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Oyster is launching an e-book store

wired.com

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Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#11

Post by oskarth »

jasode wrote: post #7

Speaking as someone who is not familiar with Oyster… The journalist (Davey Alba) has left out some critical context to drive home the significance of Oyster’s foray into "ebook retail". After doing some research, here’s the part that the Wired article doesn’t make explicit: Yes, the Oyster subscription service is has titles from "all 5 big publishers" and yes, it is "unlimited" but the catch is that the content is mo…

> It looks like a common industry pattern of segmentation whether it's books, video, or songs: the old stuff can be packaged into cheap subscriptions but the new stuff will command a separate premium.

It's a good thing that most books worth reading are "old". Time is a signal, so I would consider this a feature.

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#12

Post by TheBeardKing »

jasode wrote: post #7

Speaking as someone who is not familiar with Oyster… The journalist (Davey Alba) has left out some critical context to drive home the significance of Oyster’s foray into "ebook retail". After doing some research, here’s the part that the Wired article doesn’t make explicit: Yes, the Oyster subscription service is has titles from "all 5 big publishers" and yes, it is "unlimited" but the catch is that the content is mo…

Thanks for the added info, I also wasn't familiar with Oyster. It also appears that Oyster offers the app for iOS and Android, but that still leaves a hole for e-paper readers. I'll likely be buying a Kindle Paperwhite in the near future, as the contrast, weight, and battery life just can't be beat. I do wish there was a competitive e-reader open to other subscriptions/retail stores such as Oyster. Why is there no open e-reader OS yet? Is the market demand for e-readers over tablets not there?

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#13

Post by publicfig »

Almost every article I read about this company involves the term "Netflix for Books" in the headline. Very few involve the name of the company, Oyster. I legitimately wonder if that hurts or helps them as a brand. It does imply the depth of library that Netflix has in video, which Oyster does not have given my experience. I also assume if you search for "netflix books", they'll pretty much own the front page of results because of it.

In terms of the company, I have to wonder whether or not a number of the subscriptions are paid for but never used. I could see this falling in line with gym meberships, where you're paying for something you feel like you should be doing, and canceling just admits defeat.

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#14

Post by cwyers »

Oyster looks like an interesting service, but my interested in them is severely limited until they either come out with an e-ink device of their own or partner up with someone else who has an e-ink device like B&N or Kobo. I can't read books on a phone or tablet display, and I know I'm not the only one (or Kindle sales would've died out years ago).

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#15

Post by shaggy »

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

Even the digital part. There is a thing called the Sails Library Network (http://www.sailsinc.org) that offers full digital catalogs for libraries. They have mobile apps and it works with Kindles or Kindle apps. It's also not back catalog stuff only as is the case with Oyster. Libraries have been the "Netflix for Books" for centuries before there was a "Netflix". Maybe people should use them more, they are wonderful things and you're already paying for them to exist and serve you.

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#16

Post by mklim »

jasode wrote: post #7

Speaking as someone who is not familiar with Oyster… The journalist (Davey Alba) has left out some critical context to drive home the significance of Oyster’s foray into "ebook retail". After doing some research, here’s the part that the Wired article doesn’t make explicit: Yes, the Oyster subscription service is has titles from "all 5 big publishers" and yes, it is "unlimited" but the catch is that the content is mo…

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 Game of Thrones (19 years old now) is $10 on top of a subscription fee, etc. Ten, twenty years is a relatively short period of time for a book to have existed, granted, but it's still a lot longer than the one year wait you'd get from Netflix.

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#18

Post by jjoonathan »

publicfig wrote: post #13

Almost every article I read about this company involves the term "Netflix for Books" in the headline. Very few involve the name of the company, Oyster. I legitimately wonder if that hurts or helps them as a brand. It does imply the depth of library that Netflix has in video, which Oyster does not have given my experience. I also assume if you search for "netflix books", they'll pretty much own the front page of resul…

> Oyster does not have ... the depth of library that Netflix has in video ... given my experience.

Given that Netflix's catalog has a reputation for providing frequently underwhelming selection, ouch.

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#19

Post by cwyers »

jasode wrote: post #7

Speaking as someone who is not familiar with Oyster… The journalist (Davey Alba) has left out some critical context to drive home the significance of Oyster’s foray into "ebook retail". After doing some research, here’s the part that the Wired article doesn’t make explicit: Yes, the Oyster subscription service is has titles from "all 5 big publishers" and yes, it is "unlimited" but the catch is that the content is mo…

It seems like the analytics the article talks about are from the unlimited service Oyster operates, and the analytics being offered is contrasted to services like Netflix. I think Amazon still probably offers the publishers information about retail sales.

Re: Oyster is launching an e-book store

#20

Post by smackfu »

mklim wrote: post #16
jasode wrote: post #7

Speaking as someone who is not familiar with Oyster… The journalist (Davey Alba) has left out some critical context to drive home the significance of Oyster’s foray into "ebook retail". After doing some research, here’s the part that the Wired article doesn’t make explicit: Yes, the Oyster subscription service is has titles from "all 5 big publishers" and yes, it is "unlimited" but the catch is that the content is mo…

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.
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