04-15-2010, 04:54 PM | #1 |
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New poll: What impacts your book buying decision?
This is completely unscientific, but I'm running a poll on factors that affect book buying choices. I didn't put the poll here since I'm pulling in feedback from a few different sites/groups. I'm centralizing it on my web site. If you have a moment, please drop by and vote for your three most important factors.
Cheers! David http://davidhburton.com |
04-15-2010, 07:59 PM | #2 |
Reading...Since 1970
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Should of had DRM on your poll.
For me the three top things is Price, Description/Synopsis, DRM. And of course a easy buying process. But thats a given. Last edited by Guns4Hire; 04-15-2010 at 08:22 PM. |
04-15-2010, 08:02 PM | #3 |
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Went with Price, Reading Sample and Author from your options. More generally my decision process is as follows.
1. What I feel like reading at the time. Fiction? Non-fiction? A stand alone book or start up a series? 2. Price. I won't pay more than the cheapest print version for an e-book. 3. Is it available in the Kindle store? If so I'll send the sample, give it a read and buy it if I liked it and want to read more. |
04-15-2010, 10:41 PM | #4 |
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For cheap ebooks, I don't really have a decision tree, I just buy it if I feel like it, but anything over two bucks follows the following list.
1 Author 2 Description 3 Reviews 4 Cover 5 Price |
04-16-2010, 02:05 AM | #5 |
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Geographic restrictions rate highly for me. The other options do not factor at all if the book is barred for purchase because I live in another region.
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04-16-2010, 02:47 AM | #6 |
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I think you should have included format - presuming you are talking about ebooks. I can only read ePub and mobi books, and won't read pdfs.
Regards, Alex |
04-16-2010, 03:16 AM | #7 |
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I went for price (definitely my number one factor unless it's a book I'm hankering for), synopsis, and genre.
I agree that being in my preferred format - lrf - is important in ebooks; but pdf's can often be adapted, if badly. |
04-16-2010, 04:18 AM | #8 |
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The one thing that impacts my buying decision is if I want to read it. I. e., a decent sample is crucial. For fiction, the few first chapters is fine, but for non-fiction, I typically need a broader sample - the whole book is best, just like when you're in a book store and can browse the entire book.
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04-16-2010, 04:35 AM | #9 |
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Author, Author, Author
I believe in the "auteur" theory of book-buying. Since the author serves as the the rough equivalent of a director, screenwriter and crew of his/her creation, this is about the only criterion I use to choose a book that I will purchase. The format of the book is immaterial. Even early reviews are irrelevant. Thus, if Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Herman Melville, or Theodore Sturgeon were still alive, I'd buy their books without hesitation. With living authors, I'll still order certain books in advance, but it's also sensible to browse through a novel in a bookstore, just to make sure the subject interests you enough to spend several hours reading the book from start to end. Sadly, some books just don't hack it with this test. How many pages does it take for me to decide that a book is just not worth perusing/pursuing any further? Three pages. I must fall for a book, hook, line and sinker. Otherwise, it's CUT!
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04-16-2010, 07:18 AM | #10 |
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In regards to e-books, price is #1 for me. Geographical regional availability is also important. And available formats.
But I did vote in your poll, going for Price, Author and Genre. |
04-16-2010, 08:18 AM | #11 |
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For ebooks, DRM is at the top of the list. I flat-out will not buy DRM-restricted ebooks. If it's an author I like, or a sample of the book looks good, and of course if the price is appropriate (cheaper than the cheapest available pbook form), then I might buy it. But DRM is a deal-killer from the start.
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04-16-2010, 08:43 AM | #12 |
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I was actually surprised at how much price is a factor. I might run a few more polls around DRM as well as prices you're willing to pay for ebooks.
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04-16-2010, 11:18 AM | #13 |
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Price is a factor because so many of us are hardcore bookaholics.
To someone who buys two or three books a year, a $10 difference in price is no big deal. It gets lost in the noise. But to someone who, on occasion, buys two or three books a week, it's a very big deal. The serious readers among us buy a lot of books. I know for me, personally, the two things that have constrained me are price and shelf space. Ebooks transcend shelf space, so that brings price to the forefront. I think you might want to break down the poll into two categories: positive factors that make people more likely to buy a book (good reviews, for instance) and negative factors that make them less likely to buy it (priced higher than a pbook). Any purchase decision is a tug-of-war between the plus and minus factors, and it's really hard to judge it without taking both into account separately. For me, for ebooks, DRM is an absolute deal-killer. For pbooks, it's form factor: I almost never buy hardcover fiction because I haven't anywhere left to put it. That's not a problem that the person who buys two or three books a year has to worry about; for me, it's a matter of not having to sleep on in the back yard because the books have taken over my bed. So you may be polling two separate groups of people (the casual readers and the hardcore readers) and getting results about as valid as if you polled casual and hardcore World of Warcraft players on their interest in game features. |
04-16-2010, 11:57 AM | #14 |
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I cant believe that publisher only has 2% of the vote. I haven't bought a single book, even ones less than $9.99 from any of the agency 5. I refuse to give them a single cent.
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04-16-2010, 12:05 PM | #15 |
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I just have so, so many books on my TBR list right now that I will not even consider a purchase unless 1) someone recommends it to me 2) I read about it and sounds interesting 3) the price is right 4) there is a free sample. I am not interested in taking a chance and wasting my money. It has to be a valuable read to me to buy it. No reviews, no sample, no purchase. I have too much else to read.
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