They have been doing that with music for a while. I bought a cd from Amazon long time ago and last year got an email from them telling me it was available to download for free.
Kindle MatchBook
151–160 of 189 posts
Re: Kindle MatchBook
#152Earlier 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…
In Australia they don't have Amazon. I guess there are other places like this too. So its not a world monopoly. I miss Amazon :)
we have amazon but its shipped from america which adds a lot to the price.
Book Depository is good, but i believe that Amazon bought them out?
Re: Kindle MatchBook
#153Earlier 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…
>I've never bought a Kindle because paying almost the same price for the Kindle version of a book vs. the paperback cost is ridiculous. You don't understand the economics of publishing. The paperback, and the hardcover for that matter cost almost nothing to produce. You are paying for the information. Perhaps the ebook should be a dollar cheaper.
For anyone interested in the average profit margins of books publishers and some what the percentage of the paper, print, and binding for a book is of the total cost, the Art & Science of Book Publishing by Herbert S. Jr Bailey (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0821409700/ref=wms_ohs_prod...) is a good book. Print on Demand and ebooks have changed some aspects, but it is still largely true that, for most books, marketing, overhead, sales, etc. are a lot of the cost of producing a book. Even with ebooks, this is still the case. Illuminating stuff.
Re: Kindle MatchBook
#154Earlier 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…
>I've never bought a Kindle because paying almost the same price for the Kindle version of a book vs. the paperback cost is ridiculous. You don't understand the economics of publishing. The paperback, and the hardcover for that matter cost almost nothing to produce. You are paying for the information. Perhaps the ebook should be a dollar cheaper.
[deleted]
Re: Kindle MatchBook
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
You... don't have to hold an eReader up? One of the worst things about reading ebooks on my iPad 2 is the weight.
Well the iPad weighs 1.3 lbs, and the Kindle weighs less than half a pound. Only the smallest paperback books are lighter than a small ereader.
Like those old serials, The Executioner and The Destroyer. Gotta love those old, < 100 page bubble gum books.
Re: Kindle MatchBook
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I'm struggling to think of the person who needs both a printed copy of a book and an ebook version. Technically, nobody NEEDS a printed or digital book to begin with. Maybe you're just over-thinking this? I like print books but also have an iPad. For many obvious reasons it would be nice to have all of my books on my iPad (which is almost always with me).
You can't grep dead trees.
Unless you break the DRM you can't grep Kindle books either (and Amazon's search is a poor substitute).
Re: Kindle MatchBook
#157Barnes and Noble should have gotten here first. Think of the difference "Would you like the ebook with that?" at checkout could have made (in terms of building Nook, incremental store memberships and so on). Instead, they bet on the agency model and focused on the wrong things.
Re: Kindle MatchBook
#158This 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…
It's a good start, but something is bothering me about having to pay on top of a physical book to get the ebook. While making the ebook is not free, I'd argue it's pretty cheap to make since you need a digital version of your book anyway before making a physical product out of it, and technically speaking buying a book means buying a license to read it - so why would you have to pay twice to access the very same content ? From a license viewpoint this should be free or close to free.
Or am I missing something?
Re: Kindle MatchBook
#159Earlier 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…
Not really. Print books don't get the author hardly anything at all. My wife is an author, exclusive on Amazon so she makes ~70% on ebook sales. The profit from a print book is next to nothing. Of course, this can vary a lot on the type and price of the book.
Re: Kindle MatchBook
#160Earlier 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…
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.
Amazon has a program called KDP. If an author puts their book into the KDP program they receive 70% royalties, but they have to be exclusive on Amazon. If they don't want to be on KDP, they only receive 35% royalties, but they can sell anywhere. That's how Amazon is making itself into a monopoly.
edit: I mean KDP Select, not KDP.