There have been many discussions here about how physical bookshops can embrace ebooks. One idea is the sale of ebooks directly in stores, regardless whether the shop has an internet presence or not. Now, 440 French bookshops propose exactly that, offering ebooks by 4 publishers (so far) thanks to ePagine. Currently, the participating publishers are : Eyrolles, L'Éclat, Ravet-Anceau and La Découverte/SLF (Editis Group). According to Stéphane Michalon, ePagine's Director, interviewed by ActuaLitté,
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"Payment is made directly at the register, and the client then receives an email with a link to download the ebook they've purchased. No need for a website, everything is handled by the application we have created."
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Note that this solution only concerns the purchase of the ebook ; an internet connection is still necessary to download the actual file, either from home or perhaps directly in the shop, if the customer happens to be equipped with their portable computer / usb cable, and can use a wifi connection, both because currently most devices don't have wireless connectivity, and due to the limitations of drm (when relevant ; Eyrolles sells DRM-free).
Although only 4 publishers are involved for the moment, ePagine has agreements with far more publishers to sell ebooks online via their system allowing physical shops to easily create an online shop to sell ebooks,
already in place. So it seems likely that the offer will quickly be increased.
The main benefit of the system is obvious ; by proposing a way for booksellers to sell ebooks even without having to build and manage a website, ePagine's system encourages them to embrace the evolution of their industry and the new tools available to them, to remain relevant in the face of an increasingly digital age. Given the reluctance of many publishers to adopt ebooks, this can only be seen as a good thing.
And I have to say ; when I went two days ago to my neighborhood bookshop to buy a gift for a friend and discovered a previously unpublished book by Boris Vian which I couldn't resist buying for myself, I really would have loved to be able to pay for it at the register and download the digital version at home, rather than buy yet another paper book, as I had promised myself I wouldn't anymore !
So what do you think ? How would you like to go browse the selection at your neighborhood bookshop, discuss favourite authors with the bookseller, and then buy the digital editions directly there ?
Read the full article on ActuaLitté.com (in french). Thanks to Nate the Great for spotting it.