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Old 02-22-2009, 02:21 AM   #1
europas_ice
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break even at 24

From http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09053/950850-44.stm

Quote:
But Eric Ginsberg, vice president of marketing for Bookswim, doesn't see the Kindle/Sony model as a real cost saver.

"It's going to take you 24 books before you even break even. As far as it being a cheap way to read, that I don't buy yet. "
24. 24? Seriously? I would break even at 24 books? If that were true, this would be an AMAZINGLY cheap way to read. For me, I mean. I've been hitting several books a week lately. But still, I'm not convinced I've broken even.

Say (say) you save $10 on every book you buy. Now, that would be hard to believe. I certainly don't save that much. But if you did, then you'd need to buy 36 books to break even on the new Kindle. If you only save $5/book, you'd need to buy 72 books to break even. And this doesn't consider all the ebooks priced at pbook price or higher.

I'm not convinced his conclusion is wrong. But I certainly think his number is.
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Old 02-22-2009, 02:38 AM   #2
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He's figuring that for a full-price hardback at $25-$26 and the special Kindle price of $9.99.

$370 / $15 = 24.666666667 $370 / $16 = 23.125

Seems disingenuous to assume people will buy only hardbacks, but hey, the calculation still works...
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Old 02-22-2009, 02:48 AM   #3
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"Figure fiddling" to suit the argument....

How about the "It's easier to carry a kindle holding the contents of 24 books, than a suitcase with 24 hardbacks".
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Old 02-22-2009, 04:16 AM   #4
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I can do it better. I save the "special collector's edition" at €50 and instead download the €0 version from MobileRead.

€350 / (€50 - €0) = 7 books to break even
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Old 02-22-2009, 04:49 AM   #5
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well lets See, I have the sony reader.

It Cost $500 after tax and extended warenty.

I have Owned it for exactly 3 months, I have read 26 Novels (omg 26) for free
at a price of $4.32 a book from amazon each (0.01+3.99 Shipping, plus Tax)
I would have to read 116 books to break Even. which if i read at my current speed, it will have paid for itself in just over 10 months from now.
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Old 02-22-2009, 06:03 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Andybaby View Post
well lets See, I have the sony reader.

It Cost $500 after tax and extended warenty.

I have Owned it for exactly 3 months, I have read 26 Novels (omg 26) for free
at a price of $4.32 a book from amazon each (0.01+3.99 Shipping, plus Tax)
I would have to read 116 books to break Even. which if i read at my current speed, it will have paid for itself in just over 10 months from now.

In Japan foreign pbooks cost between 10USD and 25USD. I have read more than twenty books on both my Cybook Gen 3 and Sony 505. For me it has already paid off. However, I tend to get most of my books for free from Gutenburg. I have bought a few from Sony and Books on Board: Both are considerably cheaper than most pbooks in Japan.
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Old 02-22-2009, 06:17 AM   #7
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On the other hand,
since I have had my reader, I have bought significantly more books than I would have done.
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Old 02-22-2009, 08:51 AM   #8
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The Bookswim guy is actually selling the idea to dedicated readers who purchase more than 24 books per year. Maybe not the casual read-and-toss readers who pick up a few paperbacks before they go on holiday or purchase on a whim at the super-mega-hyper-mart, but I wouldn't expect them to jump onboard early.
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Old 02-22-2009, 08:53 AM   #9
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Silly boy, I didn't buy it to save money on books :doh: That's just a plus.
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Old 02-22-2009, 09:53 AM   #10
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The free books alone (no PD books) have more than paid for my Kindle.
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Old 02-22-2009, 10:01 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by europas_ice View Post
From http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09053/950850-44.stm



24. 24? Seriously? I would break even at 24 books? If that were true, this would be an AMAZINGLY cheap way to read. For me, I mean. I've been hitting several books a week lately. But still, I'm not convinced I've broken even.

Say (say) you save $10 on every book you buy. Now, that would be hard to believe. I certainly don't save that much. But if you did, then you'd need to buy 36 books to break even on the new Kindle. If you only save $5/book, you'd need to buy 72 books to break even. And this doesn't consider all the ebooks priced at pbook price or higher.

I'm not convinced his conclusion is wrong. But I certainly think his number is.
The same argumentation was used by the music industry. What happened to them is clear ...
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Old 02-22-2009, 11:19 AM   #12
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I second that

Quote:
Originally Posted by daffy4u View Post
The free books alone (no PD books) have more than paid for my Kindle.
I have free books only on my reader which in paperback would not be free .
Reading at least forty books since buying the 505 - well, you can do the math.
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Old 02-22-2009, 11:30 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Moejoe View Post
The Bookswim guy is actually selling the idea to dedicated readers who purchase more than 24 books per year. Maybe not the casual read-and-toss readers who pick up a few paperbacks before they go on holiday or purchase on a whim at the super-mega-hyper-mart, but I wouldn't expect them to jump onboard early.
Who are those "dedicated readers?" I know lots of readers... and very, very few of them (i.e. none I can think of) buy lots of hardcovers, for themselves, every year. While many of them buy a handful of hardcovers, a double-or-triple handful of paperbacks, and lots of books as gifts, having a Sony/Kindle doesn't help with those purchases.

Who buys a new hardcover every two weeks--not counting technical books, which often aren't available in ebook format?

I know such people exist; I have trouble believing they're the majority of book-buyers. You'd think they'd pitch the ebook devices at the casual holiday crowd: here's how you can pack two dozen books, not have to decide which ones before you leave, and definitely not run out during your vacation. (Of course, to pitch to that crowd, they have to acknowledge that they're charging the same for pbooks and ebooks. And that ebooks cost more than paperbacks sometimes.)
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Old 02-22-2009, 11:45 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by Elfwreck View Post
Who are those "dedicated readers?" I know lots of readers... and very, very few of them (i.e. none I can think of) buy lots of hardcovers, for themselves, every year. While many of them buy a handful of hardcovers, a double-or-triple handful of paperbacks, and lots of books as gifts, having a Sony/Kindle doesn't help with those purchases.

Who buys a new hardcover every two weeks--not counting technical books, which often aren't available in ebook format?
I rather suspect that a very small percentage of book buyers account for a huge percentage of sales. They are the people that you need to target eBook readers at, not the "read 1 book a year on their summer holiday" crowd.

We probably already have a lot of those people here. I know that I'm one - I probably spend about £50 on books in the average month.
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Old 02-22-2009, 01:08 PM   #15
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Silly boy, I didn't buy it to save money on books :doh: That's just a plus.
Here here (or is it hear hear) I was going to say the same thing.

However, if you were to consider that I bought all the public domain stories that I have read in paperback my break even point would be much less than 24 books. Then again, I might NOT have read those books had I not got a reader and got involved here. But, I would have bought other books to read during that time.

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