12-30-2009, 05:07 AM | #1 |
Wizard
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Buying an Ebook: In the real world
Ok My dad 60+ has a Cool-ER reader and so does my Mum, I have a sony 300 and my wife has a 505.
My dad still needs help buying Ebooks let me explain why using a recent example. Witch and Wizard by James Patterson - Hardback £7.01 from amazon.co.uk(free shipping) So first of all we use ebooks.addall.com to search the various shops, I check all of the UK shops and BooksonboardUSA(as they are cheaper and some books are available) and Sony USA (as i have store credit there I buy when on holiday) so here are the results of that search- 1 Witch & Wizard £ 6.23 Books OnBoard Epub 2 Witch & Wizard £ 6.23 Books OnBoard Epub / Audio Book MP3 / Audio Book WMA 3 Witch & Wizard £ 6.24 Sony eBooks Epub 4 Witch & Wizard £ 7.80 Waterstones UK Epub 5 Witch & Wizard £ 9.10 Whsmith UK Epub 6 Witch & Wizard £ 10.37 Books OnBoard UKEpub 7 Witch & Wizard £ 11.69 Rbooks UK Epub So the first three are all cheaper than the hardback, however they are all US based and involve hoops(to be explained). ALL of the UK based shops charge more for the ebook than Amazon do for the hardback! so lets go for cheapest BoB US but wait "That title is not allowed for sale within your country." ok fine I kind of expected that. But I have to check because eg James rollins - Amazonia was available in my country and cheaper. So for every book I have to go to BoB and log in and try and buy the book to see if I can or not! simples... So now I have to decide if using my Sony dollars in the account is a worthwhile purchase and I decide I have $100 in there and am back in the US in May so why not. So I purchase for him from Sony store and download it then have to open Adobe software and load the book into that to then import the downloaded book into adobe then via that into the Cool-ER. job done one book purchased and £1.56 saved, unless i compare it to the Hardback price in which case i just saved £0.76 ... hmm I love my Ereaders as do my family, but they need to make buying books better. |
12-30-2009, 05:16 AM | #2 |
eBook Enthusiast
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That's the main selling point of the Kindle of course - browse the bookstore on the Kindle itself, click the "buy" button, and 2 minutes later you're reading the book. Really couldn't be easier. I don't particularly like the Kindle as a reader, but they've certainly got the buying process right.
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12-30-2009, 05:51 AM | #3 |
The one and only
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Additionally Amazon filters in advance what's available in your country or not. This may sometimes be annoying if you're looking for a specific title but it also simplifies the buying process.
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12-30-2009, 06:40 AM | #4 |
Wizard
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I agree. I'd rather know at the outset that the book isn't available in my country than to get all the way to the checkout before being told. This is a plus point for Amazon.
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12-30-2009, 06:42 AM | #5 |
Wizard
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For the non-computer savvy the Kindle store model is the best. Simple, and just works. If they could keep that model, and open up the format options, I would have bought one.
I strongly agree that DRM/Formats/Geo issues, make buying an ebook much to complex. The industry will have to respond to all this over the next few years, and hopefully come to a more consumer friendly solution. |
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12-30-2009, 07:12 AM | #6 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
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Yep. This will never work if they (publishers/sellers) don't get this process streamlined. Common format is one step. No DRM is another. and No GeoRestrictions....
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12-30-2009, 07:14 AM | #7 |
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DRM really isn't an issue IF you have a common format (which ePub finally has become - with the exception of Amazon). If the DRM doesn't restrict the range of devices on which you can read the book, there's really (IMHO) no issue with it.
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12-30-2009, 07:25 AM | #8 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
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But we have various formats (epub, mobi, topaz, eReader, etc) and various DRM (Adobe DE, Adobe Social-DE, EreaderDRM, etc. ) applied to them, resulting in even more confusion, but yes if we have a common format as well as a common WORKABLE (without restricting rights) DRM then yeah, but I really don't see any possibility of a common workable DRM regardless of format.
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12-30-2009, 07:32 AM | #9 |
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DRM is a smaller issue only if the common format specifies a common DRM scheme, which ePub doesn't. ADE is widespread, but Barnes and Noble's ePub's use a different DRM.
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12-30-2009, 07:37 AM | #10 |
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B&N's DRM scheme will become a part of the next major release of ADE, so other device will be able to use it at some point.
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12-30-2009, 07:48 AM | #11 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
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12-30-2009, 08:22 AM | #12 |
Hi There!
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Hi Stustaff!
It's time to re-evaluate priorities. Was your time worth the $2 you saved by working that hard to save it? When you found the one for $6 or $7, that was the time to "add to cart" and get on with reading it. I find that cost of the few books that I end up purchasing is far outweighed by all of the free books. Not worth the trouble of quibbling over pennies. |
12-30-2009, 08:37 AM | #13 | |
Wizard
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Quote:
thanks and yes your right but I do also get pleasure from getting the book at a good deal. to be honest it still sucks that the simplest option would have been to use google and type ''author-'title'-torrent into it! thats how easy buying should be But yes i think next time I may just buy the one at £7.80. however sometimes books arent available AT ALL in the UK so then I do have to jump through US shaped hoops. |
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12-30-2009, 09:05 AM | #14 |
Hi There!
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12-30-2009, 09:33 AM | #15 | |
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Quote:
I live in France, and to find recent works in English legally, it can take a lot of time. And even more to then strip them of their DRM to read them on the device I choose. Publishers really should make an effort on the price, and realize that geographical restrictions can be lost sales. |
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