# Do You Buy 99 Cent Ebooks?



## jackz4000 (May 15, 2011)

Do you buy 99 cent ebooks? 

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, were you satisfied?  

Why or Why not?


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Depends on the book.

I've bought ones I thought were really great -- and went on to purchase more by that author on account of it. And I've gotten ones that were so bad I felt I wasted my money -- even though it was only 99¢.

FWIW, I've had the same experience with more expensive titles as well.

As a result, I almost always sample. . .even the 99¢ titles. 

Curious as to why you ask. And, truth be told, this isn't really a _new_ topic here.


----------



## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Depends on the book.
> 
> I've bought ones I thought were really great -- and went on to purchase more by that author on account of it. And I've gotten ones that were so bad I felt I wasted my money -- even though it was only 99¢.
> 
> ...


Ditto


----------



## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

I have bought over 3000 titles for my Kindle from Amazon. I would say 1/3 were free, 1/3 were $.99, maybe 100 were above $6, the rest were between $.99 & $6. And most of them were because I found authors at free or $.99 that I enjoyed enough to buy their entire works. (Oh and most of that over $6 category weren't books for me at all, they were for family members.)


--
Edit to fix my decimal places.


----------



## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

BTackitt said:


> between *$99* & $6. And most of them were because I found authors at free or *$99* that I enjoyed enough to buy their entire works.


Wow, you buy 99 dollar books  That's expensive!! D)

Have to ditto Ann and intinst and partly BTackitt -- no reason not to buy 99 cent books, but as with any other price, one's mileage may vary as to quality. Some are great, some are good, some suck.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Steph H said:


> Some are great, some are good, some suck.


As do books that cost more than $.99 But I'm willing to take a chance on an unknown at $.99. I consider it my "used book" price.

Betsy


----------



## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

Yeah, that's why I said "as with any other price, quality may vary." [basically] But I think I'm more like you in the regard that I'm willing to take chances on 99 cent books; if it sounds interesting, and esp. if it has good reviews, then I don't bother sampling, I'll just buy outright.


----------



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

jackz4000 said:


> Do you buy 99 cent ebooks?
> 
> On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, were you satisfied?
> 
> Why or Why not?


No longer*.

On the scale of 1 to 5, my satisfaction hovered around 0.5.

_This excludes books by people I know or have read before, or are by publishers I know (when I say know, I mean personally know and, thus, known most of their authors -- this tends to be Canadian presses only)._

****This also does not include short fiction. I buy a LOT of short fiction at this price, which makes complete sense.


----------



## GregSisco (Oct 23, 2011)

I do, but there is a stigma attached where I end up going in with low expectations. If it ends up being really well written, those low expectations make it all the more surprising, and I have had a couple really pleasant surprises. But too often, a $.99 ebook isn't worth a penny more than that, and I say this as a guy who has a $.99 ebook for sale at this very moment.


----------



## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

Many times.  Many of us indie authors just need to put our novels at that price point in order to compete on the open market.  I have been very happy with several 99 cent ones, especially in the thriller and horror genres.


----------



## jackz4000 (May 15, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Curious as to why you ask. And, truth be told, this isn't really a _new_ topic here.


Dear Curious Ann: I've read them discussed, but have not read the question framed as I did. Then again I don't read everything here. Certainly have read people knocking them and other defending them. Also a fluid and ever changing market and what held true 4 months ago may not be so true today and will change more so as more readers become ebook readers and join KB.

Personally I've read some very good titles priced at 99 cents, also for free. I do a bit of sampling etc first, because I am loathe to waste my time. They can be a great value especially when you have an author trying to generate some movement by lowering the price.


----------



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Curious as to why you ask. And, truth be told, this isn't really a _new_ topic here.


It generally becomes an opening for authors to interject "I'm an indie author" or "we indie authors" or other forms of passive self-promotion.

Love, Bitter in Edmonton


----------



## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

I buy a lot of 99 cent ebooks and haven't got hold of one (yet) that I've regretted. But I think that says less about cheap books than about the way I shop for them. I'm just as concerned with saving time as saving money (really I have more of the latter to spare), so I'm choosy about what I'll try, rarely buying anything by an author I've never heard of. I'm not saying they have to be famous (if they were I wouldn't be enjoying those low prices) but I need to have chatted with them online, seen their book featured at a popular review site, or seen it praised by someone I trust.

I also freely admit I'm a cover snob and veer sharply away from books with clumsy covers. I know that sounds incredibly self-serving coming from a graphic designer. But honestly, I've got my reader hat on right now. It isn't about wanting to buy something pretty (although I'm naturally drawn toward pretty packaging) -I just assume an author who doesn't care about their cover isn't very serious and has probably skimped in other areas.    

And finally, I do read reviews and I sample. If there are a lot of comments in the reviews along the lines of, "this book could use an editor", I assume there's a problem. One or two typos I can live with but I'm currently reading a book (a traditionally published biography of Princess Diana) that's killing me because of multiple typos per page. I'm pretty sure its a formatting problem - I doubt the paperback version has so many non-spaces between words. Still, it's enough to take away from the reading experience and make me not want to finish the book.


----------



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Dara England said:


> rarely buying anything by an author I've never heard of. I'm not saying they have to be famous (if they were I wouldn't be enjoying those low prices) but I need to have chatted with them online, seen their book featured at a popular review site, or seen it praised by someone I trust.


As I've said repeatedly, this is now how I buy the bulk of my books. I've been far less disappointed this way.


----------



## Vanessa Wu (Sep 5, 2011)

I buy books at every price point from $0.99 to over $25.00. Price is only one of many variables that influences my decision. I never buy a book blind, not even a cheap one. I always sample every book before I buy it. If an author is mean with their sample, I usually don't buy it whatever the price. If the sample is too short to judge the quality of the writing, I look elsewhere.

If the sample is substantial and the quality is good and it's the kind of book I want to read, price plays a very small part in my decision whether or not to buy it.


----------



## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I buy .99 cent books and 7.99 and everything in between. I very rarely pay more than 7.99. But I do the same vetting process for a 7.99 than I do for a .99 cent book. My vetting doesn't start with the sample, it ends with the sample. Once I get to the sample, I end up buying the book after reading 98 percent of the time. My time is valuable and I won't waste it to read random samples without any vetting. Otherwise I would be reading 10% books instead of full books all the time. Would drive me nuts. 

Most of my .99 - 2.99 books are actually sale items from publishers, not self published. There have been a lot of sales all year, especially spring and summer of books usually higher. 

There has been a huge influx of .99 cent stuff. I still vet the same way. It just has gotten a bit muddled now to find the sale stuff. 

I also get a lot of formerly published now self published backlist stuff. Those are usually .99 - 2.99 also. 

I don't get random books by authors I never heard of or can't find anything about no matter the price.


----------



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Atunah said:


> I also get a lot of formerly published now self published backlist stuff. Those are usually .99 - 2.99 also.


One thing I've been liking is the self-published backlist of short story authors I enjoy. William King is a good example. I picked up his Cyberpunk collection. When I realized William King was, in fact, _William King_, I jumped all over that stuff!


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I'll buy a $0.99 book from an author I'm familiar with, and it's almost always someone's backlist.

I would never buy a book just because it is priced at $0.99.

Mike


----------



## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> As do books that cost more than $.99 But I'm willing to take a chance on an unknown at $.99. I consider it my "used book" price.
> 
> Betsy


That's a very fair comparison. You're not getting as good as a brand-new paperback, but you're definitely getting something readable. Some of the higher prices charged on Kindle by big publishers strike me as completely nuts ... who's going to pay $16 upwards for an ebook?


----------



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

jmiked said:


> I'll buy a $0.99 book from an author I'm familiar with, and t's almost always *someone's backlist*.


Backlists available often hit me the way that when I find an old comic book in a dealer's room at a con. It's usually not that expensive, but I've been trying to find that comic for ages.


----------



## patrickt (Aug 28, 2010)

I do a lot of free or $.99 books in the genre I prefer and I generally enjoy them. If I don't, it's not too painful to say, oops, and toss it aside.


----------



## Suzie Grant (May 19, 2011)

I love the .99 cent books. It's a great way to find new authors. It's like the candy rack right by the register...I just can't resist. I mean it's only .99 cents. But I do sample before I buy. If the author loses me by line ten then forget it. I'll move on to the next one. There are just too many out there to struggle through the first chapter to "get to the good stuff."


----------



## jackz4000 (May 15, 2011)

Tony Richards said:


> Some of the higher prices charged on Kindle by big publishers *strike me as completely nuts ... who's going to pay $16 upwards for an ebook?*


Numbers from 2010 show that plenty of readers plunked down their money for high priced big pub ebooks and in 2011 they are buying much more of the 12.99, 14.99 etc ebooks from major authors. Even at high ebook prices big pubs are doing just ducky. Grisham very recently stated that over 40% of his sales are now ebooks. Said that Bezo's sent him a nice kindle too.


----------



## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

I don't think price necessarily can rate a book. I have read some truly outstanding books that I have gotten for $.99 and I have read some awful books that I have bought for $10.99.

Having said that, yes I buy $.99 books, I adore them in fact. I am more likely to buy a book from an unknown author at $.99 than I am at $10.99.


----------



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Tony Richards said:


> completely nuts ... who's going to pay $16 upwards for an ebook?


Me. Often.


----------



## GregSisco (Oct 23, 2011)

Haha. Those are reviews are hysterical, DDark. Thanks for that.


----------



## Laura Lond (Nov 6, 2010)

LOL at the reviews!! Thanks DDark!

As to the subject of .99 books, yes, I have bought many, and I have not been disappointed yet. Probably because I am a careful buyer - always sample and check out reviews.


----------



## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

I learned to stop impulse buying $0.99 books - I used to snatch them up without reading the sample because I didn't want the price to go up while I got around to reading the sample. Big mistake. I think I only enjoyed one impulse buy. I'll still buy $0.99 books - I just make sure to read the sample first, especially if there's no/only a few reviews. Just like any other book. If the price goes up, it goes up... if it's something I really want to read, I'll buy it regardless. There's just too much $0.99 crap out there to not check it out further before buying.


----------



## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

It's the Wild West out there. You can find gold and dross at any price. The trick, or the goal, is to find whatever makes you happy at a price you think is fair.


----------



## DwayneRussell (Mar 26, 2011)

Most of the new 99 cent releases I see are short stories or something of that nature.  So I rarely buy them.  I would happily buy a short story anthology priced at $2.99 if it looked promising, but 99 cents for a single story is a bit much.

Then again, I primarily browse through SFFH works.  A question for those whose reading is wider or different in character than mine:  Are there more actual books in other fields to be had at 99 cents?


----------



## kisala9906 (Sep 4, 2011)

I never look at the price of a book before I decide if I want to read it or not I pick out the book I want to read next then go see how much it is. That said sometimes when I see the price I ask myself, do I want to read it that badly? Lol. I have been shocked at some ebooks being only .99 before tho and loved them! There have been some I hated tho, but that goes with higher price books too.


----------



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

jackz4000 said:


> Do you buy 99 cent ebooks?
> 
> On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, were you satisfied?
> 
> Why or Why not?


I do. I'll give many things a chance at that price.

The track record of satisfaction is not that great so far. My scale is...1- I give up, 2- I guess it was worth my time, (marginally) and 3- good stuff.

Sorreh, only 3 levels on my scale.


----------



## Ted Summerfield (Aug 21, 2011)

I buy $0.99 ebooks and download free ebooks to see if I enjoy an unknown author. 

Like many things in life, some ebooks are good, some are great, some are crap.


----------



## Loren DeShon (Jun 15, 2011)

I've purchased a number of 99 cent, indie author ebooks.  As a rough estimate 1/3 are as good as most anything on an airport paperback rack, 1/3 have good concepts but execution that could use work, and 1/3 are quite flawed.  I'm looking forward to discovering a 99 cent author who makes it big, kind of like buying a cheap painting from an unknown and then seeing him get famous.


----------



## J.R.Mooneyham (Mar 14, 2011)

Most definitely yes. Unfortunately, I'm a terribly picky reader in my old age, and so by far the majority of books I wish to read usually end up being pretty costly, like $12.99 or whatever. However, I've been well satisfied with the 99 centers I HAVE run across which fit my preferences (score: 5). Or at least at this moment I can't think of any 99 centers which rated lower in my judgement. Of course, I usually vet a book quite thoroughly before buying it.


----------



## Tamara Rose Blodgett (Apr 1, 2011)

I hardly ever feel ripped off at a buck. I've read a couple of "clunkers," but normally, I (or hubby) is really careful about scrutinizing synopsis/genre/reviews to have the highest rate of potential for enjoyment...


----------



## NS (Jul 8, 2011)

There're some great books for 0.99! Price really doesn't matter always.


----------



## GregSisco (Oct 23, 2011)

Self publishing is so much easier than it has ever been and it makes for a lot of mediocre or bad novels mixed in with the gems, but if we dig enough, we'll probably find a $.99 author who is the next great novelist. Personally, I believe it's me, and in a totally unbiased way since I have multiple personality disorder and I hate the guy who writes my books. But man is he ever talented.

Kidding, of course. But really, I'm confident if you read enough $.99 books, you could be among the first to discover this generation's Hemingway or Orwell or Stephen King.


----------



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

GregSisco said:


> But really, I'm confident if you read enough $.99 books, you could be among the first to discover this generation's Hemingway or Orwell or Stephen King.


Or give up reading all together.


----------



## Susan Brassfield Cogan (Mar 25, 2011)

I approach a .99 book the same as any other, look at the cover, the blurb, read the sample. The cover MUST be somewhat professional looking and the blurb shouldn't have any spelling or grammar errors. However, if the cover is really bad and the blurb is really bad then it saves you wasting your time on the sample. (This applies to indie books only). If those three things are good, I'll buy it. I figure even if it's not Hemingway, it's someone with enough skill and talent to entertain me for a few hours and that's really all I ask.


----------



## Darlene Jones (Nov 1, 2011)

I haven't yet. Partly on principle. I don't believe authors should give their work away at such low prices. We word very hard to produce a novel and we should be compensated for that.


----------



## GregSisco (Oct 23, 2011)

Krista D. Ball said:


> Or give up reading all together.


Haha. Well yes, there's that possibility as well.


----------



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

GregSisco said:


> Haha. Well yes, there's that possibility as well.


----------



## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

I've bought some. I won't just look at the 99 cent price and buy it solely based on that. But I might read the sample. If the sample catches my interest, I may buy it. But some samples aren't good or bad, they just have nothing in them. I've seen samples that were so short they ended before the story even started.


----------



## Sean Cunningham (Jan 11, 2011)

I grabbed a book I'd previously sampled when it dropped to 99p, but then didn't end up reading it. I should have remembered why I didn't buy it in the first place.

On the other hand, I've gotten to the end of a sample, been undecided and concluded I'd have given it a go if it was cheaper. Not necessarily 99p, but not the £5-6 they're asking for it. I think of these as books I'd have tried if I found them in the library, or were loaned to me by a friend, with the hope of them turning out to settle my doubts so I can go on and buy their other books. They tend to be books where the concept is intriguing but the execution is rough.

I have yet to hit the conjunction of these two things though: dubious at full price but tried it at 99p and liked it.


----------



## emmameade83 (Nov 14, 2011)

I started  buying ebooks this year and find that the 99 cent books are a cheap way to meet new authors. You can take a chance on such a cheap book and hopefully find a new author to follow.


----------



## KVWitten (Apr 11, 2011)

I often read 99 cent books and have been pleasantly surprised at the overall quality.  

Of course, I don't buy a book just because it's 99 cents - it has to meet my other criteria too.


----------



## Judy Powell (Sep 25, 2011)

I am more likely to purchase an unknown author whose book is at $ 0.99.  Once I've read the author, if I love his/her work, I will try another and will gladly pay a higher price.


----------



## S Jaffe (Jul 3, 2011)

My entire TBR folder is just samples. I don't care as much about price if it's below $5. At that point, it's all the same.  Over $5 and it better be worthwhile because I now I'm paying more than I should have to.


----------



## Miriam Minger (Nov 27, 2010)

Yes, especially if I know they are formerly NY pubbed authors re-releasing their backlists as newly indie authors.  LOTS of amazing books out there for 99 cents whether backlist or straight-to-ebook.  

Miriam Minger


----------



## Iowagirl (Jul 17, 2011)

I will definitely buy a .99 book but I look at the cover, the product description, and the reviews first (the same as I would for any book, regardless of price). I will also sample. It may seem strange to not just buy a .99 book, but it's not only about the cost - it's also the time I will spend reading. And I *want* to find a book that makes me think, "Ooooh, I have to read this." I have so little time these days that I want to make sure a book grabs me from the beginning before I buy it. 

Tracey


----------



## tahliaN (Nov 6, 2011)

I buy them if I think I'll like them. The price encourages me to take a chance on one I wouldn't otherwise. Like others here, I've found some great authors this way. I think more of the 99c books are good than not. There's a lot of short stories, which are the right price at 99c and some full novels and novellas by authors who are just trying to build up new readers, so it's a mixed bag and a bit of a lucky dip, I guess, but don't shy away because they're cheap. Cheap doesn't equal crap. I've paid a lot more for books that should never have been published.


----------



## gina1230 (Nov 29, 2009)

BarbaraKE said:


> Of course, I don't buy a book just because it's 99 cents - it has to meet my other criteria too.


This.


----------



## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Occasionally, I buy a promotional book (temporarily discounted by the publisher) for ninety-nine cents, but I seldom buy in the category you really intend to ask about, indy books.  Between my oversized TBR list of purchased books, stuff from authors I'm already a big fan of, and classic out of copyright fiction that I get free or ultra-cheap, I already have more fiction than I can read.  So I don't have a strong incentive to take chances on unknown authors.  The only book in this class I can remember paying for in a long time, I actually paid MORE than ninety nine cents for.  But how could I possibly pass up a book called Confessions of a D-List Supervillain?


----------



## flipside (Dec 7, 2011)

I'd buy more of them if they were actually sold at $0.99 to me.

I'm from the Philippines so Amazon charges $2.00 extra on all books, so the lowest they'd go is $2.99, unless they're being sold elsewhere. (Not that the other big retailers are any help; Barnes & Noble won't sell to me at all and the only books available in iTunes are the public domain ones - unless it's an App.)


----------

