Barnes & Noble Stores Won't Get Nook As Early As Planned

Although Barnes & Noble plans to begin shipping its new $259 wireless Nook ebook reader today as planned, the demand for the product has been so strong that the company won't have any models available in-store for purchase or demonstration purposes until December 7. Originally, the nation's largest bookstore retailer said it would have the Nook in specific high-volume stores on Monday.

Mary Ellen Keating, a spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble, explained: "due to high demand, we are prioritizing pre-orders so that those people who ordered before Nov. 20 will receive them for Christmas." Right now, Barnes & Noble is planning on a week delay in shipping the Nook to stores.



On October 20th, Barnes & Noble unveiled its Nook ebook reader as a way to directly compete with Amazon's Kindle and a few other popular ebook readers from manufacturers such as Sony. Although the company hasn't revealed how many Nooks have been sold or how many would be available during the holiday shopping season, the Nook appears to be popular. An announcement from Barnes & Noble on November 20 informed consumers the Nook was out of stock for the holidays, proving that the demand for the Nook may be greater than the supply. According to the company, anyone who ordered a Nook after November 20 should not expect to receive the device until the week of January 4.

On Sunday, Keating said, "We're starting to ship this week and are committed to doing everything we can to ensure everyone who ordered the Nook before Nov. 20 will receive it for the holidays."