# Kindle Books now outselling paper at Amazon - MERGED topic



## Tara Shuler (Apr 24, 2011)

OMG! I just saw this on Kindle's Facebook!

http://bit.ly/kLajcB


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## Guest (May 19, 2011)

Keep in mind those sales figures are calculating volume, not profit.  Considering the fact that there are so many free and 99 cent books available for the Kindle, we aren't neccessarily comparing apples to oranges. Too many people read this as ebooks replacing print, but there is no statistical evidence that is in fact what is happening.  (The print industry actually had a pretty good year last year, considering we were coming out of a recession).  Ebooks still account for only 10% of the industry profits.  

Of course, I think this is wonderful news, because more people are buying ebooks.  And that is good news for ebook publishers.  The ebook market is a whole new market, not a leech on an existing one.   And these figures tell us as much.  But let's keep in mind that gross volume is just that:  volume.  Don't read more into it that it is (despite the fact that Amazon markets the data otherwise...)


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## Will Write for Gruel (Oct 16, 2010)

They didn't include free books in their totals. It's paid books. Your point about the profit still stands, though I'll add that the profit on many hardbacks at Amazon is thin as they are often discounted down to something close to Amazon's cost.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Read closer, Julie. They explicitly say, twice, that they aren't counting free book downloads. And ebooks replace print based on what _readers are reading most_. Profits are completely unrelated to that. If 51% of readers are reading digital, and 49% print, then ebook has replaced print, regardless of profits. *Note: not saying that has happened yet, just trying to illustrate a point*. For Amazon as a company, ebooks have taken over print. Simple as that. And the divide is just going to keep getting bigger.


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## Mel Comley (Oct 13, 2010)

It is great news but hardly surprising considering the price difference between kindle books and paperbacks.


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## davidhburton (Mar 11, 2010)

I apologize if this was posted already, but I didn't see it, but it looks like Kindle books are now outselling all paper books at Amazon. 

http://www.slashgear.com/kindle-ebook-sales-exceed-print-sales-in-us-19153084/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+slashgear+(SlashGear)


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## navythriller (Mar 11, 2011)

I wonder where the balance between print and eBook will ultimately fall. I've heard a lot of people predict that printed books will vanish entirely over the next few decades. I could be wrong, but I don't see that happening. With Publish On Demand technologies, it's possible to print a single book in minutes. And the price of POD has come down enough to make it cost-effective. I suspect that books will increasingly default to electronic formats, with the option of purchasing one-off printed copies for readers who need/prefer physical books. This would support the accelerating shift toward eBooks, while preserving the ability to produce hardcopies.

I don't mean to get didactic here, but - as an author and a hardcore reader - I can't help wondering what the future is going to look like.


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## jackz4000 (May 15, 2011)

Well that gives you an idea of what formats sell best on AMZ but that is only for AMZ and that is interesting.

But, for publishing as a whole the traditional pubs with their sell throughs have the opposite results.  For 2010 Top 10 Bestsellers HardCovers were the predominant sales by a wide margin and that does continue as you scroll down the list.  Example:  Stephen King's book came in at 8 or 9 and total Ebooks was less than 10%.


I think AMZ with it's different model will have different format results vs total sales from other publishers.  Also I don't think AMZ releases a breakdown of copies sold.

It definitely tells you AMZ is the hot place for Ebooks though.  I suspect that in time Ebook sales will only increase.


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## yomamma (Feb 10, 2011)

Amazon has also reported a decrease in profits for the last 4 quarters straight, which concerns me. I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Paranoid, I know!


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## daringnovelist (Apr 3, 2010)

jillmyles said:


> Amazon has also reported a decrease in profits for the last 4 quarters straight, which concerns me. I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Paranoid, I know!


Don't forget two things: Amazon is a LOT bigger than Kindle. They sell everything. Second: Amazon tends to take a loss when they are setting up for a huge gain.

In addition I would defend Julie's statements that volume doesn't mean more customers - it may (and probably does) mean each ebook customer buys way more books. But that's okay, because it points to the potential for growth.

Camille


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

**two similar threads, from different boards, merged**


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## Decon (Feb 16, 2011)

jillmyles said:


> Amazon has also reported a decrease in profits for the last 4 quarters straight, which concerns me. I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Paranoid, I know!


Yes that is quite worrying. I just wonder if that may lead to an end of the 99 -$2.98 books, or a reduction in royalties in a quest to improve profits?

As for Amazon selling more eBooks than paper books, maybe the publishers who have broken the $9.99 barrier will take note.


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## micki (Oct 8, 2010)

Amanda Hocking is a prime example with regard to epublishing. She had hundreds of rejections from Agents, once she self published and epublished - they are knocking on her door. I feel there are loads of good books that have been rejected by agents and my understanding of it is that the agents/oublishers dictate what the readers should read or buy, whereas epublishing, the reader can purchase whatever they want to read.  Having said that, I still don't think paper books will be a dying trade. There are plenty of readers who still prefer holding a book in their hands as opposed to a kindle.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

As a writer, I welcome th enews.  I like th eidea of reaching the largest possible audience.  However, I do think the news needs to be taken with that proverbial grain of salt.  And, on a personal note, I hope there will still always be a place for print books.  I honestly don't believe it's an either/or situation.


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## Tamara Rose Blodgett (Apr 1, 2011)

It's all about cost for me...I don't think I'm unique in that area. When I look for new books ( or my hubby), it's price and reviews P&R. The consequence is more books on my Kindle, that's where I want it to be!   Cool article, I tweeted it...


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## Mark Adair (Dec 4, 2010)

Now Amazon sells more ebooks than hardback and paper combined:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43093217


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## jabeard (Apr 22, 2011)

Interesting, though a direct number comparison isn't as informative as an actual cost comparison.

After all, it takes sales of ten dollar books to equal the value of one ten dollar book.

It still is illustrative of the general trend though.


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## medicalhumor (Feb 15, 2011)

That's a wonderful thing for ebook authors!


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## David M. Baum (Apr 21, 2011)

jabeard said:


> Interesting, though a direct number comparison isn't as informative as an actual cost comparison.
> 
> After all, it takes sales of ten dollar books to equal the value of one ten dollar book.
> 
> It still is illustrative of the general trend though.


It depends on how you define "actual cost", no? Do cost take into account profit margin? The sales turnover for DTB's will surely be higher, but if the profit margin for Amazon on ebooks is better, it changes the picture, I think. But I'm not much good at economics.


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## medicalhumor (Feb 15, 2011)

That's a wonderful thing for ebook authors!


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## Mark Adair (Dec 4, 2010)

jabeard said:


> Interesting, though a direct number comparison isn't as informative as an actual cost comparison.
> 
> After all, it takes sales of ten dollar books to equal the value of one ten dollar book.
> 
> It still is illustrative of the general trend though.


I would say they're both informative, just in different ways.


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## jabeard (Apr 22, 2011)

This makes me a lot more comfortable with the idea of doing an e-book only release. I love my Kindle, but I've been having trouble shaking the feeling that a lot of people will never hop on the e-reader band wagon. Things like this help convince me otherwise.


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## Christy Dorrity (Mar 21, 2011)

It's such a great time to be a writer.  The future is uncertain, but if you are smart and watch the trends, a new writer could "claim their stake" in the new territory.  Too bad I don't have a crystal ball...


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## 4Katie (Jun 27, 2009)

There are a lot of really amazing statistics in this article:



> Amazon e-books now outselling print books
> 
> (CNN) -- As further proof of how digital media dominate today's entertainment, Amazon announced Thursday that its customers now buy more e-books for its Kindle device than all print books -- hardcover and paperback -- combined.
> 
> ...


http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/gaming.gadgets/05/19/kindle.outsells.books/index.html?hpt=T2


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## navythriller (Mar 11, 2011)

Christy Dorrity said:


> It's such a great time to be a writer. The future is uncertain, but if you are smart and watch the trends, a new writer could "claim their stake" in the new territory. Too bad I don't have a crystal ball...


Well said!


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## ElaineOK (Jun 5, 2009)

One of those interesting statistics is that sales for both hard and soft cover DTB's are up as well, although not as dramatically.  So much for the death of paper argument.  Of course, the articles earlier this week about the percentage of primetime Internet traffic that Netflix accounts for (v. file-sharing) should have definitively settled the point that making legal access cheap enough and easy enough will kill piracy -- we should be so lucky.

Elaine 
Norman, OK


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## brianrowe (Mar 10, 2011)

We all knew this was coming. We just have to remember, no matter easy it may be to get our work Amazon and B&N nowadays, QUALITY of the work must always come first!!


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## Justin Alexander (Feb 19, 2011)

navythriller said:


> I wonder where the balance between print and eBook will ultimately fall.


At this point it's fairly clear we've reached the tipping point. As more and more people begin carrying smartphones and tablets, the convenience of always having your library in your pocket is going to make physical books as redundant as LPs.

Within 10 years, bookstores will be basically in the same position as record stores. Within 20, they'll be like stores specializing in LPs. And every few years there'll be a bump in the collectible book market and someone will say, "This is it. Paper books are coming back!" But they won't.

(Okay. In reality, there will remain a more vibrant market for collectible books than collectible LPs or CDs. But I don't know if POD is going to be how that happens. POD is a great short-term solution for catering to those who want to hang onto their printed books, but in the long run I suspect the only real market for physical books will be high quality collectible editions.)


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

As Amazon doesn't give hard numbers, and is talking her in terms of units rather than dollars, it can be useful to look at other sources to get a bigger picture.

The American Association of Publishers have released their figures for March. E-books are still exploding, but at not quite the crazy levels of February but are still up almost 150% on March 2010. Print bounced back in March, and e-books got knocked back from #1 spot to #3 spot for the month. Most analysts expecting this that Jan & Feb were fuelled by a post-holiday surge of buying by new Kindle owners.

These figures should be treated with some caution for the following reasons.

1. Only 84 trade houses have reported print data, and only 16 have reported e-book data, so these figures should not be taken as gospel.

2. Most small, independent presses and e-publishers are not included. A lot of these guys would sell more e-books than print books, and some would have a lot of e-only titles.

3. Self-publishers are not included, and the vast majority of their sales are in e-books.

In any event, it's useful to view trends, and we can now look at the figures for the first quarter of 2011.

Publisher’s Weekly has collated the figures, and e-book sales are up 159.8%, while print is in decline overall, with Adult Mass Market Paperback suffering most, dropping 23.4%.

From all the houses reporting, e-book sales for all of 2010 were $441.3m. In the first three months of 2011, they are already at $233.1m. That’s more than half the revenue in a quarter of the time.

It’s obviously far too early to tell, but if these trends continue, we could be looking at $1bn in e-books sales – by just these houses – by the end of the year.


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## davmillh (Mar 31, 2011)

I heard that news this morning, but as noted it is only on Amazon. Taken overall in the amount of books being sold, it is still only a small percentage. I still like the feel of paper most of the time.


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## David M. Baum (Apr 21, 2011)

dgaughran said:


> As Amazon doesn't give hard numbers, and is talking her in terms of units rather than dollars, it can be useful to look at other sources to get a bigger picture.


Great breakdown. Thanks!


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

ElaineOK said:


> One of those interesting statistics is that sales for both hard and soft cover DTB's are up as well, although not as dramatically. So much for the death of paper argument. Of course, the articles earlier this week about the percentage of primetime Internet traffic that Netflix accounts for (v. file-sharing) should have definitively settled the point that making legal access cheap enough and easy enough will kill piracy -- we should be so lucky.
> 
> Elaine
> Norman, OK


I swear that I buy more paperbacks and hardcovers now that I have an ereader!


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## David M. Baum (Apr 21, 2011)

Krista D. Ball said:


> I swear that I buy more paperbacks and hardcovers now that I have an ereader!


really? How is that? I've almost completely stopped buying DTB's sinve I have my Kindle.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I definitely read more now that I have a Kindle than ever before, but I almost certainly buy more ebooks than physical books.  My mom still doesn't read ebooks, so I had to buy her a hardcover copy of one of her favorites for Mother's Day.  And I have been reading a physical copy of some detective novels not available in ebook...but I swear my Kindle calls to me and forces me to buy books.

At least, that is what I try to explain to the bank...and my landlord...and the bill collectors.


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## labread (Jan 26, 2011)

Are free books counted in these types of stats?  I sure have "bought" lots of those since getting my Kindle.


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## jabeard (Apr 22, 2011)

labread said:


> Are free books counted in these types of stats? I sure have "bought" lots of those since getting my Kindle.


No, they explicitly did not include free books.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

Justin Alexander said:


> At this point it's fairly clear we've reached the tipping point. As more and more people begin carrying smartphones and tablets, the convenience of always having your library in your pocket is going to make physical books as redundant as LPs.
> 
> Within 10 years, bookstores will be basically in the same position as record stores. Within 20, they'll be like stores specializing in LPs. And every few years there'll be a bump in the collectible book market and someone will say, "This is it. Paper books are coming back!" But they won't.
> 
> (Okay. In reality, there will remain a more vibrant market for collectible books than collectible LPs or CDs. But I don't know if POD is going to be how that happens. POD is a great short-term solution for catering to those who want to hang onto their printed books, but in the long run I suspect the only real market for physical books will be high quality collectible editions.)


I think you hit it. We are at or just past the tipping point. I do think that just as most of us underestimated how long it would take to get here (I sure did!), many now underestimate how long it will get for near-total domination of the market.

But that doesn't translate to domination by indies.


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## crimescribe (Apr 27, 2011)

I think there's a fair amount of hype involved in stories like this, at least right now. There will come a time when ebooks truly do overtake print, but only at comparable price points. If stories like this one are comparing a .99 cent book with a more expensive paperback, no way, maybe in five years or so, but not now.


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

@Crimscribe

In February this year e-books was the #1 selling format ahead of hardback, paperback, and mass-market paperback. That's in dollar terms too. And it's only counting big publishers - not e-publishers, small presses, or self-publishers.

It's going to happen, and sooner than you think.


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## D/W (Dec 29, 2010)

It's been exciting to witness how quickly e-book sales have been accelerating! It seems like the market's been exploding just within the last six months! With the lower-priced Kindle device now available and Kindle library lending coming soon, more and more people are going to be looking for e-books. Things are going to get _very_ interesting toward the end of the year. Sales last Christmas were amazing; this upcoming holiday season, sales are going to be incredible!


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

For sure.

I think we will see a sub-$100 Kindle, a Kindle tablet, and maybe a Kindle phone. We will also have a new iPhone and maybe a new iPad. Plus lots of other new tablets/e-readers.

E-books are being mentioned all the time in the press, new people are trying them every day.

They will be HUGE by Christmas, there could be 30m more people with tablets/e-readers eager to fill em up.


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## Scott Daniel (Feb 1, 2011)

I'm not surpised at all that e-books have overtaken print books. As a writer, it's both good and bad. It's a chance for us to sell to a broader audience. But my gut says that when e-books become the standard, Amazon and B&N will end the current revenue models and that authors will, once again, get screwed.


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## jackz4000 (May 15, 2011)

dgaughran said:


> @Crimscribe
> 
> In February this year e-books was the #1 selling format ahead of hardback, paperback, and mass-market paperback. That's in dollar terms too. And it's only counting big publishers - not e-publishers, small presses, or self-publishers.
> 
> It's going to happen, and sooner than you think.


That's at Amazon only and they don't release detailed sales like the pubs do.


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

jackz4000 said:


> That's at Amazon only and they don't release detailed sales like the pubs do.


Actually that's the American Association of Publishers (AAP) which collects print sales data from 84 trade houses and e-book data from 16 trade houses. Small presses, self-publishers are excluded.

Link: http://publishers.org/press/30/


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

balaspa said:


> I definitely read more now that I have a Kindle than ever before, but I almost certainly buy more ebooks than physical books. My mom still doesn't read ebooks, so I had to buy her a hardcover copy of one of her favorites for Mother's Day. And I have been reading a physical copy of some detective novels not available in ebook...but I swear my Kindle calls to me and forces me to buy books.
> 
> At least, that is what I try to explain to the bank...and my landlord...and the bill collectors.


I suspect that Amazon puts some secret chemical in the plastic of the Kindle. It causes you to press that one-click button!

I spent my entire months book budget in about 10 days this month. I'm sure that's the explanation.

Edit: Yes, I do have a book budget. If I didn't my Kindle would get very damp from my sleeping under the bridge when I couldn't pay the OTHER bills.


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> Read closer, Julie. They explicitly say, twice, that they aren't counting free book downloads. And ebooks replace print based on what _readers are reading most_. Profits are completely unrelated to that. If 51% of readers are reading digital, and 49% print, then ebook has replaced print, regardless of profits. *Note: not saying that has happened yet, just trying to illustrate a point*. For Amazon as a company, ebooks have taken over print. Simple as that. And the divide is just going to keep getting bigger.


A breath of sanity.


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

I love my Kindle, but if e-reading dominates we should all be rooting for Nook and others to close the gap. Competition is good. The author almost always ends up getting screwed in the end, and with a monopoly the risk will be higher that usual. If you're not an author, you should at least want those of us you enjoy reading to have a decent standard of living for many years of effort.


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