Oyster is launching an e-book store • Hacker News Board

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#31

Post by cwyers » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 2:46 PM UTC

ghaff wrote: post #27

tomjen3 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That seems to me to ruin any point of Oyster. 10 usd/month is already redicously expensive given that most books are less than that as a kindle book and that most readers doesn't read a book a month (most people don't read a book at all after HS, but they aren't the target market). To then charge full retail price on top of that for books one would actually want. What are they thinking?

I can't find the reference, but a few years ago, I remember Tim O'Reilly making some point around book pricing to the effect that time was ultimately the limiting factor for book consumption. In other words, you can drop the price to zero and most people will still consume a relatively limited number of books. (Of course, O'Reilly has a subscription service themselves but that's arguably a bit different because most…

> (Of course, O'Reilly has a subscription service themselves but that's arguably a bit different because most of the books in Safari are the sort of things that many people will dip into rather than read cover-to-cover.)

And you can talk employers into buying a site license for Safari, rather than having to get all your business directly from consumers.

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#32

Post by mark_l_watson » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 2:49 PM UTC

alberth wrote: post #30

Why not the Public Library? My parents are in their late 70s, they both use a Kindle Paperwhite, and they figured out on their own that US Public Libraries allow you to digitally check out books to your Kindle for FREE. I had no idea of this, yet my 70+ year old parent figured it out ... and you don't even need to go into the physical library, it's all down over the web or via an app. Which is why I suspect most comp…

I tried my local library for eBooks, but it was enough of a hassle that I went back to buying Kindle books.

My wife uses the library for audio books on CDs, consuming several a month. I spend a little money at Audible and have a more convenient experience.

That said, I really like my local library not only as a source of physical books, but also because of talks and other events.

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#33

Post by drzaiusapelord » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 2:54 PM UTC

alberth wrote: post #30

Why not the Public Library? My parents are in their late 70s, they both use a Kindle Paperwhite, and they figured out on their own that US Public Libraries allow you to digitally check out books to your Kindle for FREE. I had no idea of this, yet my 70+ year old parent figured it out ... and you don't even need to go into the physical library, it's all down over the web or via an app. Which is why I suspect most comp…

These systems are a pain to use sometimes (everyone seems to be using the same software monopoly) and there are limited copies available at one time due to licensing.

Personally, I can afford these things, so I feel bad taking resources from those who can't. I font mind paying for this kind of service and leaving the library to those who can't, the same way I don't go to the library to use the internet. I have a 50mbps connection at home.

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#34

Post by tw04 » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 3:10 PM UTC

"The Netflix for books" - you mean the public library? I'm astounded how few young people seem to have any clue what their libraries offer.

FFS, our local library lets you "borrow" e-books and audiobooks online, you never have to set foot in the building.

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#35

Post by HaloZero » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 3:15 PM UTC

tw04 wrote: post #34

"The Netflix for books" - you mean the public library? I'm astounded how few young people seem to have any clue what their libraries offer. FFS, our local library lets you "borrow" e-books and audiobooks online, you never have to set foot in the building.

Libraries (at least in the US) have an artificial cap on the # of books they have. Which means it doesn't satisfy that "I want to read this now" craving that Netflix has. A popular book can have a multi-week wait in the SF public library.

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#36

Post by joshuapants » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 3:17 PM UTC

tw04 wrote: post #34

"The Netflix for books" - you mean the public library? I'm astounded how few young people seem to have any clue what their libraries offer. FFS, our local library lets you "borrow" e-books and audiobooks online, you never have to set foot in the building.

I'm a big fan of my local library, unfortunately their ebook system is very annoying. They've partnered with some service that only allows you to access books through an iOS app (so I can't read on e-ink) and it seems that each book is just a pdf delivered to the app, so you can't change font size or the way the words flow. On top of that, if they even have the book you want you often have to wait several weeks before it's available for you to actually download.

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#37

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 3:18 PM UTC

smackfu wrote: post #20

mklim wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adding to this, from going through their website, it's not as simple as "old" books are free and "new" books are a premium. I did a cursory look through their catalog and it looks like any book that is still selling well and under copyright has a price on top of the subscription fee. The DaVinci Code came out 12 years ago and is still $10 on top of a subscription, Storm Front (15 years old) is still $10 as well, A Ga…

That's bizarre, since those prices are basically the same as buying them retail.

[deleted]

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#38

Post by stinkytaco » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 3:24 PM UTC

kenbellows wrote: post #5

normloman wrote: post #3

"Netflix for Books" sounds like the perfect description of a library.

Except for the digital part. Though actually I've heard rumors of ebook sharing/trading sites similar to a digital library, though I'm unsure exactly how that would work; heavily DRM-based, I would guess

The ebooks are DRM yes (either ePub/Digital Editions style or Kindle). Most e-audiobooks are now MP3.

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#39

Post by icebraining » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 3:26 PM UTC

tw04 wrote: post #34

"The Netflix for books" - you mean the public library? I'm astounded how few young people seem to have any clue what their libraries offer. FFS, our local library lets you "borrow" e-books and audiobooks online, you never have to set foot in the building.

Ours doesn't have ebooks nor audiobooks (at least downloadable, maybe it has CDs), and the books it does have are translated, which is great for the general accessibility by the population, but a loss for those of us who can read the original versions.

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#40

Post by stinkytaco » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 3:28 PM UTC

mark_l_watson wrote: post #32

alberth wrote: post #30

Why not the Public Library? My parents are in their late 70s, they both use a Kindle Paperwhite, and they figured out on their own that US Public Libraries allow you to digitally check out books to your Kindle for FREE. I had no idea of this, yet my 70+ year old parent figured it out ... and you don't even need to go into the physical library, it's all down over the web or via an app. Which is why I suspect most comp…

I tried my local library for eBooks, but it was enough of a hassle that I went back to buying Kindle books. My wife uses the library for audio books on CDs, consuming several a month. I spend a little money at Audible and have a more convenient experience. That said, I really like my local library not only as a source of physical books, but also because of talks and other events.

If your library is an Overdrive subscriber I would encourage you to try again, they have improved their service immensely. eBooks on Kindle or tablet devices are now very easy and even include syncing between devices. Audiobooks have switched entirely to the MP3 format for near universal compatibility. The only annoying holdout is if you have an e-ink epub device like a nook or a kobo. You obviously continue to deal with limited availability, but the service has come a long way.

Quick disclaimer: I am a librarian.