Ebooks now 8.5% of sales, expected to climb to 40% in 3-5 years - Page 3

Lady Fitzgerald · 08-13-2010, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

..But Amazon is a public company and the board of directors and folks like Jeff Bezos are obligated to "tell the truth" in public...

Quote:

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

...If Bezos can be shown to have materially mis-led the public, he can be sued, he can go to jail, he can be fined heavily and can find himself, and the company, at the receiving end of a very nasty class action suit...

If.

Ben Thornton · 08-13-2010, 07:12 PM

I'll bet there's a way in which these stats are all true, but they're sure to be misleading, it seems to me, because rather than releasing clear information that gives a breakdown of sales etc., they are picking out impressive stats that can be generated from the underlying (secret) numbers. Of course, Amazon aren't the only ones to do this - Apple do this a lot too.

SensualPoet · 08-13-2010, 07:15 PM

It happens all the time that law enforcement, and class action suits, make life miserable for executives. Unless anyone has some facts to show why Amazon's very clear, public operating stats are lies, there is no reason to doubt them. People pay heavy fines and go to jail. Ask Martha Stewart and Conrad Black.

carld · 08-13-2010, 07:17 PM

I see no reason to doubt Amazon's figures. Also, there's no competitive advantage to releasing precise sales data, quite the opposite.

bauerhjb · 08-14-2010, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saoir

I don't believe this is factually correct. Once we purchase and download an eBook file this file, like an MP3 of a song is ours to keep and use as we like. There are arguments about the conditions listed on some web sites but the truth is that no court would ever support a proposition that the file is not ours to keep and use as we like.

you might want to read the part of this discussion about not being able to sell/trade/give away ebooks...
CNN: Why can't you 'give' an e-book? (on the news forum)
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92184

saoir · 08-14-2010, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bauerhjb

you might want to read the part of this discussion about not being able to sell/trade/give away ebooks...
CNN: Why can't you 'give' an e-book? (on the news forum)
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92184

I believe you are confusing the conditions that Amazon is including in it's terms and conditions with the state of the actual law. Amazon can say what they like, that doesn't mean it would stand up in court. My comments stand.

saoir · 08-14-2010, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sony_fox

I
I really like bookshops. I detest buying ebooks, it is just hassle. They never have what you want, in a format my region is allowed to have. And of the things that I wasn't specifically looking for theres way way too much stuff I'm not interested in and no sensible way of filtering it. Bookshops allow you brouse sensibly, and then buy what you see. And they are just nicer all round.

Personally I cannot stand book shops. The choice is small and determined by the shop owner and distributor based on margins. The books are often on their side and I get a sore neck reading the titles, and the current craze for large format books that weigh a ton drives me insane. Good riddance book shops !

cfrizz · 08-14-2010, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saoir

... and the current craze for large format books that weigh a ton drives me insane. Good riddance book shops !

Sorry about that but it is to make it easier for us aging Baby Boomers with our deteriorating eyesight!

Which is PRECISELY why I love ereaders! Being able to blow up the font is a wonderful feature.

Steven Lake · 08-14-2010, 02:36 PM

Correct cfrizz. The younger generation are going with smaller format books and ebooks, while the older generation are going with larger format books and larger typefaces. Heck, it's uncommon to have books in 12 point font, and yet I published my novel in that because I knew a large portion of my readers would be older people who would appreciate the larger font.

saoir · 08-14-2010, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfrizz

Sorry about that but it is to make it easier for us aging Baby Boomers with our deteriorating eyesight!

Which is PRECISELY why I love ereaders! Being able to blow up the font is a wonderful feature.

Sorry I mis wrote there .. I meant large format in terms of the sheer size of the books.. are they A5 ? (not sure)

saoir · 08-14-2010, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Lake

Correct cfrizz. The younger generation are going with smaller format books and ebooks, while the older generation are going with larger format books and larger typefaces. Heck, it's uncommon to have books in 12 point font, and yet I published my novel in that because I knew a large portion of my readers would be older people who would appreciate the larger font.

I agree fully Steven. I have recently had to start with reading glasses and the change to eBooks where it will be possible to change the font size is a fantastic advantage.

BVLarson · 08-14-2010, 03:13 PM

Fantastic news!
I, for one, am tired of barn-sized bookstores. Amazon works better at finding a good read anyway. Where do you get your customer reviews and star-counts when you are at BN? A personalized local hobby-level bookstore for people who still want paper is fine, and all that is needed.

Keep in mind, this has nothing to do with how many books are read or written, just a shift in who collects the cash. In this case, the prices will fall and more will be read and written, but with many less suits milking the cow in-between the real participants. Viva the change!
-BVL

Lady Fitzgerald · 08-14-2010, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfrizz

Sorry about that but it is to make it easier for us aging Baby Boomers with our deteriorating eyesight!

Which is PRECISELY why I love ereaders! Being able to blow up the font is a wonderful feature.

Tell me! I normally wear trifocals but I also have a pair of readers for watching TV (including reading e-books on the TV screen) from my bed and another pair for working at the computer (the trifocals work but tilting my head to get the correct pair of lenses is, literally, a pain in the neck). What's fun is walking out the door of the house with the wrong glasses on and wondering briefly why I can't see anything. "Old age ain't for sissies!"

TallMomof2 · 08-14-2010, 05:51 PM

To me that's one of the many advantages to ebooks, being able to increase (or decrease) the font. Some evenings I'll start out at my usual font size and as the evening wears on the font size increases.

I wear progressive lenses but I'll soon have to move to traditional trifocals because the progressives won't be strong enough.

jgaiser · 08-14-2010, 07:30 PM

Anyone notice as the light intensity drops, the harder it is to read?

I'm 63, so far only need bifocals, but if I'm reading at home with a nice bright light I can get by with a smaller font.

But thanks to kindle font hack, i've got font that is easily readable and i can crank up the size as I need it.

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08-13-2010, 07:12 PM	#32
Ben Thornton Guru Posts: 900 Karma: 779635 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: UK Device: Kindle 3, iPad 2 (but not for e-books)	I'll bet there's a way in which these stats are all true, but they're sure to be misleading, it seems to me, because rather than releasing clear information that gives a breakdown of sales etc., they are picking out impressive stats that can be generated from the underlying (secret) numbers. Of course, Amazon aren't the only ones to do this - Apple do this a lot too.

08-13-2010, 07:15 PM	#33
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	It happens all the time that law enforcement, and class action suits, make life miserable for executives. Unless anyone has some facts to show why Amazon's very clear, public operating stats are lies, there is no reason to doubt them. People pay heavy fines and go to jail. Ask Martha Stewart and Conrad Black.

08-13-2010, 07:17 PM	#34
carld Wizard Posts: 2,698 Karma: 4748723 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	I see no reason to doubt Amazon's figures. Also, there's no competitive advantage to releasing precise sales data, quite the opposite.

08-14-2010, 02:36 PM	#39
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,157 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	Correct cfrizz. The younger generation are going with smaller format books and ebooks, while the older generation are going with larger format books and larger typefaces. Heck, it's uncommon to have books in 12 point font, and yet I published my novel in that because I knew a large portion of my readers would be older people who would appreciate the larger font.

08-14-2010, 03:13 PM	#42
BVLarson Author Posts: 123 Karma: 900 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: California Device: Kindle	Fantastic news! I, for one, am tired of barn-sized bookstores. Amazon works better at finding a good read anyway. Where do you get your customer reviews and star-counts when you are at BN? A personalized local hobby-level bookstore for people who still want paper is fine, and all that is needed. Keep in mind, this has nothing to do with how many books are read or written, just a shift in who collects the cash. In this case, the prices will fall and more will be read and written, but with many less suits milking the cow in-between the real participants. Viva the change! -BVL

08-14-2010, 05:51 PM	#44
TallMomof2 Kindlephilia Posts: 2,017 Karma: 1139255 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Snowpacolypse 2010 Device: Too many to count	To me that's one of the many advantages to ebooks, being able to increase (or decrease) the font. Some evenings I'll start out at my usual font size and as the evening wears on the font size increases. I wear progressive lenses but I'll soon have to move to traditional trifocals because the progressives won't be strong enough.

08-14-2010, 07:30 PM	#45
jgaiser Omnivorous Posts: 3,281 Karma: 27978909 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rural NW Oregon Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle 3, KPW1	Anyone notice as the light intensity drops, the harder it is to read? I'm 63, so far only need bifocals, but if I'm reading at home with a nice bright light I can get by with a smaller font. But thanks to kindle font hack, i've got font that is easily readable and i can crank up the size as I need it.

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