# E-readers and Borders



## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

For DTBs, Borders is my store.  Love my local Borders.  (Forget nearby B&N.)  This weekend they have a special display of four e-readers -- Kobo, Sony, Cruz, and Aluratek.  I stopped there yesterday.  Could tell the store employee at the display was nervous and really not very knowledgeable about them.  I thought there would be a "crowd" at the display.  No.  

At one time Borders and Amazon had a partnership.  Then they split and Borders put up their own web site.  I wonder what happened between the two entities.  I think Borders dedicated to selling Kindles would have been a good way to go.


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## kindlegrl81 (Jan 19, 2010)

Borders use to be where I would buy my DTBs as well, that is until they decided to move their store into the mall.  I hate going to our mall and avoid it if at all possible, so the only time I step into borders anymore is if I have been dragged to mall by someone else.

Fortunately, since buying my kindle I have only had to buy one DTB and i was able to pick it up at costco while I was there for something else.

Personally I think these stores (Borders, Best Buy, Target, etc) need to train at least one employee on how these devices work.  Most people I have met who have been reluctant to try an e-reader have changed their minds once I have shown them how easy and convenient my kindle is.  Nervous sales people who don't know the product are not going to be changing people's minds anytime soon.


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## Joe Flood (Sep 26, 2010)

I love Borders but they seemed to have missed the e-reader boat. Their attempts to sell Sonys and Kobos seem half-hearted. About a year ago in the local Borders, they had a woman walking around with a Sony demonstrating it to people - that seemed like a good idea. She was knowledgeable and a good salesperson.  After that, however, they just had one or two lonely Sony e-readers on a stand for people to check out on their own. 

Now, they seem to be selling multiple kinds of e-readers but, ironically, not the one brand everyone knows - the Kindle. 

This is a Borders in downtown Washington, DC. Lots of disposable income and plenty of book-lovers. If they had marketed something like Apple does, they would've done very well.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

It's kind of the opposite for me.  Local Borders is in a "convenience center" (along with a Container Store and Office Max) across the street from a big shopping center.  B&N is in the shopping center.  Borders is so easy to get to . . . except when current road construction is going on.  Grrrrrrrrrr.  Ugh!  And this Borders is the biggest, or one of the biggest, in the U.S.  I love it!


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## stormhawk (Apr 29, 2009)

A friend of mine is a Borders store manager. She was given a Kobo so she could learn to sell it. I got to play with it and was not impressed.  

Borders seems more focused on DTBs and corporate seems to be regarding ereaders as an interesting fad. They are the last major chain onto the format, and I think will suffer for that. They've actually carried the Sony readers for quite a few years, but hadn't promoted them heavily.


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## CoffeeCat (Sep 13, 2010)

joeflood said:


> I love Borders but they seemed to have missed the e-reader boat. About a year ago in the local Borders, they had a woman walking around with a Sony demonstrating it to people - that seemed like a good idea. She was knowledgeable and a good salesperson. After that, however, they just had one or two lonely Sony e-readers on a stand for people to check out on their own.


ITA about having the associate able to demonstrate the device (and having knowledgeable sales people in general). I like my Boarders, but I've never been impressed by their ereader display.


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## Tripp (May 28, 2009)

I tried several times to see the Kobo at Borders because i was interested in being able to get library books.  Unfortunately, they didn't have it out.  When I asked the sales person if I could see one, he called someone in the store and found out while they had one in store, they were not allowed to show it to customers.  What??  This was when it was first released so I can understand that they maybe didn't have much on hand.  The sales associate told me I could order it, though.  How did they expect to sell it if they didn't have one to show interested buyers?

I was truly disappointed since Borders was my go to DTB store before I got my K2.  So sad.


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## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

I was in Borders today looking at ereaders. I liked the store and the display. All of the ereaders (listed above) worked and were available to play with. A sales associate asked if I needed help; I didn't test her knowledge by playing stupid. 

Of the four ereaders, the Kobo held its own IMO. The Aluratek's display was very uncontrasty and dark, and the design was gimmicky. Stylistically, it reminded me of a Pontiac Aztek, voted in one poll as the #1 ugliest car ever made. The Cruz's screen was smeared with fingerprints, and it's more competition for the iPad than for an e-ink, dedicated reader. There were the Sonys. But the Kobo's clean facade really stood out.

I like Borders, but I wouldn't buy their stock. They're really late to the ebook game and they're behind the curve. I wish them well, but I'm not optimistic.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I too wandered into Borders last week to check out the devices.  I thought the Kobo was value for money. . .no, not all the features of my Kindle, but definitely value for the money and a good solution for someone, especially, who was interested in library access as well as purchasing books.

The aluratec was. . . .interestingly designed.  Took me a few seconds to figure out how to turn the page. . .did not find the over all controls as intuitive as on the Kobo.  Nor was the device as responsive.  Screen contrast did not seem quite as good as Kobo.

The other device was backlit and took too long to turn on. . . . .by the time it had, I'd decided it didn't work for some reason and moved on to something else. . .then glanced back and realized it had gone on. . . . .didn't really play with it, 'cause I'd lost interest by then.

I also popped into Best Buy where they had an 'ereader' display featuring nook, Sony, and Kindle, with covers, power cords, etc.  They did not seem to have any Kindles in stock -- though I noticed the sale flyer in the Sunday paper featured them.  I was in on the Friday before.  Didn't see any iPads obviously displayed either; they were also featured in the Sunday flyer.  Yes, I looked through the computer section, but might not have gotten far enough in. . . . .


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