On FutureBook, Steve Emecz wonders why Barnes & Noble still hasn’t made the Nook devices, Nook Reader apps, or Nook e-books available outside the US and Canada. Amazon and Kobo, he points out, have readers and software available in the UK. Why not B&N?

An excited author of mine downloaded the Nook PC app and bought a copy of his e-enhanced book this weekend and was hugely impressed (The London of Sherlock Holmes hyperlinking to Google Maps). I tried to do the same, and indeed also tried to download the exciting new Nook iPad app too so I could see how the new book works on the iPad. Apparently the world according to B&N doesn’t stretch too far.

Barnes & Noble’s North America-centrism has also caused problems for self-publishing authors who live outside the US. Diane Duane would have published some works through B&N except that “I can’t publish directly into the Nook store because I don’t have a US bank account, so the heck with you until you sort yourself out, B&N.”

One would think that, as much as bookstores have been financially struggling lately (including B&N itself, which tried putting itself up for sale but couldn’t find a buyer), Barnes & Noble would be trying to expand into international markets before its competitors could completely own them. But I suppose the company must know its own business best.

11 COMMENTS

  1. It should be noted that the Nook is NOT for sale in Canada — it is 100% US-bound.

    B&N has its own financial challenges running 1300+ bricks and mortar locations (about half dedicated college stores); its Chief Financial Officer resigned suddenly last week half way through his current contract. B&N probably quite rightly should stay focussed on US sales and marketing to ensure it is a strong second to Amazon in that territory.

  2. Kobo is a Canadian company. Canadian publishers do not seem to enforce geo-restrictions as strict as US publishers. That is the reason Kobo can sell so many of its ebooks internationally. Now Kobo is expanding so rapidly internationally I wonder how long this situation can last.

    The only US ebookstore that has a deal with the publishers that allows them to sell ebooks outside the US is Amazon (they got this deal at a time when ebooks were not popular). No other US ebookstore is allowed to sell ebooks outside the US. If the UK writer of the article would have tried another US ebookstore, for example Booksonboard, he would also not have been able to buy the book.

    Just as with DRM, geo-restrictions are only a problem for those people who are not computer savvy. People who are computer savvy, like me, can buy their ebooks anywhere in the word. I live in the Netherlands but own a Nook Touch and Nook Color, and buy most of my books at B&N.

    Geo-restrictions are one of the major obstacles that prevent ebooks from becoming popular outside the US and UK. Most people I know want to be able to read ebooks in their own language (those are all in ePub Adobe DRM format), and English language ebooks. The only way to legally buy English language books is the Kindle, but than you cannot read ePub books in you own language.
    If B&N would be allowed to sell their ebooks outside the US, the Nook Touch and Nook Color would be perfect for the non-US, non-UK market. You would have access to a large English language bookstore, and you would also be able to read Epub Adobe DRM books in your own language.

  3. Geert: any bookseller is allowed to negotiate deals with any publisher, anywhere in the world. It has nothing to do with some vendors not “enforcing geo-restrictions”. Amazon has aggressively pursued US and non-US rights; so, as you point out, has Kobo (which has on-the-ground staff not just in Canada and the US but in Europe as well — specifically to pursue content and retail opportunities).

    It’s a bit hyperbolic (as well as wrong) to state “the only way to legally buy English language books is the Kindle”. Kobo’s platform is ePub-based which well suits the current climate for both English and non-English books. With its focus on not just e-readers, but tablets, phones and other devices using apps, your Kobo library (in any language) is available and legal for you to enjoy.

  4. “It’s a bit hyperbolic (as well as wrong) to state “the only way to legally buy English language books is the Kindle”. Kobo’s platform is ePub-based which well suits the current climate for both English and non-English books.”.
    I was talking about ereader devices. The Kobo ereaders are not available in the Netherlands (yet).

    “any bookseller is allowed to negotiate deals with any publisher, anywhere in the world. It has nothing to do with some vendors not “enforcing geo-restrictions”. “.
    Well, tell that to the 6 agency publishers.
    Quote from the Diesel ebookstore blog:
    “Territory Rights: Without exception, all A5 publishers now offer their eBook titles in the US only. Needless to say, our foreign customers are very upset. We, here at Diesel, have been very vocal with our A5 publishing partners about this issue. Matter of fact, we had a long conversation recently with one of the A5s’ international rights team. It seems that, with eBooks becoming such a sexy topic, their foreign partners and/or offices want to hold on to all the eBooks rights.”.
    http://blog.diesel-ebooks.com/?p=704
    The same happened in the UK. When some publishers switched to the agency model both Waterstones and WH Smith stopped shipping outside the UK.
    There is no agency model in Canada (Kobo) yet.

  5. I’m a NOOK-owner and a B&N supporter. I should be a B&N apologist, but it’s darned hard to pretend the elephant isn’t there. B&N’s online arm, BN.com, can’t keep their US site running reasonably, so there’s no way they could deal with multiple sites for different countries.

    BN.com started selling books-on-the-Net a year or two after Amazon. Now they also sell NOOKs and e-books. But to this day, BN.com has *never* turned a profit. Over the past few years B&N has reported BN.com EBITDA numbers separately, and BN.com has had increasing EBITDA losses almost every quarter. The more they sell, the more money they lose.

    There’s no way that BN.com can expand into other countries. B&N couldn’t afford the additional losses.

  6. B&N make it extremely difficult for authors living outside the US to deal with them The last time I checked they were requiring a US credit card for charge backs. Amazon have the bulk of the market, so it is just not worth the hassle trying to deal with B&N for e-books, and don’t even get me started on paperbacks!

  7. Kobo is a Canadian company. Canadian publishers do not seem to enforce geo-restrictions as strict as US publishers. That is the reason Kobo can sell so many of its ebooks internationally.

    While there are a few eBooks I can purchase from Kobo, many have geographical restrictions and I can’t purchase them from New Zealand. As a result there are at least 20 authors that I no longer buy or read. Those eBooks that are available for me to purchase are generally from either UK or US publishers, with the UK eBooks usually double the price of US eBooks.

    The only US ebookstore that has a deal with the publishers that allows them to sell ebooks outside the US is Amazon

    Even Amazon has geographical restrictions on their eBooks. Even if they didn’t I still wouldn’t buy from them.

The TeleRead community values your civil and thoughtful comments. We use a cache, so expect a delay. Problems? E-mail newteleread@gmail.com.