Want cheaper books from Sony's ebooks store

[MsPH]

Am I the only one perturbed about Sony's ebooks prices? They much more expensive than B&N and Amazon.

[dhbailey]

I just got an e-mail from the Sony bookstore listing some books whose prices had been dropped to $9.99.

I admit that lots of Sony's prices are higher but they have a smaller buying power than either B&N or Amazon, so they are stuck with what the publishers tell them. And they also have monopoly power over releases for the PRS readers so they can actually charge whatever they want.

But to answer your question -- no, you're not the only one. I get really mad when I see books which have been out in paperback for $6.99 or $7.99 and the Sony site has them still at the prices for the hardback releases with a "generous" discount which brings them down to twice as much as the paperback versions.

Sometimes Sony will lower the price for a specific book if you contact their customer support and tell them what the price is for the same book at Amazon. It might take a couple of days or even a week, but they have done it in the past. The problem is that you can't possible send one message for each book on their connect web-site.

And does anybody else get the weekly "new releases" e-mail? I click on the link to the web-site and then click on "see all new releases" and sometimes there's something like 200 or more given as a number but then around the mid-100s I start seeing the same books listed that I saw back in the very low numbers, which makes their "boast" of 200 or more new releases a lie.

Oh, well.

[bookwerm]

Originally Posted by MsPH

Am I the only one perturbed about Sony's ebooks prices? They much more expensive than B&N and Amazon.

But if you can't (readily) read books from B&N and Amazon on your Sony Reader, why bother to compare? All it's going to do is aggravate you.

When I need a new book, my first try is to see if it's available in one of the Overdrive libraries I'm a member of (the best part of being a Sony Reader owner, I think). If it's not there, I typically shop between the Sony ebookstore, Books On Board, and sometimes Waterstone's to find the best price (ebookprice.info is also a big help).

Yes, if a book isn't a new release, bestseller, or written by a popular author, Sony is typically higher than Amazon Kindle prices (I rarely look at B&N's site). As the previous poster mentioned, Sony's key business isn't as a bookseller like the other two; it's something they do to support their digital reader business .I agree they do a shoddy job at it, which makes their committment to the ePub format even more wonderful. However, I don't think the Sony Reader's primary value is based on offering the cheapest eBook prices, so I'm okay with paying a little more occasionally for books and receiving other benefits not available on other readers.

Just my $.02!

[MickeyC]

Lately, I've been buying books from Shortcovers (http://shortcovers.com/). They are competitive with Sony and, what I like is that I can download the book both to my 505 and my iPhone. Thus I have it with me all the time.

I just bought Traffic from them for $9.99. Same price on Sony and $9.95 on Amazon. The latest Michael Connelly novel Nine Dragons was $9.99 on all three sites

[narbeauchamp]

I find that there are books I can't even find in ebook format,so I am still used to comparing prices from mutliple places (amazon,borders,B&N etc).I still do the same when there is something in ebook format,I also consider how likely am I to want to keep this book,or lend it out.

Very valid points about the buying power of Sony,relative to B&N and Amazon,there really is no comparison.But...as more readers are released,should be interesting to see how that impacts pricing.

And agreed about Overdrive.A friend recently asked me how I liked my "Kindle",I had to point out to her that I don't own a Kindle....and I told her one of the major reasons I did end up getting a Sony is because of the ease of borrowing from the library-she pointed out that she doesn't live in NYC,and doesn't have access...and I told her to look into the Overdrive libraries...and also suggested that she make a list of what she would ideally like to be reading,on any device-and compare prices between Sony/Amazon/B&N-as well as suggesting she consider looking into the nook too.

There are some books,that I think almost no matter the price,I'd still prefer in ebook format-right now I am trying to work my way through one...it is heavier than my netbook even-which means it may take me months to read....I would've paid list price for it as an ebook LOL just to save myself carrying it around the house,let alone out of it !!!!

[BeccaAnn]

I too wish that some of Sony's books were cheaper. I also miss the coupons that used to be in the weekly newsletter before they started selling new releases at $9.99.

[MsPH]

Thanks for your replies. I belong to a book club and several members have Kindles and their books are always cheaper.( almost half the price). I get the notion of B&N and Amazon monopolizing the retail book industry but it seems to me that Sony will lose customers if they can not compete on some level with them.

[JSWolf]

I think Sony will have a lot more leverage with prices once they switch to ePub and can then say how many different devices will be able to use the books they sell.