E-Book Stores: More Important than the Device

[L.J. Sellers]

From ShelfAwareness: Shifting the focus away from choosing which e-reading device to buy, the Wall Street Journal explored the options involved in deciding the equally important question of "which e-bookstore to frequent."

"Reading devices like the iPad, Kindle and Nook will come and go, but you'll likely want your e-book collection to stick around. Yet unlike music, commercial e-books from the leading online stores come with restrictions that complicate your ability to move your collection from one device to the next. It's as if old-fashioned books were designed to fit on one particular style of bookshelves. What happens when you remodel?" the Journal wrote.

My comment: Jeff Bezos has also recently made a point to differentiate the Kindle device from Amazon's e-book store. Will DRM soon become an outdated idea?

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by L.J. Sellers

From ShelfAwareness: Shifting the focus away from choosing which e-reading device to buy, the Wall Street Journal explored the options involved in deciding the equally important question of "which e-bookstore to frequent."

"Reading devices like the iPad, Kindle and Nook will come and go, but you'll likely want your e-book collection to stick around. Yet unlike music, commercial e-books from the leading online stores come with restrictions that complicate your ability to move your collection from one device to the next. It's as if old-fashioned books were designed to fit on one particular style of bookshelves. What happens when you remodel?" the Journal wrote.

My comment: Jeff Bezos has also recently made a point to differentiate the Kindle device from Amazon's e-book store. Will DRM soon become an outdated idea?

I doubt that DRM will become outdated soon. I think there will be more theft with the spread of e-books, though.

I agree wholeheartedly with content being the priority. I buy e-books with the future in mind. I want to keep access to my books, without stripping DRM, so I buy from companies that allow their books on multiple companies' devices. I don't buy iBooks, for instance, because they're tethered to Apple devices. I use an iPad and a Kindle now, but I don't want to be tied to any one company's hardware over the years.

Jeff Bezos has long said that Kindle hardware and Kindle content are separate, that the hardware unit has to be competitive on its own. He's no dummy. Even if Kindle hardware doesn't survive or Amazon turns it into a loss leader, the company can thrive on selling content. Amazon has so far set the bar on apps for a variety of devices. B&N seems to be heading that way, too.

As a reader, I want more e-book and hardware competition and more apps, to widen my hardware options.

[asjogren]

The model is wrong for me. The majority of my eBooks are fiction. I seldom reread fiction. And since I cannot lend or sell eBooks - there is little desire to own.

Thus, my priorities are:
1) Public library through Overdrive.com
2) A new (nonexisting) business model, like Netflix or BlockBuster to rent eBooks that the public library does not have or the queue is longer than I want to wait
3) Project Gutenberg and similar
4) Independents like SmashWords
5) eBookstores like Amazon and B&N

I received a Kindle for XMas and love it - except for Public Library eBooks. If Amazon provided a web interface to Overdrive.com that allowed check out of ePub, Mobi and reading on the Kindle - I would NOT be in the market for another eReader. This could be another feature of kindle.amazon.com. However, I will likely buy a Pocketbook 360, Kobo, or Nook this summer.

Thus for me, the bookstore is less important than the device - UNTIL there is an eBook rental service.

I think eBooks are like movies. The public library lends DVDs, but the selection is limited and the queue is long. Video stores and services rent them. And retailers sell DVDs. I buy some. I rent most. And I occasionally borrow from the public library.

[TallMomof2]

I purchase at the cheapest place (even with Agency Pricing books are still not priced the same) and disinfect and convert as needed. After being burned in the past I do NOT rely on retailers to keep my purchased books on their servers. I immediately download, disinfect and load into Calibre. My PC is backed up nightly to a home server and continuously to the cloud. My server has a fireproof, waterproof backup for specific critical information which includes my ebook library.

Hopefully, I'm future proofed against the hardware developments. I'll probably won't reread most of my books but I consider them to be *my* books and want to maintain access.

Most of the online bookstores are horrible to browse. They're fine if you are looking for a particular title but if you're searching for *something* but are not sure exactly what then it's far more difficult to find that elusive *something*. I have the most luck at Amazon then Fictionwise. IMO, B&N, Sony, Kobo, and BoB are too difficult to just browse so I only go there if the price is right.

[nikkie]

I agree that the eBook Store is more important than the device, except where multiple devices support multiple DRMs. This is why I like my iPad, iPhone, and iRex. The iRex can read from Sony, B&N, and Kobo. The iPad and iPhone can read from Sony, B&N, Kobo, and Amazon. So I just buy whatever book is the cheapest, though I usually avoid amazon since I can't read their books on my iRex, and because I disapprove of the fact that they don't license out their DRM mechanisms so other readers can read their books.

[HistoryWes]

Originally Posted by asjogren

The model is wrong for me. The majority of my eBooks are fiction. I seldom reread fiction. And since I cannot lend or sell eBooks - there is little desire to own.

Thus, my priorities are:
1) Public library through Overdrive.com
2) A new (nonexisting) business model, like Netflix or BlockBuster to rent eBooks that the public library does not have or the queue is longer than I want to wait
3) Project Gutenberg and similar
4) Independents like SmashWords
5) eBookstores like Amazon and B&N

I received a Kindle for XMas and love it - except for Public Library eBooks. If Amazon provided a web interface to Overdrive.com that allowed check out of ePub, Mobi and reading on the Kindle - I would NOT be in the market for another eReader. This could be another feature of kindle.amazon.com. However, I will likely buy a Pocketbook 360, Kobo, or Nook this summer.

Thus for me, the bookstore is less important than the device - UNTIL there is an eBook rental service.

I think eBooks are like movies. The public library lends DVDs, but the selection is limited and the queue is long. Video stores and services rent them. And retailers sell DVDs. I buy some. I rent most. And I occasionally borrow from the public library.

If this becomes the dynamic for ebooks, then we should be able to rent ebooks like we do videos and the prices should be significantly less than what we are being charged for new ebooks.

I'm perfectly happy to try out an app from Amazon, B&N, Borders, etc. but when I find one that I like the best, I should be able to read all my ebooks on it, regardless of which store I buy them from. If the new Borders store lets me read their ebooks not only on multiple devices but on ibooks as well as their own app, that's a big incentive for me to shop there.

[Worldwalker]

DRM is a deal-killer for me. I simply will not buy ebooks with DRM. Yes, I know I could de-DRM them, but it's the whole idea that I'm voting with my wallet in favor of something that harms me and every other book buyer that I reject. So for me, the bookstore is very important, because it has to be a DRM-free bookstore. So most of the big boys are off the table right from the start. My wallet has a very small voice, but it's the only voice I have that the publishing industry will listen to. Now if only a few million other wallets spoke up....

[asjogren]

For borrowed and rented eBooks I don't care about DRM. They can even restrict me to a single device - if the price is set accordingly low.

If they insist on selling AND DRM, then they need to come up with some mechanism for lending and trade-in - features of the paper book industry they love so much. Plus format convert when we get newer technologies.

It won't be long at current growth rates until eBooks represent a significant portion of sales. The Publishers who cling to the past will suffer.

I wonder how many eBook customers would rent eBooks instead of buying if they were priced along the lines of video rentals? And how many MORE eBooks would they read if they did not have to buy them?

[dmaul1114]

I doubt DRM will go anywhere anytime soon. It took a long time to die off on MP3 music, probably will on books.

I will say that the store is very important. When I made the decision to go with a Kindle, it was for two main reasons:

1. The wireless book store--it was the only one that had it at the time, and the convenience of not having to hook up to a computer was a big selling point.

2. The Kindle book store. I only compared to Sony as I didn't want an off brand reader, and wanted something with a big attached store. Nook wasn't around yet.

Comparing the two I found a few books Sony didn't carry, and almost every one in both was a little more expensive on the Sony store.

So that made my decision. DRM wise, I don't like it, but it's not a deal breaker as I so seldomly ever re-read a book. And books I love and want to re-read periodically I'll buy the hardcover cheap as I still prefer that reading experience to an e-reader.

But e-reading is far superior for the 99% of books I'll only read once as I don't have to hassle with a physical copy of a book I'll never read again, nor hassle with the library etc.

[Teddman]

If they're truly going to differentiate the Kindle store from the device, then why don't they sell all e-book formats, like Baen?

In a way, the store is more important than the device, because I have a Sony and yet I buy most my books at Amazon. But the advantage in ease of use of the Kindle store on an actual Kindle is not enough for me to give up my 505. It is too bad that if you want both the best e-reader and the best store, you will probably have to break DRM to make it work (depending on your preference).

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by Teddman

If they're truly going to differentiate the Kindle store from the device, then why don't they sell all e-book formats, like Baen?

In a way, the store is more important than the device, because I have a Sony and yet I buy most my books at Amazon. But the advantage in ease of use of the Kindle store on an actual Kindle is not enough for me to give up my 505. It is too bad that if you want both the best e-reader and the best store, you will probably have to break DRM to make it work (depending on your preference).

Are you able to load the books from Amazon on to your Sony? If not then then how do you manage?

[GhostHawk]

Sorry but I have to disagree here.

I have an ebook reader, 2 of them in fact, and don't use a store at all.
Granted its nice to have the "option" to buy something online.
But I really don't need that option built into my reader. I have a PC that will do that job very nicely.

Project Gutenberg, Googlebooks public domain books, the options are many and varied.

Much more important for me to have a device that reads a wide variety of file types. That I can easily load books from my PC to via SD card.

I wouldn't even consider buying a device where the company also promotes its own "store" and uses proprietary formats. Your almost saying "here, I have more money than I need, take some"

If Ford made a car that would only run on gasoline sold by Ford Dealerships, would you buy one? I wouldn't. Even if it had features that I liked, wanted.

[CyGuy]

Originally Posted by GhostHawk

Sorry but I have to disagree here.

I have an ebook reader, 2 of them in fact, and don't use a store at all.
Granted its nice to have the "option" to buy something online.
But I really don't need that option built into my reader. I have a PC that will do that job very nicely.

Project Gutenberg, Googlebooks public domain books, the options are many and varied.

Much more important for me to have a device that reads a wide variety of file types. That I can easily load books from my PC to via SD card.

I wouldn't even consider buying a device where the company also promotes its own "store" and uses proprietary formats. Your almost saying "here, I have more money than I need, take some"

If Ford made a car that would only run on gasoline sold by Ford Dealerships, would you buy one? I wouldn't. Even if it had features that I liked, wanted.

I agree with this completely! I also keep all of my books on SD cards and move them around as I see fit. I have no DRM infected books, and never will...

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by GhostHawk

I wouldn't even consider buying a device where the company also promotes its own "store" and uses proprietary formats. Your almost saying "here, I have more money than I need, take some"

I think that's kind of silly. Anytime one is buying a book, movie, album or anything that's not a necessity it's a luxury purchase. So it's always basically a case of having more money than you need to live on, so you're exchanging some for some luxuries. I got a Master's and Ph D etc. largely so I'd have the luxury of having more money than I need! I'm far from wealthy, but at least don't have to worry about affording small luxuries like books etc.

If you only read free PD books, more power to you. I read some of them on my Kindle, but also like to read recent books that aren't freely available so I like having an attached book store. I can always buy .Mobi books from other stores that sell them, or buy in other formats and strip DRM and convert if need be--though I never have as I've yet to have something I wanted to read that wasn't available and priced reasonably in the Kindle store.

If Ford made a car that would only run on gasoline sold by Ford Dealerships, would you buy one? I wouldn't. Even if it had features that I liked, wanted.

Not nearly an equal comparison as that would severely limit my usage of my car. Being tied to the Kindle store hasn't limited me at all as I've found everything I wanted at a reasonable price, still have easy access to Feedbooks and the other sources for public domain books, and can use other book stores if need be.

Again, I'm no fan of DRM. I hope it dies soon. But for the time being it doesn't really affect me as I re-read books so seldom and the Kindle app is on so many devices now I can still easily read on different machines.

Ideally in the future we'll have DRM free, standard format (epub or whatever) built in e-book stores so we have the super ease of getting books on our devices, along with total freedom to get them from other stores with no need to strip drm and shift formats.

[Teddman]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

Are you able to load the books from Amazon on to your Sony? If not then then how do you manage?

It's possible to remove the DRM and convert the resulting mobi file to a Sony-friendly format in Calibre.