Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Kindle MatchBook

amazon.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 189 posts

Re: Kindle MatchBook

#101

Post by WalterBright »

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #25
gdilla wrote: post #11

This is awesome for the consumer, absolutely. And it's only made possible by the recent DOJ trial that effectively allowed Amazon to set prices of ebooks (wholesale vs agency model). Recall that agency model, the publisher sets the price (the same as apps on the app store). But now that Amazon can set any price they want for ebooks (and take a loss on them if they want to, which they have done before), Amazon can do…

I think Charles Stross writings on ebooks is interesting and insightful. He should know: he's a tech-savvy best-selling author. (He hangs around here too: [1]) He wrote a couple of posts a year and a half ago, they still apply. In them, he explains how Amazon is making itself a monopoly, and that isn't good for anyone but them. What's been most informative to me is how tiny publishers actually are, and how little mon…

Since it's trivial for an author to sell his works on his own website (and I've bought ebooks from such author sites), it's hard to see how Amazon could make itself a monopoly.

Also, selling an ebook via Amazon does not preclude you from selling it yourself or through other venues.

Re: Kindle MatchBook

#102

Post by WalterBright »

res0nat0r wrote: post #26
AceJohnny2 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Charles Stross writings on ebooks is interesting and insightful. He should know: he's a tech-savvy best-selling author. (He hangs around here too: [1]) He wrote a couple of posts a year and a half ago, they still apply. In them, he explains how Amazon is making itself a monopoly, and that isn't good for anyone but them. What's been most informative to me is how tiny publishers actually are, and how little mon…

> It's also why I buy my books hardcover now: more cash for the author. Isn't this true, Amazon or not? Hardcovers cost the customer more than paperbacks or ebooks, so the author should be getting hopefully a larger cut of the sale. I think this program (if it has enough titles that I've bought in the past) is going to be awesome. I've never bought a Kindle because paying almost the same price for the Kindle version…

From my reading of the deal, it applies to new books only.

Re: Kindle MatchBook

#103

Post by dankoss »

doublerebel wrote: post #47

Free or discounted ebooks to replace past paper purchases -- with the name Matchbook it rings a bit too Fahrenheit 451. Was there not a less creepy name available?

Matchbook = matching your physical book purchases with e-books.

Re: Kindle MatchBook

#104

Post by pflats »

WalterBright wrote: post #102
res0nat0r wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's also why I buy my books hardcover now: more cash for the author. Isn't this true, Amazon or not? Hardcovers cost the customer more than paperbacks or ebooks, so the author should be getting hopefully a larger cut of the sale. I think this program (if it has enough titles that I've bought in the past) is going to be awesome. I've never bought a Kindle because paying almost the same price for the Kindle version…

From my reading of the deal, it applies to new books only.

What? It says directly that all purchases will count.

"Available for thousands of great print books purchased new from Amazon, going all the way back to 1995 when Amazon first opened its online bookstore."

Re: Kindle MatchBook

#105

Post by WalterBright »

ctdonath wrote: post #89
lukev wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The value proposition of an ebook is that (on average) it's a better reading experience. More portable, more comfortable, instantly accessible. The value proposition of a physical book is that is a physical artifact with concrete ownership; you can sell it, lend it, put it on a shelf for guests to see, forget it and rediscover it a decade later, or have your grandchildren find it in your attic in 80 years. These two…

The value proposition of a physical book is that is a physical artifact with concrete ownership; you can sell it, lend it, put it on a shelf for guests to see, forget it and rediscover it a decade later, or have your grandchildren find it in your attic in 80 years. This. I have a bookcase filled with "me". Those books constitute what molded me, and (if unread) what I hoped would. My longevity being in some doubt, my…

My father lost a great deal of his physical books in a flood. If they were bits, he wouldn't have.

Re: Kindle MatchBook

#106

Post by abecedarius »

lukev wrote: post #66
ScottWhigham wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's an interesting move, but not a "phenomenally important move". If I like print books but not ebooks, how does this affect me? It doesn't - not in the least. If I like both, I'm sort of happy - "Uh, I guess that's cool." I'm struggling to think of the person who needs both a printed copy of a book and an ebook version. The only person I can think of is someone with a textbook/learning book - you read the p…

The value proposition of an ebook is that (on average) it's a better reading experience. More portable, more comfortable, instantly accessible. The value proposition of a physical book is that is a physical artifact with concrete ownership; you can sell it, lend it, put it on a shelf for guests to see, forget it and rediscover it a decade later, or have your grandchildren find it in your attic in 80 years. These two…

To me, the publishers have destroyed most of that value by producing such cheaply-made physical books. If you open a hardback from several decades ago, it feels different, like a real book. Most hardbacks now look fine if you don't try to hold them open and read them. I only buy them reluctantly, and less often. If DRM weren't so common I'd hardly buy them at all.

-- From the things-were-all-right-when-I-was-a-kid file

Re: Kindle MatchBook

#107

Post by tnorthcutt »

pflats wrote: post #104
WalterBright wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From my reading of the deal, it applies to new books only.

What? It says directly that all purchases will count. "Available for thousands of great print books purchased new from Amazon, going all the way back to 1995 when Amazon first opened its online bookstore."

WalterBright is talking about purchases of new books (vs. used/resold), not new purchases.

Re: Kindle MatchBook

#108

Post by alohahacker »

As an affiliate marketer, am I the only one that thought OP should of posted a amazon affiliate link and then did a case study on conversions/efficiency of having a link on the front page of HN? lol

Re: Kindle MatchBook

#109

Post by dragonwriter »

WalterBright wrote: post #105
ctdonath wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The value proposition of a physical book is that is a physical artifact with concrete ownership; you can sell it, lend it, put it on a shelf for guests to see, forget it and rediscover it a decade later, or have your grandchildren find it in your attic in 80 years. This. I have a bookcase filled with "me". Those books constitute what molded me, and (if unread) what I hoped would. My longevity being in some doubt, my…

My father lost a great deal of his physical books in a flood. If they were bits, he wouldn't have.

Unless they were DRMed and the provider had gone out of business, or cut off his access for other reasons, or...

Re: Kindle MatchBook

#110

Post by IanCal »

ctdonath wrote: post #89
lukev wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The value proposition of an ebook is that (on average) it's a better reading experience. More portable, more comfortable, instantly accessible. The value proposition of a physical book is that is a physical artifact with concrete ownership; you can sell it, lend it, put it on a shelf for guests to see, forget it and rediscover it a decade later, or have your grandchildren find it in your attic in 80 years. These two…

The value proposition of a physical book is that is a physical artifact with concrete ownership; you can sell it, lend it, put it on a shelf for guests to see, forget it and rediscover it a decade later, or have your grandchildren find it in your attic in 80 years. This. I have a bookcase filled with "me". Those books constitute what molded me, and (if unread) what I hoped would. My longevity being in some doubt, my…

Having said that, I can't back-up my bookshelf. Some fire or water damage, and they're gone.
Post reply on HN