

• Report this Comment On January 18, 2012, at 1:44 PM, DJDynamicNC wrote:

  There is a sentimental attachment to physical book stores that many readers (myself included) can't help but feel.

  I love Amazon for a lot of reasons, I love my Kindle, but I will miss a genuine book store to go to for browsing. I've found some real gems by picking up a book at random, pulling up a bench, and giving the newfound treasure a skim before adding it to the bag. I've also dodged some terrible books the same way, which is at least as valuable a service!

  I think local bookstores will find ways to capitalize on that sense and stay in business and even thrive, but I don't know that B&N will pull it off. I suspect it's headed outward (which will only aid those local bookstores).

• Report this Comment On January 18, 2012, at 1:47 PM, DJDynamicNC wrote:

  The question, I guess, is whether or not that nostalgic joy is as valuable to me as speed and convenience. Since I spent hundreds of dollars on Amazon last year and about 40 at Barnes and Noble, it would seem not to be the case. I am just too busy to indulge that pleasure with any frequency - and it seems the same is true of the populace at large.

  I'd be sad to see the end of Barnes and Noble, but it hasn't been enough to drive me to their stores. To be fair, they tend to locate in the suburbs and I avoid suburban life like the plague; a downtown B&N would likely be a frequent hot spot for me (and maybe that's the route they need to consider, like Wal-Mart keeps trying to do).

• Report this Comment On January 18, 2012, at 2:02 PM, TMFBane wrote:

  Yes, I also really like physical books. Sometimes I buy the book; other times I buy a digital version for my kindle. Both ways are good, I think.

  But regardless of what I think, it seems that the economics of physical bookstores no longer seem to work anymore. It feels like it's inevitable that they will continue to decline.

  I think independent bookstores with strong roots in the community may be able to thrive, however. In my area, we have Politics and Prose, which seems to do really, really well. And one of my favorite bookstores in the world is City Lights Booksellers in San Francisco - -that one seems to do well also. I bought quite a few books there over Christmas, in fact, as a way of 'supporting' them!

• Report this Comment On January 18, 2012, at 2:27 PM, PhulishMortal wrote:

  "I think independent bookstores with strong roots in the community may be able to thrive, however."

  You could be right, and that would be a happy irony of the upheaval in the bookselling trade, since it was the rise of the large chain bookstores that put all of the local booksellers in my town out of business.

  I enjoy going to B&N, but I, like DJDynamicNC, spend more money at Amazon.

• Report this Comment On January 18, 2012, at 2:59 PM, leonhart03 wrote:

  I think its funny how many foolish people abuse brick and mortar stores like this. All they do is go in therel pick out what they want, then buy it at home, or using that shameful amazon app. When will people realize that if they continue to misuse these CONVENIENT shopping centers, THEY WILL CEASE TO EXIST! Where will you go to casually browse then? Shopping online will NEVER be the same experience. Its a shame how many people are rooting for brick and mortar stores like this to shut down.

• Report this Comment On January 18, 2012, at 4:49 PM, Millsteen wrote:

  They're selling a lot of nooks and ebooks but it's going to be hard to turn that into a profitable business with the amount of advertising and subsidizing against Amazon competition. They have too many under performing stores bleeding cash. They will have to close a lot of the bad stores. Bottom line to foolish investors: if you're thinking about speculating on this stock: proceed with caution. There are so many other companies to buy without all this baggage. Remember how Borders investors got clobbered.

• Report this Comment On February 07, 2012, at 2:39 AM, Stoplying wrote:

  "John Reeves and David Meier both hold positions in Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and Amazon.com. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Apple, Netflix, and Amazon.com, as well as creating a bull call spread position in Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

  "

  Amazon is a major competitor so of course this jack ass would say b and n is doing poorly.

• Report this Comment On February 07, 2012, at 2:40 AM, Stoplying wrote:

  I love john reeves face when he knows hes doing something bad. its the same face he would make if he ever got caught molesting children.

• Report this Comment On February 07, 2012, at 2:41 AM, Stoplying wrote:

  "i know its bad but I just cant help myself" ewwwwgh

• Report this Comment On February 07, 2012, at 2:42 AM, Stoplying wrote:

  im sorry I meant dave meyers face. look at it ewwwgh

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