Does Kindle 2 Save You Money on Books?

[deety]

I'll probably end up spending a little more on books once that I have a Kindle, but I'm going to try buying myself a monthly "book budget" gift card to keep that to a minimum.

I hardly ever buy hardbacks, and when I do I usually use coupons or discount cards. There's at least one author that I'm probably going to continue getting in hardcover, because I wanted an e-book reader to streamline my physical library rather than replace it.

I also rarely buy books in the trade paperback format, because I'm stubborn and I don't like it much for novels. I don't like paying more for a style of book that I find less convenient to carry around and more awkward to shelve. I guess I've been lucky, because the only times that I've come across the durability issues that some people report with mass markets have been the few that have been read many, many times by two older brothers before being passed down to me. So that's the format I've preferred for most of my entertainment reading.

With a Kindle, I'll probably end up buying a lot more e-books in the trade paperback price range. I'll also probably buy more of the $9.99 new books, but I'm not sure if I'll end up buying many novels above the $10 - $12. I currently get a lot of hardcovers from my library, but the added convenience of Kindle books may end up changing that.

[lilac_jive]

Maybe my Reader would have saved me money, since the books are cheaper. But now I just buy more

[Boston]

A big deterrent for me entering the eBook market was the high price tag on eBooks and when Amazon brought pricing down, I jumped in. I didn't expect to spend less on books; however, I didn't want to spend more.

With pbooks, I never paid full retail (using Coupons/buy one get second 1/2 price or Amazon) and probably bought 50% used. Much to my surprise, I have saved considerably over what I used to spend on books (and am reading much more):

1) Less impluse buying - I was always buying books just to have them for when I wanted to read. Many piled up in boxes as I bought more books. Sometimes I would have two copies of the same book. Now, I mostly buy when I am ready to read.

2) Samples - I often bought books only to find they weren't what I expected.

3) Public library - although its not a large percentage of my reading due to limited titles, it does supplement what I buy quite nicely.

4) Free/cheap downloads - although not as much as some others as I don't read a lot of the genres that seem to have the most offerings (horror, sci-fi/fantasy, etc.).

Granted the saving aren't the same for everyone...I am sort of a book store junkie. It wasn't unusual for me to spend $50-$100 per visit to the brick-and-mortar stores and always had books coming in the mail via Amazon or the marketplace.

Conservatively, I would say that my Kindle 1 will pay for itself in 10 months or less in book savings alone (a year if you count the extended warranty and third-party cover/light)....as long as I can resist the desire to buy a newer reader and/or more accessories

[Sydney's Mom]

Originally Posted by krisk

Well, that should be for both Kindles, not just K2.

I can and do read a book a week, easily. With the Kindle I often read a book a day. I may possibly have spent more money because I am reading so much more, but I have now cut myself off and have vowed I will learn how to get the library books and other free books.

I totally agree. I am now at about a book a day, more on the weekends. I have just rediscovered the library (which I used almost exclusively for paper books). I am astounded that I can sit at home and check out a book, that just shows up on my computer. I am 25 out of 25 on the waiting list for Twilight. Funny, that is what caused me to buy my kindle - I waited about 4 months for the first in a series book. Since I like to read series one after another, it is really designed for the kindle (or any ebook reader). I put the first 4 books on my kindle immediately, and waited for the rest to come down in price. They did, although I had to search around and buy the last book in a different format and convert it, because Amazon never did drop the price even with the paperback price. I would go ahead and buy Twilight, but I am not quite sure it is my cup of tea. So I will wait for the library version, and if I like it, I will buy the remaining books. I saw the paper books at Costco yesterday for $50. Don't know if I can get the electronic versions cheaper, but I won't have to burn gas and put up with crowds to get the electronic versions. Oh, and I got into my first and only car accident comming home from Costco. So I have to work that into the cost of paper books, as well.

[desertgrandma]

I didn't buy my K. to save money on books, altho that has become a fact.

I bought it because

I can have my entire library with me at all times. I can read whatever I want, when ever I want, wherever I am.

Its the size of a small paperback, and I can read huge heavy volumes without having to carry around all that weight.

Its easy to read in bed, in any position.

It has a built in dictionary..I can look up any word with a click of a button.

When I close it, and go back to reading a book later, it opens automatically to the page I left off.

I can check out e-books from the library, and read them on my kindle.

I have re-discovered old friends, for free. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, Earl der Biggers, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Anna Green,Harry Harrison, Robert E. Howard, Lovecraft, just to name a few!

I've discovered new FREE friends......Kadrey, Haggard, Dozois, Doctorow, again, just to name a few.

I've discovered new authors I enjoy, by downloading a freee books of theirs, (Couldn't do this with paper books) then buying more of their work.

Richard Herley and our own Steve Jordan come to mind.

The kindle, and any other e-book reader, isn't about saving money on books.

Its about the entire experience. Good luck with your choice.

[JSWolf]

Actually, a lot of new hardcovers can be had for as much as 40% off the list price. So going by $26 list and 40% off + 5% sales tax and $9.99 for the eBook from Amazon, it would take about 61 eBooks to break even with the K2 + the cover from Amazon.

[Patricia]

My reader has saved me money because
1. I read a lot of PD classics, so can find and convert them freely (and upload them here).
2. I save a lot of storage space. We're academics, so we have a lot of books. It was well over 12000 at one time (before I stopped counting). But I have replaced most of the public domain books with electronic versions. As a result, I have a more spacious and neater house, which is easier to dust.

[krisk]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

I totally agree. I am now at about a book a day, more on the weekends. I have just rediscovered the library (which I used almost exclusively for paper books). I am astounded that I can sit at home and check out a book, that just shows up on my computer. I am 25 out of 25 on the waiting list for Twilight. Funny, that is what caused me to buy my kindle - I waited about 4 months for the first in a series book. Since I like to read series one after another, it is really designed for the kindle (or any ebook reader). I put the first 4 books on my kindle immediately, and waited for the rest to come down in price. They did, although I had to search around and buy the last book in a different format and convert it, because Amazon never did drop the price even with the paperback price. I would go ahead and buy Twilight, but I am not quite sure it is my cup of tea. So I will wait for the library version, and if I like it, I will buy the remaining books. I saw the paper books at Costco yesterday for $50. Don't know if I can get the electronic versions cheaper, but I won't have to burn gas and put up with crowds to get the electronic versions. Oh, and I got into my first and only car accident comming home from Costco. So I have to work that into the cost of paper books, as well.

You haven't read any yet? If you haven't, don't bother until you can get them free. IMHO the first one at least was horrible. I can't imagine the writing style improved. I took the plunge thinking perhaps it was another J.K. Rowling phenom. Nope. uh-uh. ack, ick ptooey

[Glenn Ellen]

I've had my Kindle since last February. I haven't "run the numbers," but my guess is that I've bought more books in the year I've owned my Kindle. I think I've probably spent around the same amount of money, though, by buying more Kindle editions and fewer brand-new or used print books.

I think I've probably expanded somewhat the range of books I read, by exploring more books with the free downloadable chapters and by taking advantage of some of the free book downloads.

I subscribe to one blog and to the New York Times latest news. I read them quite regularly and, because the subscription price is so reasonable, will probably add another one, once I decide what I want. I love the Kindle as a reading platform for blogs.

[meibao]

one benefit for me that is probably total off topic is that I won't have people trying to read the story brief that's usually on the back of the book while I'm reading my book on the train heading to work - trust me, it happens a whole lot where I live lol

[kevindorsey]

I'd say Kindle saves me a lot of time first and foremost.

[MoboHobo]

I think in the long run, the Kindle will save me money. Not only that but because of the Kindle, I've been reading more. Reading costs money, but to me; reading a book worth $9.99 is actually worth more in value to me.

[nascarrunner71]

I didn't buy the Kindle to save money, but have found I will break even quickly. I'm getting a lot of the classics for free, instead of $14.95ish (18 so far). My "new" Kindle books have been cheaper than retail (even using B&N or Borders coupons). I also tended to buy books faster than I could read, but now I can download samples to satisfy that urge. I'm reading more hardcover new releases because they are so cheap. I preferred larger paperbacks to the "mass" market paperback size, so I'm still saving money there. There is not a used bookstore close and the bookstore is 20 minute drive, so I'm probably saving gas.

So yeah, I will eventually be ahead and reading a lot more because it is more enjoyable with my new gadget.

[busy91]

I didn't buy it to save money, although I think I will spend more eventually. I bought it for compactness and lightweight-ness (?) I want to read big books sometimes, and it is so hard to carry heavy books to and from work, especially hardcovers, and to stand on the subway and read said book is murder. I had shoulder surgery last year, and it still isn't right. So for me, it is a comfort issue. I think I'll burn a hole through my wallet buying for it.

[kyliedork]

its saved me heaps of money, i'm only interested in books that have stood the test of time. Public domain all the way