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Nook Glowlight Plus Quietly Went Out of Stock on B&N’s Website

When I wrote last month that B&N was throwing in the towel on the Nook, a lot of people read it less as the speculation I thought I was writing and more as a declaration of fact (I don’t know how I messed that one up, but it’s on me).

That was a goof on my part, but after hearing the latest news on the Nook, I am suddenly fine with the miscommunication.

Barnes & Noble is no longer selling new Nook Glowlight Plus ereaders on their website. They’ve run out, and are now only selling refurbished units.

B&N is of course selling that malware-infested budget Android tablet and Samsung tablets under the Nook brand,  but if you click on the link for the Nook Glowlight Plus you will be sent to a page for refurbished Nooks instead of new ones.

Something’s up, but it is hard to say exactly what.

The Nook Glowlight Plus is two years old, so you would think it is due for an update, but there is no new hardware in the pipeline that we know of. The NGP was developed by Taiwan-based Netronix, and that company has not filed FCC paperwork for a new Nook.

Edit: B&N’s new hardware is now listed on the FCC website. (It wasn’t there when I checked before.)

Sure, B&N could have licensed a design from another company. For example,  Boeye and Onyx make good ereaders. However, neither company has filed the FCC paperwork for a new Nook (Onyx has filed FCC paperwork for 3 ereaders, but under its Boox brand).

No one really knows what B&N is doing, and that includes B&N.

But judging by B&N’s inaction over the past several years, their plan is to do nothing as the Nook platform dies bit by bit.

So yes, I stand by my statement last month: B&N has thrown in the towel on the Nook.

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Comments


Richard Adin October 30, 2017 um 2:51 am

B&N is doing a lot of odd things lately. I preorder a lot of books from B&N. For the first time, I received a cancellation of a preorder. The reason given was "Your order contained an item that is no longer scheduled for release. This may be because the item was discontinued or replaced by a newer version." OK, that happens. But if you go to B&N’s website, the book is available for instant purchase — just at a higher price than the preorder price.

I wrote Customer Service, asking that my order be fulfilled at the preorder price, and the response was as follows: "However, please be reminded that product availability is based on inventory that can change at any time, based on demand for the product. When an order is submitted, we perform another search of our inventory, and communicate the most current availability to you via email. Most often, the availability is the same as when you ordered the item. We regret that this was not the case for your order. If you would like to order the correct item, you can place a new order at www.bn.com." The only difference between the items is the price — all else is the same.

B&N did give me a 20% discount coupon (on a single item, not on an entire order) as compensation for my trouble, but that wasn’t what I wanted or asked for. B&N never has offered, unlike Amazon, to give you the lowest price if you preorder. Instead, you have to monitor pricing and cancel and re-preorder as pricing changes. But B&N must truly be in desperate straits when it needs to start canceling preorders because of giving too low a price.


DaveMich October 30, 2017 um 10:38 am

Very strange things. Consider this article…

http://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2017/10/barnes-noble-to-stay-for-now/

One one hand:

"The management company for the center claimed it was Barnes & Noble that chose not to stay. Sandra Brown of The Festival Cos., property manager for the center, said that Barnes & Noble chose not to renew its lease, to negotiate or to pursue a long-term lease."

On the other hand:

"“We had no intention of leaving the Lahaina Gateway Center. That decision rests solely with the landlord,” said Jim Lampassi, vice president of real estate development for Barnes & Noble, on Monday."

Who to believe? In any case, apparently the new lease is not long term. B&N is "exploring other options."


Nook Glowlight Plus Quietly Went Out of Stock on B&N’s Website | The Passive Voice | A Lawyer's Thoughts on Authors, Self-Publishing and Traditional Publishing October 30, 2017 um 11:27 am

[…] Link to the rest at The Digital Reader […]


tired October 31, 2017 um 8:10 am

"people read it less as the speculation I thought I was writing and more as a declaration of fact"

Well that’s because you said "it’s official" in your title. Words have meaning.


tired October 31, 2017 um 8:13 am

I would hope that they would do what Sony did and partner with Kobo, Google or Apple for their users to be able to transfer their libraries over well before they pull the plug. I have a feeling that they won’t because (a) they never care about their customers, and (b) they think that a mobile app should be sufficient for Nook (they are wrong).


New Nook Clears the FCC | The Digital Reader October 31, 2017 um 9:25 pm

[…] I goofed when I reported yesterday that B&N hadn't filed FCC paperwork for a new Nook model,  because they actually submitted it […]


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