Price and Distribution

Barnes and Nobles Online has very little control over its pricing. Ultimately, the must charge the price that the publisher wishes them to. If they are unwilling to charge this price the publisher can simply refuse to sell the book to Barnes and Nobles. However, Barnes and Nobles has acquired a large market share in the bookselling industry and it is predicted that it will ultimately become the largest seller of books in the near future.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/CompanyFocus/WillBarnesAndNobleWinTheBookWars.aspx
This will allow them to have more power over the publishers. If they sell more books than anyone else, the publishers will be more willing to negotiate to ensure that their books are sold through Barnes and Nobles Online.
In order to distribute the massive number of books Barnes and Nobles Online sells every day they maintain a distribution center in Jamesburg, NJ. From this warehouse many books are kept in stock. However, not all of the books offered on the website are kept in stock at all times. Books that are sold less frequently are only purchased from the publisher when an order is placed for it. This method works well for the company. It prevents them from having overstock which they will never sell and allows them to offer thousands of titles beyond what they have the capability to store. Also, Barnes and Nobles has established a good relationship with many publishers which allows them to obtain books quickly and ship the quickly to their customers.
http://www.captaris.com/news_and_events/case_studies/Barnes_Noble.html