Pity the underdog e-reader—you know you’re in trouble when you have to give your goods away.

On Friday, Barnes & Noble announced it would be giving away a Nook Simple Touch (which normally retails for $79) with the purchase of a Nook HD+ tablet ($269). The reality is, B&N just can't sell enough of the e-readers: in its most recent quarter, the company sustained a net loss of over $6 million.

The book retailer heavyweight has had so much trouble selling the Simple Touch, it’s trying to give it away as part of a limited promotion going on from March 24 until March 30, 2013. B&N may have had a rough time selling the lower-end model as consumers seem to be more in favor of more general-purpose tablets, like the iPad or the Kindle.

Barnes & Noble stock lost slightly on the day, closing Friday at $16.60 per share.

Maybe the majority shareholder's recent offer to buy all of Barnes & Noble—minus the Nook unit—wasn’t such a crazy idea after all?