Barnes & Noble: $25 Off the Nook Color if You Leave Our Stock Price Alone!

The looming November launch of Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet means bad tidings for Barnes & Noble this holiday season. That seems to be the market’s sentiment, anyway.

Fearing competitive pressure on Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color tablet, investors brutalized the bookseller’s shares in midafternoon trading. BKS tumbled more than 8 percent to $11.45 before recovering slightly. As I write this, it’s trading at $12.30, down more than 6 percent.

And Barnes & Noble is clearly feeling the fear. Almost immediately following Amazon’s announcement, the company broadcast an e-mail promotion to its customers offering $25 off the Nook Color along with free shipping.