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#16 |
Wizard
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Karma: 6957792
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Ottawa, ON
Device: Kobo H2O
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I buy from the place with the cheapest price. It usually works out to Kobo with a coupon, then Kobo (no coupon) or Amazon. Amazon often has higher prices when selling the same book to Canadians than Americans.
What I don't understand is the variability of pricing between stores on ebooks where the publisher has set the price. Are they setting different prices at different stores or are they not really setting the price at all? |
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#17 |
(he/him/his)
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Karma: 79742714
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Sunshine Coast, BC
Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8
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It's certainly very possible--I do it on every book I buy from Amazon (or anywhere else.) And why? Because then I control the book, not Amazon. And I can use my own tools however I wish to manage my books and transfer to whatever device I want.
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#18 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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Karma: 198099188
Join Date: Jan 2010
Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD
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Quote:
Reason? Insurance and Choice, of course. The same reasons anyone wants/needs to strip DRM. |
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#19 |
Cat lover
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Karma: 1149782
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Montreal, Canada
Device: iPhone, Kobo Vox, Kobo Glo, iPad mini, Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Aura
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I mainly buy my books at Kobo because of the devices I use. When I can't find a book at Kobo I buy with Amazon.
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#20 |
reader
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Karma: 5183568
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Mississippi, USA
Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD
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I strip DRM because I want consistent formatting for my ebooks, and because I don't want to be tied to any one reading environment.
I have bought from many ebook stores. My first go-to store was FictionWise, because they treated their customers right and they had a good selection. Later on, Amazon overtook FictionWise and all others for me because of selection, price and customer service. FictionWise withered on the vine, and I don't shop there any more. With agency pricing Amazon has less of a price advantage, but there is also less point in shopping around. Now if an ebook is available at Amazon I buy it there, and otherwise I search InkMesh for alternative stores. I am in the US, and I used to use WHSmith for UK ebooks but now I buy them from Kobo directly (since WHSmith is a front for Kobo). A large advantage Amazon has is their customer reviews. I like to see a review or two for new authors, and I like to see the stars bar chart for established authors. I don't mind seeing a few negative reviews, but a title with a uniform bar chart (all rankings about the same) makes me think twice about buying. Amazon reviews used to be head and shoulders above other ebooks sites, but they are catching up. Google books has a good review system. B&N does not show the bar chart. Kobo (UK) does not seem to have many reviews at all. The in-store book search seems to be about equivalent now at Amazon, B&N, Kobo and Google. All show likely options while you type for example. |
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#21 |
Wizard
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Karma: 3761220
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Pennsylvania
Device: T1 Red, Kindle Fire, Kindle PW, PW2, Nook HD+, Kobo Mini, Aura HD
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If a book is available at multiple locations, I will buy it first at Sony, then B&N, then Smashwords, and lastly Amazon. I try to support the vendors in whose devices I have as much as possible.
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#22 |
Wizard
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Karma: 3790058
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: NYC
Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony 650
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Most of my ebooks come from the library. I never buy full-price ebooks. If it costs more than $8 or so, I'd rather have a hard copy. So I'm typically buying some $.99 promo title. If it's the same price in all the majors, I will buy from Sony Store because it's one less step to get it on my reader. But mostly the promo books come from Amazon and B&N, with Amazon being the most frequent. I won't even look at Smashwords or the smaller indie ebookstores (Copia also comes to mind). I just have enough websites to keep track of and get emails from already.
But I don't think I'm a typical user. I do agree that most people just buy from the store their reader came from, and don't give it another thought. When my sister wanted an ereader, I helped her research the best one to get, and we searched a bunch of books she wanted, all self-help type books. About half were only available on Amazon, so that was the answer. eP |
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#23 |
Grand Sorcerer
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Karma: 52612287
Join Date: Oct 2010
Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip
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I buy Agency books--which are most of my purchases--from BN because I use a BN credit card that gives me a 5 percent rebate; also, until recently, going through Ebates gave me an additional discount.
For non-Agency books, I shop by price, factoring in any available coupons--usually I end up getting them at Kobo. Amazon is a last resort. In the year that I've had my e-reader, I've purchased exactly four e-books from Amazon. Two were not available anywhere else (one later was issued in epub); two were deeply discounted deals at Amazon. |
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#24 |
Reading and reading
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Karma: 8250144
Join Date: Oct 2010
Device: Infibeam Pi, iPod Touch 4G, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 2, Oneplus One
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I buy over smashwords. And books gone free on kindle. Only reason I don't buy on kindle is Amazon had problems authorizing debit cards from my country. Smashwords works in a blink of an eye.
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#25 |
Mike
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Karma: 396886
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Minnesota
Device: Kindle
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I buy primarily from Amazon. Smashwords second (I have a Kindle 2).
I've found BNs site to be a pain. Mike |
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#26 |
Guru
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Karma: 1341819
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Minnesota USA
Device: Sony 350, Sony T1, Kindle Touch, Kindle PW1
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I have a Sony PRS 350 & A Kindle3, so I buy books from;
Smashwords Books On Board Kobo Amazon. |
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#27 |
Tea Enthusiast
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Karma: 75384937
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Somewhere in the USA
Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2
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Amazon. Why? I am lazy and I can order the books from my device and have them delivered. It is easy and they are stored for me.
I have looked at other sites and have not found the books that I want there. I can strip DRM and convert but why bother when the books that I buy are the same price at Amazon as at other stores. (shrugs) |
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#28 |
Grand Sorcerer
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Karma: 12117215
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Madrid, Spain
Device: Kobo Clara/Aura One/Forma,XiaoMI 5, iPad, Huawei MediaPad, YotaPhone 2
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My answer: the cheapest place, aside of the format. If the price is the same, I prefer Kobo and Smashwords.
Format and DRM doesn't matter to me, because no book reaches my ereader without I've modified it according to my preferences. |
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#29 |
Grand Sorcerer
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Karma: 25133758
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA
Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3 (Past: Kobo Mini, PEZ, PRS-505, Clié)
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I buy from Smashwords, Fictionwise (multiformat only), Baen, DriveThruRPG, and a handful of other independent publishers. I don't do DRM, and I won't install special software to buy ebooks to read on my device.
That said, people buy at Amazon because (aside from "because they have a Kindle" and "inertia"): 1) Widest selection. 2) Recommendations; plenty of "people who liked X also bought Y" 3) Easy interface: book listings aren't stuck in a narrow column in the middle of the page, and info about this book is above the "people also bought" part. (BN seems to think if you're looking at a book, you already know about it; reviews & data are an afterthought below the big BUY IT NOW button & the "ALSO YOU WOULD MAYBE LIKE" collection.) 4) Decent return policy. BN, early in their ebooking days, refused to accept returns *when they'd sent the wrong ebook.* As in, the filename was correct but the contents were a different book entirely. 5) Easy bestseller lists. See what's popular in the genre or subgenre; pick up something interesting-looking for a few bucks. There's probably a few more reasons, but those are a start. |
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#30 |
(he/him/his)
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Karma: 79742714
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Sunshine Coast, BC
Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8
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I buy books (in order of preference) from:
Author's Website Baen Webscriptions Amazon Kobo The reasons? #1&2 -- I know the maximum amount of my $$ is going to the author. #3? Easy. NO ONE makes it easier to buy books than Amazon. And #4? Only for Canadian books that aren't available from my Amazon US account. Notice what is NOT here? B&N. I tried to buy a book from them. What a PITA. And their DRM is particularly annoying and fussy. Screw 'em. |
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