# Not worth buying books for Kindle from Amazon anymore ?



## andy_in_virginia (Dec 3, 2009)

I know there has been much discussion over the new pricing structure of Kindle books and I'm sorry if this has been covered from a personal viewpoint, but I have been off the boards for a month or so (so please wrap it into other threads if need be).

I'm wondering if it is worth buying books from Amazon any longer for my Kindle.  I have had a recommendation for a book that was one of the  'Amazon best books of the month' for February. "Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour" by Lynne Olsen.

The hardcover price is $16.80 and the Kindle price is $15.12.  So apart from the instant delivery and the savings on shipping costs (and if I sign up as a 'prime' customer I get free 2-day shipping anyway), what is the point of buying it for the Kindle as opposed to the actual book??

Is this what Amazon intended or what the publishers wanted... for buyers to question whether it was really worth while buying ebooks?  I am very disappointed and annoyed by this development and seriously wonder if it is now worth having the Kindle at all.


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## Magenta (Jun 6, 2009)

I just bought a bunch of books today - all priced $9.99 and below.

If you have patience, I think you will see the ebook price drop after a period of time.  When I see a book for more than $9.99, I put it in my shopping list and wait.  

I do understand your point, the price difference is only $1.68.  For that, with the kindle version, you get instant delivery and do not have to carry around a physical book. Besides, although amazon prime gives you free two day shipping, think of all the carbon credits saved by not having UPS deliver a  physical book.

Bottom line.... I feel if we have patience, we will see the price of ebooks lower back down to the $9.99 threshold.


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

I've only bought one or two books in the last year at $9.99 or more, so not so much an issue for me unless the rest of the e-books start going up as well.


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## pomlover2586 (Feb 14, 2009)

I don't intend to stop purchasing books on Kindle from Amazon....I will however be choosing not to purchase anything over $9.99. I can go to my local bookstore and get a used version of most books for the $7-9 range.......I see no point in purchasing a Kindle book for more than $10..........JMO

I also agree though, that as soon as all of this Ipad/Apple hype wears down, we'll see a drop again in E-Book Pricing.....


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

andy_in_virginia said:


> The hardcover price is $16.80 and the Kindle price is $15.12. So apart from the instant delivery and the savings on shipping costs (and if I sign up as a 'prime' customer I get free 2-day shipping anyway), what is the point of buying it for the Kindle as opposed to the actual book??


Only you can answer that for yourself. For myself, when I bought my Kindle I established a policy of not buying books at more than $9.99, and I'm not changing that now.

In answer to the other question you asked in your OP, my opinion is that the publishers will be delighted if you decide it isn't worthwhile to buy an ebook. My view (which may not be accurate) is that the publishing industry is trying to slow down or squelch the growth of the ebook format. But as an Evil Overlord I'm a teensy bit paranoid, so I could be overreacting!  If that is their goal, I don't think they'll succeed in the long run.


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## idolguy (Dec 31, 2008)

andy_in_virginia said:


> I know there has been much discussion over the new pricing structure of Kindle books and I'm sorry if this has been covered from a personal viewpoint, but I have been off the boards for a month or so (so please wrap it into other threads if need be).
> 
> I'm wondering if it is worth buying books from Amazon any longer for my Kindle. I have had a recommendation for a book that was one of the 'Amazon best books of the month' for February. "Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour" by Lynne Olsen.
> 
> ...


2 points..As others have said, limit yourself to the $9.99 price point. Or alternatively, limit the number of books over that amount you buy. And more importantly, think of this as an incentive to read classics or public domain books on the Kindle. You can get thousands of free books for the Kindle, some on Amazon, and others on sites like feedbooks.com and manybooks.net.

In other words, there's plenty of good stuff to read while this "e-book price war" works itself out.


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## lynninva (Feb 7, 2009)

I bought my Kindle primarily for convenience, and the better reading experience.  The number of free books that I have been able to get has been an unexpected bonus.  As long as the Kindle version costs less than the print version, I will buy the Kindle version if it is a book I really want at that time.  But I have lots on my TBR list, so I can wait for most books if I think the price is unacceptably high.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I have 107 books on my Amazon wish list - which is how I've been measuring books and prices. On average, the books on the list are 80% of of the cost of lowest paper version. 5 are over $10 and 17 are under $5. Overall, I'm happy with those numbers.

The 6 major publishing houses breakdown like this: (In the indie pile, I excluded books that are not available as both ebooks and pbooks)

Hachette Books 79.98%
Simon & Schuster 84.71%
HarperCollins 72.73%
Penguin 78.28%
MacMillan 103.12%
Random House 82.93%
Indie 60.63%
*Overall 79.75%*

I buy books from other websites, but I'll continue to buy from Amazon as well ...


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## BoomerSoonerOKU (Nov 22, 2009)

As others have pointed out, find a price point you are comfortable with.  Ten bucks for a new release that I just have to have seems fair to me.  Much more than that and that's another story.  I'm taking this opportunity to catch up on some classics that I've been meaning to read or would like to read again.  I'll be finishing my last book I paid for tonight and then it's off to Treasure Island.  I think I might try alternating between a book I pay for and then a free classic.  Hopefully this will be a good way to limit my book budget while also crossing off those books I've always meant to read and never got around to.

“A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.” - Mark Twain


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## tranquil1 (Oct 30, 2008)

Something to think about is that since my Kindle broke, and Amazon told me that I have to wait four to six weeks for a refurbished model, I kind of feel that my books are being held hostage. I have about a hundred books (most bought on Amazon) plus a years worth of New Yorkers that I can't access until my new(ish) Kindle arrives. I know that I can read them on my computer but I can't take that everywhere with me and it's not very convenient. It is something that I will definitely think about before spending any more money on books or devices in the future.


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## cheerio (May 16, 2009)

As long as the price is cheaper than the real version, then it is still worth it


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## BoomerSoonerOKU (Nov 22, 2009)

tranquil1 said:


> Something to think about is that since my Kindle broke, and Amazon told me that I have to wait four to six weeks for a refurbished model, I kind of feel that my books are being held hostage. I have about a hundred books (most bought on Amazon) plus a years worth of New Yorkers that I can't access until my new(ish) Kindle arrives. I know that I can read them on my computer but I can't take that everywhere with me and it's not very convenient. It is something that I will definitely think about before spending any more money on books or devices in the future.


Four to six weeks? Wow, every other instance of this I have seen they've shipped out the replacement in a day or so. Are they having stock problems? Did they give you a reason why it would take so long?


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

BoomerSoonerOKU said:


> Four to six weeks? Wow, every other instance of this I have seen they've shipped out the replacement in a day or so.


Perhaps this user is not in the US.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

BoomerSoonerOKU said:


> Four to six weeks? Wow, every other instance of this I have seen they've shipped out the replacement in a day or so. Are they having stock problems? Did they give you a reason why it would take so long?


I think the poster had a K1 and those are apparently in short supply.


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## mysterylover (Jan 16, 2010)

I agree with cheerio, as long as as the e version of the book comes out the same day as the hardcover  I am happy. I hated the thought of waiting 2 or more months for the e version that bothered me more than the price going up.


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## racheldeet (Jan 21, 2010)

idolguy said:


> think of this as an incentive to read classics or public domain books on the Kindle. You can get thousands of free books for the Kindle, some on Amazon, and others on sites like feedbooks.com and manybooks.net.


This is what I've been doing. Bargin bin editions of classics run at least $5 at the stores I've been to, nicer editions $10-20 depending on how thick they are. I've picked up a lot of old favourites and even more that I've heard of but not read from these sites!

There are a few more recent books I'm still buying to break things up, but my personal limit is $7-9 depending on how much I want to read it. If it's not a real grabber, I'm more than willing to wait for the price to drop.


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## modkindle (Feb 17, 2009)

for me the dictionary feature and ability to search within the book are worth a lot to me. I take public transport to work and carrying 400 books is worth it to me. If it is a book I want to own enough to buy, I will probably always buy the Kindle version. Otherwise, I will hightrail it down to the library.


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## nabrum (Jan 1, 2010)

It doesn't have to be an either/or situation. 

The K price sucks, but that probably is the MacMillan/iDud fiasco doing that. I agree with other posters in that MM doesn't want you to buy ebooks, they want you to buy DTBs. However, if you held off buying either, I'm sure the price will come down on the K version. Unfortunately, right now we're in a publishing/pricing war. There's no doubt that in time MM will relent as ebooks are the new Gutenberg press.


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## Selcien (Oct 31, 2008)

The price of that ebook has nothing at all to do with the new pricing structure, it just happens to be one of the ebooks that Amazon doesn't feel inclined to take a loss on, not to mention that it's published by Random House who has announced that they're not interested in the agency model, so the pricing structure on it won't change (Random House will continue to sell wholesale, retailers can price them however they wish, and most of them will put ridiculous price tags on them, i.e. higher than the ebooks will be priced at with the agency model).

Anyway, if you're dead set on buying particular titles you're likely to run into price issues, but if you're flexible about what you're buying you should have very little problem finding books that you want to read at a price you're willing to pay.

For example, yesterday I bought both _The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo_ and _The Lovely Bones_ from Amazon for a total of $10.50.

So yeah, I'd say it's very much worth buying ebooks from Amazon.

Oh, by the way, I did a search on _Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour_ on http://ebooks.addall.com/ and Amazon was the cheapest, Sony, the next cheapest, has it for $19.60.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

It's not unusual for a book like "Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour" by Lynne Olsen to start out at such a higher kindle price.  I hope it comes down, as I'd like to read it too.  I wouldn't buy the hardcover.  I don't have to have it right now.  Your library may have it.


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## Susan B (Oct 27, 2008)

Meemo said:


> I think the poster had a K1 and those are apparently in short supply.


I had my K1 break a week ago and CS sent me a new one right away.


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## redshift1 (Jun 20, 2009)

andy_in_virginia said:


> I know there has been much discussion over the new pricing structure of Kindle books and I'm sorry if this has been covered from a personal viewpoint, but I have been off the boards for a month or so (so please wrap it into other threads if need be).
> 
> I'm wondering if it is worth buying books from Amazon any longer for my Kindle. I have had a recommendation for a book that was one of the 'Amazon best books of the month' for February. "Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour" by Lynne Olsen.
> 
> ...


Adopt a wait and see attitude Its impossible to predict future pricing as a lot depends on the success of the Ipad as an alternative e-reader. Disappointing yes, but only in the short term.


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## TechBotBoy (Jan 25, 2010)

Back in the early days of the Internet it was assumed and expected that prices would be lower for purchases on line -- after all, the "cost of sale" drops right through the floor-boards and I'm sure I don't have to reiterate all the reasons why it's cheap as chips to sell goods on line. 

Part of the impulse,  was to get people hooked on buying over the Internet -- the prices were low at first to attract people who were nervouse about such transactions -- identity theft, credit card fraud, bogus offers and what not.  Now that "e-commerce" is becoming just plain "commerce" some vendors think it's a license to to charge retail. 

I'm with those who won't go over $9.99. 

                  - Tbb


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

I believe some pubs will be smarter. I think small presses and independent authors will get a foothold -- and should aim to out out solid work. Anyone spending time of Kindle Boards knows there are always affordable finds, even though that might be less likely in new releases that are also out in hardcover. I've never said I won't pay over a certain amount, but it doesn't make me happy to feel taken advantage of either.  

What does bug me is delayed releases. Some will say it's no different that staggering hardcover and paperback, but it's not the same. The reason why print versions are staggered is because their prices are largely unchangeable and pubs want people to pay more at first. Got it. Ebooks CAN be repriced and most folks understand they cost more at first, even if they argue exact price points. There is no reason why the hardcover and the Kindle copy can't be sold at the same time, because the K price can easily be adjusted. So, frankly, I get ebooks being more than the famous/infamous 9.99, but I don't get not being allowed to purchase them at all for several months as if that does anything other than make me buy other ebooks instead.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

To me, the bottom line on whether it's worth buying books for the Kindle from Amazon any more is based on two things:

1) why did you buy the Kindle in the first place?  Was it to get cheap books, for the convenience, to be more green, or a combination?  For me, it was the convenience primarily.
2) what was your buying pattern before Kindle?  Did you buy the hardbacks as soon as they came out, or did you wait for the paperback or to find it used?  You can still follow the same pattern with the Kindle.  Buy it at the same price as the hardback, and have it right away AND in a convenient form, wait for the price to drop to a paperback version price, or buy a paper version used.  I was always a paperback kind of girl, so I still follow that pattern of waiting for the price to drop to a paperback price, and then get it in Kindle format as that is the most convenient for me.

My .02.  

Betsy


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> My .02.


I agree. Frankly, I'd pay more for a Kindle book than a hardcover just because reading on the Kindle is so much more convenient.


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## lulucello (Nov 18, 2009)

I certainly can't believe that publishers are losing money on e-books that are priced well below DTBs.  Personally, I have quickly spent way more money on e-books for my Kindle than I have ever spent in the same amount of time for paper books.  Amazon makes it so easy to instantly own a book and I find I'm buying and reading way more books than before the Kindle.  Publishers certainly haven't lost any money on me!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Jeff said:


> I agree. Frankly, I'd pay more for a Kindle book than a hardcover just because reading on the Kindle is so much more convenient.


I guess there are people who bought Kindles because they thought the books would be less, but not me. I seldom buy books on the NYTimes best seller list, so the $9.99 was not that important to me. The idea of never running out of something to read on a trip was what sold me....

Betsy


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I didn't think so.  I definitely justified the price of my Kindle to myself with the fact that ebooks would cost less.  It will be 2 years at the end of April since I got my Kindle, and I haven't bought a single paper book in that time.  However, my book budget can't begin to cover the number of books I read in a month, so I do what I've always done and when the book budget is spent for the month, I go to the library.

Because of the book budget I've always searched for reasonably priced books and gotten only a few $9.99 ones from favorite authors.  There is absolutely no way I'm paying as much for an ebook as for the DTB version, or even close to the price of the DTB version.  IMO Amazon started developing the Kindle market with absolutely the right attitude of providing as many ebooks as possible at as reasonable a price as possible.  So I'm just going to work harder at satisfying my book buying with reasonably priced books and getting the high priced stuff from the library.  Neither publisher nor author gets a dime when I read library books, but the publishers are the ones choosing this course and their authors seem to be supporting them in it.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Ellen, it could be me in the minority.   Somewhere on the boards there is a poll on why people bought their Kindles...I don't remember the results.

I have spent FAR less on books over the year+ since I bought my Kindle than I would have otherwise, but that was an unexpected perk.  On the other hand, I'm buying books I probably wouldn't have bought otherwise and not buying as many of the types I used to buy in paper; if I bought the ones I used to buy, I wouldn't be saving as much, as they are not as cheap as the ones I AM buying (is that coherent?).  Another perk is discovering the great KB authors!



Betsy


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I have spent FAR less on books over the year+ since I bought my Kindle than I would have otherwise, but that was an unexpected perk. On the other hand, I'm buying books I probably wouldn't have bought otherwise and not buying as many of the types I used to buy in paper; if I bought the ones I used to buy, I wouldn't be saving as much, as they are not as cheap as the ones I AM buying (is that coherent?). Another perk is discovering the great KB authors!
> 
> 
> 
> Betsy


This is me exactly! Also I would buy books from other places and spend a lot more of s&h than on the books, so in essence I am saving money. But to me the whole thing is finding new authors, genres, and comfort of reading.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

I guess I bought my Kindle because I love new toys and I love reading.  There was a time when I had to have certain books in hardcover because I wanted to keep them forever. I've since found that my paperbacks have survived better than some of my hardcovers.  With the Kindle, that time is past.

One book being nearly the same price as the hardcover would not sour me on my Kindle. In fact, I did pay hardback price for one book, but that was a budget adjuster, not a budget breaker.  Most of the books I want range from free to $7.99.  

I think what a lot of us have found is that the Kindle has opened us up to genres and authors we might not have tried before.  That's a plus that I could never have anticipated.


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## andy_in_virginia (Dec 3, 2009)

Thanks for the responses and your thoughts on the subject. Maybe I am in the minority, but I got my Kindle (as a gift BTW) for the convenience of being able to take multiple books with me literally everywhere, but, and possibly *more* importantly, also because I would be able to buy new books at a lower price than I could get them for at Borders (or Amazon) with the added bonus of immediate delivery. Quite honestly I think this was one of the the main selling points for the Kindle... nothing to do with saving trees or being green, but more to do with saving money (at least in terms of books purchased).

I really have little or no interest in buying classics or older books, as my personal taste is for new books and best sellers by modern authors. I used to hate waiting for books to come out in paperback that I _really_ wanted, and I refused to pay the $20 - $30 for a new hardback. Also, the library is not a good alternative as I usually like to take my time reading a book and our system has a maximum check out of 2 weeks for books with a long waiting list.

The Kindle seemed to be the perfect solution to this problem.... I could get a new book at a fraction of the cost of buying it in a bookstore and not have wait for 9 months or a year for it come out in paperback. I could have two or three books in my reading list and take all of them with me wherever I wanted and be able to read whichever one I wanted, whenever I wanted. Now the main attraction of getting newer books at a lower price point has been removed.

I don't blame Amazon for this situation, at least not entirely, but they do have to shoulder some of the blame. If you take iTunes as the business model for the perfect distribution of electronic material, Apple basically never caved in to the music industry and stuck to their guns through thick and thin. 99 cents for a single track from a CD was a breakthrough and you no longer had to buy a complete CD for 16 or 17 bucks to get those two tracks you really liked, now with iTunes you could buy them on their own. The music industry didn't like it and tried to change the way that Apple offered music, but Apple didn't back down and eventually the record labels accepted the situation.

Here's a quote from Steve Jobs from 2006 at the Apple Expo in Paris: "Record labels make about 70 cents per download, and that's more profit than they make selling CDs. "*If they want to raise the prices, it just means they're getting a little greedy*," Jobs said. And this: "The recording industry's response reeks of "greed and ingratitude," agreed Envisioneering Group Director Richard Doherty. "I would ask any of those labels to show a balance sheet that reveals what the artists have gotten of that money," Doherty told MacNewsWorld. "*I would challenge the studios to open their balance sheets and show where they are losing money on this*." 
(Article in TechNewsWorld http://www.technewsworld.com/story/49727.html?wlc=1266344105 dated 04/03/2006)

The iTunes DRM is no different from the Amazon method of DRM on digital versions of books, but as soon as publishers said they would not release e-versions of books at the same time as the hardback release, or said they would not sell digital versions of books for the Kindle at all, Amazon caved in to them instead of taking the stand I believe they should have. As more publishers see that other new books are being sold for pennies below the hardback price, do you think they are going to be happy with selling at the 9.99 level?

The floodgates may have been opened on the pricing of new books being on a par regardless of whether they are made out of recycled paper or ones and zeroes on an E Ink screen.


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## Todd (Dec 16, 2009)

Jeff said:


> I agree. Frankly, I'd pay more for a Kindle book than a hardcover just because reading on the Kindle is so much more convenient.


I don't have a problem paying the same amount as the DTB version either, I enjoy the convience, I will however not buy as may books as I would have if they are not under the 9.99 price set


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

andy_in_virginia said:


> Amazon caved in to them instead of taking the stand I believe they should have. As more publishers see that other new books are being sold for pennies below the hardback price, do you think they are going to be happy with selling at the 9.99 level?


I have to laugh at you defending Apple and their defense of prices on iTunes -- maybe you missed the recent news, but if it wasn't for Apple leading the pack with their new iPad/bookstore prices, Amazon probably never would have had to increase prices at all. Amazon didn't want to cave (at least not publicly), *Apple and the publishers  * basically forced them to. To quote a well-used childhood phrase: "They started it!!"


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## andy_in_virginia (Dec 3, 2009)

Steph H said:


> I have to laugh at you defending Apple and their defense of prices on iTunes -- maybe you missed the recent news, but if it wasn't for Apple leading the pack with their new iPad/bookstore prices, Amazon probably never would have had to increase prices at all. Amazon didn't want to cave (at least not publicly), *Apple and the publishers  * basically forced them to. To quote a well-used childhood phrase: "They started it!!"


I'm guessing you missed the Steve Jobs quote from 2006 in my post. Amazon could just have turned this around onto Apple and the publishers by pointing out Apples own business model as far as electronic downloads are concerned. In fact I am amazed that Jeff Bezos didn't put up more of a fight using Apples own methods of doing business (i.e. we don't care what you think, we're going to do it our way).

The Wall Street Journal is predicting Amazon's share of the e-book sales will drop from 90% to 35% over the next five years. "Near term, we suspect that the iPad and the new eBook agency pricing model, which requires that Amazon increase retail prices to be more consistent with Apple's pricing, will provide Kindle with the most market share headwind. *Going forward, we can envision a scenario where Apple, Amazon, and Google eventually split the market*. Therefore, we expect Amazon's share of eBooks business to fall from 90% currently to about 35% over the next five years."

Maybe smacks of price fixing a little?

link: http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2010/02/16/analyst-amazon-e-book-share-to-fall-from-90-to-35/


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## Marguerite (Jan 18, 2009)

I have seen recently on Amazon that a best seller (I think that they are from MacMillan) was more expensive in Kindle format than the trade paperback.  I have deleted that book from my wish list all together.  I just will NEVER read it.


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Ellen, it could be me in the minority.  Somewhere on the boards there is a poll on why people bought their Kindles...I don't remember the results.
> 
> I have spent FAR less on books over the year+ since I bought my Kindle than I would have otherwise, but that was an unexpected perk. On the other hand, I'm buying books I probably wouldn't have bought otherwise and not buying as many of the types I used to buy in paper; if I bought the ones I used to buy, I wouldn't be saving as much, as they are not as cheap as the ones I AM buying (is that coherent?). Another perk is discovering the great KB authors!
> 
> ...


I actually think I spent far more on books since I got the Kindle. Not because e-books are more expense than paper books but because I've probably bought 4X more books, not counting the freebies.

It's kind of like when I told my wife I would spend less on shooting if I could buy the equipment to reload with, yeah the shooting is cheaper, but I do so much more of it, lol.


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## Sometimes Lucy (Jan 28, 2010)

There are still many, many books available from Amazon, at attractive prices....and sometimes we pay for convenience. There are a lot of good things about Amazon, and their customer service is great. Just my 2 cents


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## LibbyD (Apr 28, 2009)

For me, buying Kindle books from Amazon is still worthwhile.  It will always be worthwhile because my principal reasons for owning and using a Kindle will remain the same.  Those reasons are comfort and convenience.

I have not set an arbitrary ceiling on spending.  As with everything else I shop for, if a price is manageable I will buy and if it isn't I will not.  If I decide not to buy I have only myself to blame because, in my view, no one has any obligation to provide me with merchandise that is priced within my comfort zone.


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## arshield (Nov 17, 2008)

I think there are always cheap books to buy for kindle.  But the last five books I looked at, were less than a dollar different (some more for DTBs, some less).  I write reviews on my blog of the books I read.  When I buy paper, I give them away.  When I buy kindle it is easier to write the blog because of the notes and highlighting.  And I share a kindle account with 5 people.  So I am pretty split about which I buy when the cost is close.  I have Amazon prime, so even the shipping doesn't really figure into it too much.


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## VictoriaP (Mar 1, 2009)

Forster said:


> I actually think I spent far more on books since I got the Kindle. Not because e-books are more expense than paper books but because I've probably bought 4X more books, not counting the freebies.


Same thing here. And gotta love the so-called freebies--which end up costing me that much more because after I read them, I must buy the rest of the series. Then Amazon's book recommendations for me change based on my reading habits, and oooh! look! that series looks good too! And the cycle perpetuates itself.

I've bought more than 4x as many books, plus DTBs for some friends that got them hooked. Free, my


Spoiler



ass


! Those were some of the most expensive damn books I've ever read! 

Plus then I keep trumpeting my new finds all over the web so others end up reading the same thing....

The e-reader users I personally know--none of which are on this board--have had similar experiences regardless of which e-reader they use. They're all reading more, and they're all SPENDING more, since most of them picked books up secondhand previously.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

I purchased the Kindle for the convenience of having all my books with me when I travel. I also live in a 2 bedroom condo in Florida and I was running out of room to store books. Saying that, I pay the higher price if I don't want to wait until the price comes down. I have picked up so many free books that I feel it averages out that I'm still saving money.


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

I have a friend that I consider a "book snob", won't read anything that is not on the NYT best seller list, or wins awards, so she spend so much more money than I do on books.  She also misses some pretty good authors and stories!  I do have enough books on my kindle or in my Archives to keep me busy for quite awhile, but I am still downloading!  ARGHHHH


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## Pirate (Jul 5, 2009)

andy_in_virginia said:


> I know there has been much discussion over the new pricing structure of Kindle books and I'm sorry if this has been covered from a personal viewpoint, but I have been off the boards for a month or so (so please wrap it into other threads if need be).
> 
> I'm wondering if it is worth buying books from Amazon any longer for my Kindle. I have had a recommendation for a book that was one of the 'Amazon best books of the month' for February. "Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour" by Lynne Olsen.
> 
> ...


When I see pricing like this, I just wait until the book shows up at one of the used book stores and but it used.


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## lulucello (Nov 18, 2009)

For me, the Kindle is all about instant gratification, but I hate to see the pricies going up. <sigh>


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## KindleChickie (Oct 24, 2009)

I looked at a book the other day and the Kindle price was $28 while the paperback was $14. Lets just say I didnt buy the Kindle version.

http://www.amazon.com/Off-White-Hollywood-American-Culture-ebook/dp/B000OI0UWG/ref=pd_ybh_6?pf_rd_p=280800601&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=1501&pf_rd_i=ybh&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0128525PTKF12EC2Q9YZ


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## lulucello (Nov 18, 2009)

OMG!  That's scary.  What can we do, now that we're hooked?  I guess it's time to find books on mobileread.com .


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

KindleChickie said:


> I looked at a book the other day and the Kindle price was $28 while the paperback was $14. Lets just say I didnt buy the Kindle version.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Off-White-Hollywood-American-Culture-ebook/dp/B000OI0UWG/ref=pd_ybh_6?pf_rd_p=280800601&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=1501&pf_rd_i=ybh&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0128525PTKF12EC2Q9YZ


But the hardback is $106. Pretty pricey for any version.


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## modkindle (Feb 17, 2009)

lulucello said:


> OMG! That's scary. What can we do, now that we're hooked? I guess it's time to find books on mobileread.com .


It is important to note here that the *only* format Amazon has is the Kindle and the hardcover version. The $14.95 version is a remainder sold by another company, not Amazon. We will always find overstocked print books cheap someplace.


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## Dedalus (Feb 11, 2009)

go to inkmesh.com and compare prices of ebooks and you'll see Amazon is mostly cheaper than the others....


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## Boston (Nov 7, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> 1) why did you buy the Kindle in the first place? Was it to get cheap books, for the convenience, to be more green, or a combination? For me, it was the convenience primarily.
> 2) what was your buying pattern before Kindle?


I had wanted an ebook reader when Sony came out with the PRS-505. I couldn't justify it because of ebook prices were higher than what I normally spent on paper. I seldom bought hardcover books and almost never bought paperbacks at full price. The Kindle's $9.99 pricing is how I justified purchasing an ebook reader.

With ebook prices starting higher, I'm adding more books to my wishlist and waiting. I don't buy until the Kindle price is below $10 and at least $1.00 cheaper than paper. I can share paper books, I can't share ebooks.

And now I am noticing that by time the Kindle price drops, I can often get the paper version bargain priced or on the secondary market (in new or like new condition) for much less than the ebook price. So now I am buying about 50/50.

I never thought I'd go back to paper and prefer ebooks, but I buy way to many books not to be price conscientious.


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## webhill (Feb 12, 2009)

andy_in_virginia said:


> The hardcover price is $16.80 and the Kindle price is $15.12. So apart from the instant delivery and the savings on shipping costs (and if I sign up as a 'prime' customer I get free 2-day shipping anyway), what is the point of buying it for the Kindle as opposed to the actual book??


For me, the point of buying the kindle version is:

-don't have to carry around a large book
-don't have to worry about losing the book
-don't have to find a place to keep the book
-don't kill trees
-get to enjoy the Kindle-reading experience: I've grown to love reading on my Kindle even more than reading a paper book. Not sure why.
-my book is now instantly searchable by keyword
-my book is now in my pocket all the time, with backlight, in case I am locked in a stairwell for an hour or something 
-my book can be annotated easily and my notes become searchable as well
-I can take clippings from the book without ruining it.

So there's this whole value-added thing that I feel actually makes the book "worth" more - I just simultaneously feel that since the production and distribution cost is so much lower that it should cost less for the end-user. That said, I'm going to say it: if I really want a book to read, and it's the same or slightly more than the hardback in Kindle format, I just might buy it anyway. I PREFER the kindle format. it's not about the money really. It just really pisses me off when that happens. I'd feel better about it if I were sharing more. I did read the whole Percy Jackson series on my Kindle (I bought it for my son who reads on his iPod touch kindle app) and felt that was great value for the money 

-h.


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## HappyGuy (Nov 3, 2008)

You know ... all things considered, we'll end up paying the price, if we really want the book. Look at gas prices, at one point we were paying almost $5.00 per gallon!! Didn't seem to slow us down much, as that was a priority for us and we made adjustments. Same with books. We'll pay the price for those books we, "just gotta have" and won't for those we don't, "just gotta have". Some books we'll really, really want, but will wait for a few months until the price comes down. Some books we'll really, really want but will never buy because of the price. It's all a matter of priority - what's the breaking point between buy and not buy.

And consider this - with all of the free books available and that will be made available, the AVERAGED price of our books (for those of us who enjoy the classics) is really not that high. Will I pay more that $9.99 for a book? Absolutely, if it's one of my, "just gotta have" books. For example, will I pay $25.00 to read the AD Chronicles? Nope. I'm interested and my father very highly recommends them, but there are two reasons I won't buy them at the currently listed price. 1) They're an unknown to me - I don't know if I would enjoy the books enough to feel I'd received fair value for the price. But more importantly is 2) Hardcover: $13.59, Paperback: $10.07, Kindle version: *$24.99*  Pay a premium just to have it in Kindle version??!! I rather think not!

So, we'll decide the value and whether or not we're willing to pay. In the end, they can charge whatever they want - doesn't mean we'll buy, but it doesn't mean we won't buy, either. Just sayin'


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

<You know ... all things considered, we'll end up paying the price, if we really want the book. Look at gas prices, at one point we were paying almost $5.00 per gallon!! Didn't seem to slow us down much, as that was a priority for us and we made adjustments. Same with books.>

Gas never got to $5 here in Colorado, and I know a whole lot of people who changed their driving habits radically when it got over $3. Not going places they might have before, riding with others when they would have gone alone, etc. I suspect a good percentage of high volume readers are like me - needing to keep a sharp eye on the budget. I don't like classics or anything slow and wordy, but I can reread old favorites, use the library, swap physical books with friends, and go to used book stores. The simple fact is no one can put me in the position of having to buy high-priced new books in order to satisfy my desire to read. It's not really even a matter of how much I want to read a particular book because there are so many ways to read a book without buying it at a high price. My library has even purchased a title because I requested it and they didn't have it. So high book prices are going to affect sales, it's just a question of how much and in what ways.

And I think high ebook prices will affect ebook sales even more because there are just too many of us who believe in a visceral way that an ebook should never be priced as high as a physical book. Seeing an ebook priced more than the paperback version just provokes a stubborn resistance in some of us.


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## Granvillen (Dec 12, 2009)

As a retired Senior Executive, I bought the Kindle and the $9.99 books with my eyes wide open.  It was only a matter of time that the book price would increase either by some outside means or by Amazon itself.  The free Whispernet is another issue.  That too will be increased once Amazon has enough potential subscribers that are using the free service.  This is like marketing anything.  Get them hooked and then push the price up to the "what market will bear" level.  The only thin Jobs did, was to push the button a little earlier than Amazon wanted.  Also, be prepared to pay to have the free books downloaded to your computer.  It might not this year, but it will come.  Amazon is a profit making company and is good at reeling everyone in.  Their business model does not include anything free for any length of time.  I also believe those living in foreign lands will be paying more for books, etc., until such time that a local subsiderary is established in relation to the Whispernet.  No one, and I mean no one should be surprised as what is happening.  This is good old fashion marketing and the boys at Amazon do it well.  Knowing what I know about business, I firmly believe MacMillen and Amazon were in cahoots to increase the book prices.  The first shoe has dropped, maybe a little prematurely, but it has dropped.


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## andy_in_virginia (Dec 3, 2009)

Granvillen said:


> As a retired Senior Executive, I bought the Kindle and the $9.99 books with my eyes wide open. It was only a matter of time that the book price would increase either by some outside means or by Amazon itself. The free Whispernet is another issue. That too will be increased once Amazon has enough potential subscribers that are using the free service. This is like marketing anything. Get them hooked and then push the price up to the "what market will bear" level. The only thin Jobs did, was to push the button a little earlier than Amazon wanted. Also, be prepared to pay to have the free books downloaded to your computer. It might not this year, but it will come. Amazon is a profit making company and is good at reeling everyone in. Their business model does not include anything free for any length of time. I also believe those living in foreign lands will be paying more for books, etc., until such time that a local subsiderary is established in relation to the Whispernet. No one, and I mean no one should be surprised as what is happening. This is good old fashion marketing and the boys at Amazon do it well. Knowing what I know about business, I firmly believe MacMillen and Amazon were in cahoots to increase the book prices. The first shoe has dropped, maybe a little prematurely, but it has dropped.


Good post and I agree 100% with all of it.


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## HappyGuy (Nov 3, 2008)

Granvillen said:


> As a retired Senior Executive, I bought the Kindle and the $9.99 books with my eyes wide open. It was only a matter of time that the book price would increase either by some outside means or by Amazon itself. The free Whispernet is another issue. That too will be increased once Amazon has enough potential subscribers that are using the free service. This is like marketing anything. Get them hooked and then push the price up to the "what market will bear" level. The only thin Jobs did, was to push the button a little earlier than Amazon wanted. Also, be prepared to pay to have the free books downloaded to your computer. It might not this year, but it will come. Amazon is a profit making company and is good at reeling everyone in. Their business model does not include anything free for any length of time. I also believe those living in foreign lands will be paying more for books, etc., until such time that a local subsiderary is established in relation to the Whispernet. No one, and I mean no one should be surprised as what is happening. This is good old fashion marketing and the boys at Amazon do it well. Knowing what I know about business, I firmly believe MacMillen and Amazon were in cahoots to increase the book prices. The first shoe has dropped, maybe a little prematurely, but it has dropped.


Yep, totally agree - and we'll pay whatever they charge (up to our personal buy/no buy point) because, as I said, it's a matter of priorities.


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## Hoosiermama (Dec 28, 2009)

Good post Granvillen. That's pretty much what I assumed when I asked for a K2 for Christmas. Like everything, cost of ebooks will go up. For me, it's the convenience that made me want a K2. I weigh the cost of individual books, just like I did with paper books. If I REALLY want to read a new release, I'll buy it; otherwise, I'll wait for the price to come down.

Still think my K2 was well worth it! I'm reading more, reading new authors, reading undiscovered authors, and expanding my reading genres. I am completely enjoying the K2, and don't regret getting it for a nanosecond.


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## LindaW (Jan 14, 2009)

lulucello said:


> For me, the Kindle is all about instant gratification, but I hate to see the pricies going up. <sigh>


That's how I feel. I troll all the book sites, including Amazon, and when I see something that interests me I can sample it within seconds. Don't get me wrong, I still love hanging out in my local bookstore - but sometimes when I'm curled up in my jammies it's just nice to know that I can have a new book right away.

I don't want to buy many e-books over the $9.99 price - but I'm weak!
(can you say "Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie"...I had to have it)


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

When I got my kindle in 2008 I was not aware of any price differences, I just got it for the reading experience.  It has been nice to get wonderful books at a good price, but that was not my reason.


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## mom133d (aka Liz) (Nov 25, 2008)

I researched ebook prices before purchasing my Kindle back in 08. Amazon clearly stated that New York Times Bestsellers will be $9.99 or less. I never assumed all books would be under $10. Still, $9.99 didn't sound too bad but I quickly discovered that my choice in books averages less than $5.   That was what really sold me.


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## nabrum (Jan 1, 2010)

Granvillen said:


> ...The free Whispernet is another issue. That too will be increased once Amazon has enough potential subscribers that are using the free service. ... Also, be prepared to pay to have the free books downloaded to your computer. It might not this year, but it will come. .... I firmly believe MacMillen and Amazon were in cahoots to increase the book prices. The first shoe has dropped, maybe a little prematurely, but it has dropped.


I agree that in time, Whispernet may be charged. But I disagree on being charged for the downloading to a PC. Amazon does not charge for downloading it's mp3 stuff, so I doubt it will charge for downloading to K4PC. It wouldn't make any fiscal sense at all, and the bad PR would become unbearable.

As for Amazon and MM being in "cahoots" to drive the price up is being cynical. For Amazon to want price parity with every other bookseller would be suicidal. They got where they are because of discounting. According to the NYT, even the new "Agent prices of $13-$15" for a Bestseller may not come about. The $9.99 may win out. Time will tell.


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

Maybe I am over simplifying this but I TRULY believe that we as a market have a whole lot to say about prices.

What I mean is Amazon or Publishers can set books at whatever price they wish, BUT if the books don't sell at that price they will end up having to re-think it.


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

Steph H said:


> I have to laugh at you defending Apple and their defense of prices on iTunes -- maybe you missed the recent news, but if it wasn't for Apple leading the pack with their new iPad/bookstore prices, Amazon probably never would have had to increase prices at all. Amazon didn't want to cave (at least not publicly), *Apple and the publishers  * basically forced them to. To quote a well-used childhood phrase: "They started it!!"


Oh please.  It is ridiculous to blame Apple releasing their iPad for any increase in Amazon's prices.Seriously.


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## MamaProfCrash (Dec 16, 2008)

I have spent a great deal more on books since getting my Kindle beacuse it is easy for me to buy books. I don't have to go to the bookstore, I turn to my computer. Occassioanlly I use whispernet. I have paid more then $9.99 twice in the 18 months I have owned my Kindle for books that I did not want to wait to read. 

I will buy the books that I want to read at a price I find reasonable. I don't have a set price in mind because it depends on how much I want to read a given book. 

The Kindle provides me with convience and ease of purchase. I don't see myself returning to DTB any time in the near future. I tried to re-read the Harry Potter novles recently and put down the first book less then a chapter in. Holding a paperback book was just cumbersome.


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## RichardMW (Aug 31, 2009)

Here is an example of predatory Kindle pricing.
I was looking for this book: "Shanghai Moon" http://www.amazon.com/Shanghai-Moon-Lydia-Smith-Novels/dp/B0031MA8S8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266763285&sr=8-1

The Kindle version is now $14.97.
The hard cover version is only available as "bargin pricing" at $9.98.

You would think that if the hardcover pricing has dropped, probably because a paperback is about to be released, that the Kindle price would drop.
Apparently not. 
I am going to wait and get this one from the library. It is not worth $14.97 and I don't want another hard cover book.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I have 12 books on my wishlist like the one Richard mentioned; there is a lower price paperback version listed now that is not yet released but the book is still priced in relation to the hardbound.  In some of those cases, there is a discount version of the hardbound as well.  I've decided to ignore the discount pricing and I'm instead paying attention to the upcoming paperback version.  For these, I'll just wait until after the new release date to get the books.  They're all books I'm interested in - and in a few cases, one's I REALLY want - but there's nothing on the list I can't live without.

In general, pricing in flux now.  I did a pricing update on my spreadsheet over the weekend - 12 days after converting my amazon wishlist to the excel file.  there are 119 books where 8 pbook prices went up, 7 went down, 7 ebook prices went up and 3 down.  While that's only 21% of the books changing, that's in less than 2 weeks.

Comparing ebook to pbook prices by the major houses is still lopsided as I don't seem to get into Hatchette much at all.  But based on books I want on Amazon, the 6 Majors breakdown like this:

Hachette Books          79.98%    1
Simon & Schuster        91.51%    7
HarperCollins            102.64%    8
Penguin                      80.75%  15
MacMillan                  101.81%  10
Random House            86.25%  35
Smaller House/Indie    54.90%  33

Time will tell whether consumers buy books immediately at the new price model or if the model shifts due to stronger purchasing numbers at other price points.  For myself, though, I will buy books based on my own pricing guideline which states an ebook must be 20% cheaper than the lowest published pbook price and it must be a price I think is fair for the particular book in question.


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## idolguy (Dec 31, 2008)

FearNot said:


> For example, will I pay $25.00 to read the AD Chronicles? Nope. I'm interested and my father very highly recommends them, but there are two reasons I won't buy them at the currently listed price.


Just wondering..what are the AD Chronicles?


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

idolguy said:


> Just wondering..what are the AD Chronicles?


 
Hardcover $18.24

 
Kindle Edition $24.99​


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

I guess I'm lucky.  The most recent mainstream book I wanted was Dana Stabenow's newest Kate Shugak book.  It was $9.99 and I grabbed it.  So all the pubs aren't going crazy yet.  For anyone reading this, I don't know that I'd recommend starting this series with a recent book.  There are a lot of references to prior events and a lot of repeat characters.  But if the early Kate Shugak's are available on Kindle, I do highly recommend the series for those who like this type of mystery.

There are only a handful of authors I ever bought in HC anyway.  The first one that shows up with the new ridiculous pricing will be the first to lose sales - I'm a library person when books are too much.


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

webhill said:


> For me, the point of buying the kindle version is:
> 
> -don't have to carry around a large book
> -don't have to worry about losing the book
> ...


I agree with the above-stated reasons for buying the Kindle version of books. I would add that I spend considerably less on books now than I did pre-Kindle, and my daughters and I share an account, so we all three buy fewer books than before. We like to read many of the same books, so it's working out great. I just LOVE having my favorite books, as well as my TBR titles, with me at all times.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

webhill said:


> So there's this whole value-added thing that I feel actually makes the book "worth" more - I just simultaneously feel that since the production and distribution cost is so much lower that it should cost less for the end-user. That said, I'm going to say it: if I really want a book to read, and it's the same or slightly more than the hardback in Kindle format, I just might buy it anyway. I PREFER the kindle format. it's not about the money really. It just really pisses me off when that happens. I'd feel better about it if I were sharing more. I did read the whole Percy Jackson series on my Kindle (I bought it for my son who reads on his iPod touch kindle app) and felt that was great value for the money
> 
> -h.


I agree about the "value added" aspect of Kindle books - it's just so much more enjoyable to read on my Kindle, I have a hard time making myself read a DTB any more, especially a paperback. So I have to admit - if the Kindle price seems reasonable, I'll pay it without checking the prices of other editions - I'm not interested in them anyway. Having said that - while I don't consider myself a "boycotter", I have yet to pay more than 9.99 for a Kindle book and the vast majority have been far less than that. I got most of my books either used or at the library in my pre-Kindle days - in spite of "investing" in my Kindle, my cheap nature hasn't changed.


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