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petewhitley posted:I'm not trying to get on either side of this argument, buy anyone who purchases a significant number of ebooks from the Kindle store will have seen tons of examples. I just looked through my 3-page Wish List, and more than half of them had the price set by the publisher. Of those, in all but one example the Kindle price was HIGHER than the paperback price. In than lone exception, it was the same as the paperback price. I agree. Its really discouraging, and I imagine most people are likely to pass those books up unless they really really want to read that book. Doesn't help when theres a series priced the same way. You can argue that the convenience factor might make up for it but not for me. A kindle book priced 1-2 dollars above paperback is likely to be one I'll pass up, but I wouldn't feel like I was getting such a sour deal if it was priced 1-2 below.
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| # ¿ May 4, 2011 03:59 |
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| # ¿ May 20, 2013 17:28 |
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fishmech posted:No but when the paperback list price is $18, the Kindle price is $9 and Amazon has the paperback on sale for $8 that's not really a problem. You wouldn't find the book in a physical store for the Amazon sale price most likely so it's a question of waiting days for it to ship to save a dollar, or buying Kindle. This sounds a lot like a defense for Ticketmaster charging convenience fees. Selling kindle books is much more convenient and cheaper for Amazon than selling a paperback. But you're forced to pay extra for the store's convenience. Kindle books don't take time to physically manufacture on a machine, then bind, freight to warehouses, ship to customer, ect. Yet, we're still expected to pay the same price as if all of that overhead is still there for a lot of e-books. Which is even more puzzling when the kindle book is higher than the paperback.
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| # ¿ May 4, 2011 17:36 |
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maxnmona posted:again: you guys are acting like there's some sort of equation starting with the cost to produce a product and ending, after a set series of steps, on its price. I'm not disagreeing. I, and I believe others in the thread, are merely articulating why those price points are too high and pass them over for purchase, especially in comparison to physical copies of the book. fishmech posted:Those books aren't going to be on sale forever - you know this right? Most books are not more expensive on Kindle. Many books that are will only be so for limited times. There is a 7 year old book that I have been thinking about buying and the kindle version is still higher. Granted, the kindle version is set by the publisher. How much longer should we wait for the kindle version to become cheaper and a better deal? I wouldn't mind so much if the books were new releases, but for a 7 year old book? Thats what I think a lot of people are complaining about. Not so much that the newest books are slightly higher, but the books that have been around for years are still cheaper if you buy a physical copy. And its not as though the older books I've seen with this price structure actually fluctuate.
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| # ¿ May 4, 2011 20:52 |
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cLin posted:I picked up a Kindle 3rd gen and noticed in the first post that reading PDF files suck, how does it suck though? Do the files just not render properly? Besides calibre, are there any other solutions people use to convert from PDF to a readable format for the Kindle? Theres no reflow, so you're basically looking at an image and having to zoom in. If you can do reflow, i don't know how to.
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| # ¿ May 4, 2011 23:05 |
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The Aphasian posted:I'm confused. I've had mine doing this for months. They changed something about it. The annoying part is there isn't a separate field for isbn, now you have to put the isbn as "isbn:728687168761" in the IDs field.
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| # ¿ May 7, 2011 01:36 |
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Since we have been talking about ebook prices, I figured I would link to this inkmesh article talking about how the prices are set. A little more explenation than just that it's set by the publisher. Here is one snip. http://inkmesh.com/blog/2010/08/21/...t-agency-model/ quote:With the advent in agency model in April 2010, a lot of retailers lost the advantage of pricing ebooks aggressively. Before the EBook Agency Model, the publisher typically offered the ebooks at 50% of the hardcover price, and then allowed the retailer to sell them for whatever price they liked. So if a book had a list price of $30, the publisher would sell it to say Amazon for $15, and in turn, Amazon might sell it for $9.99 taking a $5 loss, but attracting a lot of people to buy from them. Some wonder why Amazon would want to take a $5 loss on every ebook sold under the old arrangement. Our guess is that Amazon wants to dominate the market and basically crush the competition by making it impossible for them to compete over the long-term as well as also make money by selling more Kindle readers. Regardless of the motivation, it is a great deal for consumers and not such a great deal for authors.
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| # ¿ May 7, 2011 03:04 |
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Centipeed posted:I assumed that there were independent editors and formatters that an author could hire. A lot of the self published people have regular jobs and just write on the side. I don't know how many have gone to writing full time, but when they're selling their books on amazon for 2 dollars or less, I doubt it. John Locke who gets on the kindle best seller list usually sells his books for 99 cents. But he does all of his writing on the side. He's turned down offers from publishing houses to get signed, but I'm sure others would gladly sign. Theres probably at least half a dozen books on Amazon's top 50 paid kindle books that are from self published. So they're already making an impact. Much easier to break into a market where the prices are set by the publisher when you can sell on Amazon for as little as 99 cents.
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| # ¿ May 7, 2011 19:41 |
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I think its fairly cheap. If amazon's editing prices are around industry standard, it doesn't look like its too far out of reach. Granted, I think the basic package would be around $1,000. I'd be surprised if sales could get you to break even, unless you were on the amazon best seller's list. https://www.createspace.com/pub/ser...AC9.cspworker00
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| # ¿ May 7, 2011 23:35 |
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maxnmona posted:I put a couple thousand into the making of it (there was a print version as well), and made that amount plus a few hundred back. So the answer is not much. But my goal for this first project, which was designed to test out the whole process more than anything, was just to make my money back. And instead I was in the black only a few weeks after it came out. What were you having to spend money on? I know theres editing, but where else is your money going?
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| # ¿ May 9, 2011 03:07 |
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fishmech posted:They can do just articles now? My experience with Kindle magazines is buying a full magazine and it arrives instantly, though obviously if you want next week's or month's issue and it won't come out till tomorrow you can't get that till it comes out. Maybe he was getting one of the Kindle Singles things. http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=2486013011
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| # ¿ May 10, 2011 18:01 |
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Jam2 posted:Which, between the Kindle and the nook, would be better for a power user who loads his/her own materials on as pdf documents and values the ability to quickly navigate from page to page within a given text? Major concerns include refresh rate, shortcuts, bookmarking, ability to quickly skip between adjacent pages as well as between pages that are non-contiguous. I would essentially like to be able to mimic the paper-book-feel as much as possible using the technology that's available. I think the Nook has reflow capability, but the kindle doesn't. On the kindle, looking at a PDF, is basically like looking at a big image. You gotta zoom, scroll, ect. Having said that, not all PDFs are going to reflow even on a nook, so you might still end up with the same problems from time to time.
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| # ¿ May 15, 2011 13:38 |
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Some people in the amazon forum were saying that self published people have been able to submit books in formats other than mobi for a while. Maybe Amazon is just willing to do the conversion themselves? I don't wanna get my hopes up just yet. 
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| # ¿ May 21, 2011 01:15 |
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Another thing I was thinking about just now, since ebooks use the agency model, maybe there is little reason to try to fight the format war. If everyone is more or less forced to sell the an ebook at the same price, maybe its just better for amazon to just open up the flood gates and let everyone buy from them.
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| # ¿ May 21, 2011 01:31 |
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If there is something on the kindle store at amazon.co.uk, and you have an amazon.com registered kindle. How hard is it to get content from the UK site?
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| # ¿ May 25, 2011 17:05 |
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Its all small and mid sized publishers. Plus women orientated books always sell best.
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| # ¿ Jun 2, 2011 21:39 |
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At least The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book is on sale. http://amzn.to/iWlB8C
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| # ¿ Jun 2, 2011 21:46 |
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Sad Panda posted:For me an eReader would have to have internet access comparable to the Kindle for me to buy it. I use my free 3G so much as I don't have a smartphone and it's glorious. Not the best quality but wonderful for checking my email/couchsurfing on the road. Probably a good time to point out the Nook Touch doesn't have a web browser and non B&N books have to be loaded by physically connecting your nook to the computer.
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| # ¿ Jun 4, 2011 01:10 |
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http://unbridledbooks.com/unbridled...mments/25for25/ Unbridled Books is doing a sale for of 25 of their books for 25 cents each. You have to click on the list of indie book sellers to get the books themselves.
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| # ¿ Jun 9, 2011 20:45 |
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BobTheCow posted:Google's e-book support seems to go out of its way not to mention Kindle as a supported device. I sent in a support e-mail but I'm not hopeful. Bummer. There might be a calibre plugin that can help.
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| # ¿ Jun 10, 2011 19:06 |
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I've seen talk about a kindle tablet, but I wouldn't expect a new 6 inch kindle for a while. E-Ink hasn't come out with anything after E-Ink Pearl.
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| # ¿ Jun 11, 2011 01:08 |
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Quantify! posted:One person had a problem, nobody buy a Nook. Its mostly just about what happens when you do run into problems not so much the incident rate.
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| # ¿ Jun 11, 2011 01:50 |
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The text on the Nook Touch doesn't even have as much contrast as the old nook, also the font looks wonky. Which is important from the reading prospective.  
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| # ¿ Jun 13, 2011 00:03 |
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madprocess posted:I thought the whole deal with IR was that the screen quality wouldn't suffer? I guess they thought it didn't suffer too much. Who knows. Here are both at default fonts, the one above, the owner had to up the font a bunch to get one that was just as dark. 
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| # ¿ Jun 13, 2011 00:08 |
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Quantify! posted:I'm honestly not sure what you're comparing here. The fonts are at different sizes (and it looks like different fonts in some of them but I'm no typography expert) in each picture. The bigger font looks darker. Okay! The last pic is both at default. To get the touch to be as dark as the N1, you have to up the font a bunch.
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| # ¿ Jun 13, 2011 00:33 |
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Quantify! posted:But... the N1 has a bigger font in that picture. The touch can't duplicate the same amount of contrast unless you up the the touch's front waaay past the N1s font. In fact, that is just one jump on the front in the touch. It would have been nice if BN could simple just duplicate the font sizes and contrast.
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| # ¿ Jun 13, 2011 00:41 |
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Quantify! posted:Maybe this is true, but if you're going to post pictures, at least post pictures that compare the font at the same size so we can SEE that. You're not doing your argument any favors by posting bad comparison pictures. The Nooks don't have the same font sizes, probably because the Touch simply doesn't have the same contrast as the N1 when using the exact same front sizes. Thats not terribly surprising since even Sony's touch screen ereader a while back suffered the same problem. Good enough, even if its less? If someone looks at an Eink Pearl screen on the K3, they're going to notice a big difference. That seems like it would be a better selling point over getting finger prints on a screen that doesn't have as good contrast.
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| # ¿ Jun 13, 2011 00:50 |
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Bizarro Kanyon posted:I am looking at getting a Kindle 3. How annoying are the screen saver ads on the ad supported one? How often do they come up? I guess I am asking, is it intrusive? Screen saver only comes up after 10 minutes of inactivity or if you hit the power button. Audible works on kindle, haven't done it personaly, has a speaker and a headphone jack.
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| # ¿ Jun 16, 2011 02:55 |
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madprocess posted:The eyestrain that people get from using LCD screens comes pretty much entirely from the fact that you're looking at something that's putting out light directly into your eyes. If you backlight e-ink it will have the same issue of light directly into your eyes. What was the refresh rate like? I'd be concerned that the refresh rate would contribute to eye strain as well.
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| # ¿ Jun 19, 2011 21:46 |
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Synnr posted:Does page turning still have that weird delayed photo-negative effect? I think the instant page turn on my phone spoiled me. Yeah, but its like 1/2 or 1/4th of a second. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ6TjrhrZ_A here is a video of it.
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| # ¿ Jun 22, 2011 12:13 |
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quote:The e-books will include illustrations and interactivity, she said in a statement: “You visit Diagon Alley, get sorted into a house, cast spells and mix potions to help your house compete for the House Cup.” http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2...-on-pottermore/ Sounds like choose your own adventure ebooks.
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| # ¿ Jun 23, 2011 14:56 |
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Bizarro Kanyon posted:I think the article is combining the website with the ebooks. Those things you quoted have been mentioned about the website, not the e-books. Man, the article got my hopes up. I'm was hoping for the resurgence of choose your own adventure books.
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| # ¿ Jun 23, 2011 17:23 |
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Just a note, TSA doesn't always like it when you pack your kindle in your bag. So you should think about setting it in a bin with your shoes. Seems like some care, some don't if its in your bag. Other than TSA, the flight attendants just told me to turn it off for take off and landing.
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| # ¿ Jul 13, 2011 19:50 |
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http://blog.tsa.gov/2010/04/traveli...tbooks-and.html TSA blog says that you should keep it out, but my experience is that they won't always ask you to take it out.
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| # ¿ Jul 13, 2011 21:27 |
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hotsauce posted:From the link: "Great question! Electronic items smaller than the standard sized laptop should not need to be removed from your bag or their cases. It’s that simple." Mistyped. I've experienced both, so even though TSA blog says that you don't have to, you shouldn't always expect everything to go smoothly. I've been at one checkpoint that was super anal about everyone having liquids out and in a ziplock and one where they didn't seem to care at all. Been through one where I set off the metal detector and they waved me through.
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| # ¿ Jul 13, 2011 22:41 |
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http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.ht...ocId=1000705681 Amazon is having a big sale through July 27, more than 900 Kindle books are on sale for $0.99, $1.99, $2.99, and $3.99.
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| # ¿ Jul 20, 2011 17:09 |
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Hughlander posted:At some point I hope people look at the numbers from these sales and makes these the standard price points for eBooks, even $3.99 is kind of pushing it for the price I'd want to pay. Maybe I'm just too old, I remember buying crappy Del Rey Fantasy novels for $2.95 as a kid and had literally hundreds of them =/ There was one author explaining how $2.99 tends to be his sweet spot for selling copies and making money. He makes almost the same amount from a $2.99 ebook as he does from a hardcover, depending on how well it sells. http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2010/...ok-pricing.html Another blog looks at what price points are selling and how most people are buying around the 2-4 dollar range, not so much at $9.99. http://www.evilgeniuschronicles.org...ing-vs-revenue/
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| # ¿ Jul 21, 2011 13:09 |
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smackfu posted:Saw an interesting fact in a recent NYTimes article: http://www.mediabistro.com/ebooknew...his-year_b13724 Ebook sales are up 160% from last year.
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| # ¿ Jul 27, 2011 19:12 |
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Duckman2008 posted:Doesn't matter if iBooks took off or not, what matters is the Publishers used their 85% majority to force Amazon to change their pricing. Amazon does this for regular books all the time. Publisher's don't seem to mind when Amazon has loss leaders on that end. When it comes to ebooks, the publishers seem like they would rather it all go away.
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| # ¿ Aug 10, 2011 23:44 |
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The only thing I don't quite understand is why Amazon isn't involved in the litigation. Seems like it would be in their interest to have done this last year when the agency model was put in place. edit: Oh, the kindle on web thing looks like a way for Amazon to get around not being able to sell books through the kindle app for ipad/iphone. Sperg Victorious fucked around with this message at Aug 11, 2011 around 13:49 |
| # ¿ Aug 11, 2011 13:44 |
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| # ¿ May 20, 2013 17:28 |
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Island Nation posted:Thanks for the info, I suppose another Kindle wouldn't hurt but is Amazon likely to announce a new reader soon? Getting a new one isn't a emergency since I do have enough dead tree books to tide me over until the insurance check comes in. Rumor is that they'll have 7 and 10 inch tablets in the coming months. Some are saying that they'll have dual screens.
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| # ¿ Aug 13, 2011 19:40 |
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