E-book store price comparison / BooksOnBoard a good deal

Alexander Turcic · 08-05-2007, 08:15 AM

While the world continues to wonder why most e-books still sell at Hardcover prices, the good folks over at Dear Author spent some time comparing the prices of various online e-book stores. Some of the interesting observations they made:

Fictionwise Buywise doesn't make sense if you buy less than 27 e-books (@ $6.00 per book) a year.
BooksOnBoard sells e-books at comparatively lower prices
Simon & Schuster sells Simon & Schuster e-books at a 35 precent discount

Link: Price Comparison: Which E book Retailer Has the Best Prices

Related: Downloaded books cost how much?

Mitchll · 08-05-2007, 10:30 AM

Interestingly enough, Simon & Shuster's prices seem to be less than econnect, although not in Sony format.

lee1234 · 08-06-2007, 06:49 AM

Does anyone know which ebook store website has the most books and the widest selection of books?

wallcraft · 08-06-2007, 10:36 AM

In this table, Fictionwise and MobiPocket are always the most expensive (i.e. always charge the list price). However, Fictionwise has various ways to save if you buy lots of books from them.

I still think MobiPocket is the single best DRMed format (i.e. if you don't want to break the DRM then go with MobiPocket), but it does also seem to be the most expensive of the widely used formats. On the other hand the bestsellers page on Books on Board has two titles with big discounts for the MobiPocket format only.

JSWolf · 08-06-2007, 11:15 AM

A book I was looking at on ebooks.com is about $2 less at Books on Board. So I'll be purchasing it at BoB later this week.

da_jane · 08-06-2007, 12:29 PM

I separated Fictionwise from the Buywise Club prices because you have to pay to be a member of buywise and get the additional discount.

Some of the commenters found that if you buy Micropay in large amounts ($200) you get a little better pricing from Fictionwise.

I noticed at Books on Board, that the Mobipocket prices were slightly higher - like 10 cents or more.

One other thing is that I don't understand why more publishers aren't following the Simon &Schuster model by greatly discounting the prices and driving traffic directly to their site.

JSWolf · 08-06-2007, 01:29 PM

I do buy my Start Trek ebooks from Simon and Schuster. Nobody else is as cheap.

Alexander Turcic · 08-07-2007, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

A book I was looking at on ebooks.com is about $2 less at Books on Board. So I'll be purchasing it at BoB later this week.

Ditto. I was going to buy a book through eBooks.com only to discover it $1-2 cheaper @ BOB.

cherdman · 08-15-2007, 06:51 PM

Don't forget http://paperbackdigital.com/

You will find the best prices on Mobipocket content here (I love BooksOnBoard as well though).

rlauzon · 08-16-2007, 01:34 PM

Hmmm... Except for Fictionwise, none of these sites SELL eBooks. All they sell are restrictive licenses allowing you to read an eBook - usually for the same price (if not more) than the paper version of the book.

Not a very good deal.

HarryT · 08-16-2007, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlauzon

Hmmm... Except for Fictionwise, none of these sites SELL eBooks. All they sell are restrictive licenses allowing you to read an eBook - usually for the same price (if not more) than the paper version of the book.

By your argument, book shops don't SELL paper books either - they just grant you a restrictive licence to read them. You're certainly not buying any rights to the "contents" of the book; you can't re-publish it yourself, or anything like that.

My word - how terribly restrictive. Doesn't sound like a very good deal to me!

rlauzon · 08-16-2007, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

By your argument, book shops don't SELL paper books either - they just grant you a restrictive licence to read them.

That's untrue.

Legally speaking, I own the pBook and can dispose of it as I wish. The only restriction on me is that I cannot REPRODUCE the pBook.

HarryT · 08-17-2007, 03:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlauzon

That's untrue.

Legally speaking, I own the pBook and can dispose of it as I wish. The only restriction on me is that I cannot REPRODUCE the pBook.

You own the physical book - the paper, the glue, the ink, etc. You do not own the "intellectual property" that the book contains.

Exactly the same is true of an eBook. You own the file that you download. You do not own the intellectual property that the file contains.

It's no different at all.

rlauzon · 08-17-2007, 04:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

You own the physical book - the paper, the glue, the ink, etc. You do not own the "intellectual property" that the book contains.

Exactly the same is true of an eBook. You own the file that you download. You do not own the intellectual property that the file contains.

It's no different at all.

Then please show me where I can re-sell my used DRMed eBooks.

HarryT · 08-17-2007, 05:05 AM

It's up to the publisher to determine if they wish to provide a mechanism to transfer the licence to somebody else or not. Doesn't affect the principle that with both paper books and eBooks you're just "buying" the medium, not the contents.

08-05-2007, 08:15 AM	#1
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 12,730 Karma: 71589 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Sony Portable Reader	E-book store price comparison / BooksOnBoard a good deal While the world continues to wonder why most e-books still sell at Hardcover prices, the good folks over at Dear Author spent some time comparing the prices of various online e-book stores. Some of the interesting observations they made: Fictionwise Buywise doesn't make sense if you buy less than 27 e-books (@ $6.00 per book) a year. BooksOnBoard sells e-books at comparatively lower prices Simon & Schuster sells Simon & Schuster e-books at a 35 precent discount Link: Price Comparison: Which E book Retailer Has the Best Prices Related: Downloaded books cost how much?

08-06-2007, 11:15 AM	#5
JSWolf Mobile Reader Geek Posts: 17,387 Karma: 21146 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Sony Reader PRS-505	A book I was looking at on ebooks.com is about $2 less at Books on Board. So I'll be purchasing it at BoB later this week. __________________ Jon If you want to listen to really good music while you surf Mobileread, here.

08-06-2007, 12:29 PM	#6
da_jane Addict Posts: 309 Karma: 394 Join Date: Sep 2006 Device: Sony PRS 700	I separated Fictionwise from the Buywise Club prices because you have to pay to be a member of buywise and get the additional discount. Some of the commenters found that if you buy Micropay in large amounts ($200) you get a little better pricing from Fictionwise. I noticed at Books on Board, that the Mobipocket prices were slightly higher - like 10 cents or more. One other thing is that I don't understand why more publishers aren't following the Simon &Schuster model by greatly discounting the prices and driving traffic directly to their site. __________________ DearAuthor.Com Reviews and Commentary of romance books and the publishing industry by the two Ja(y)nes.

08-06-2007, 01:29 PM	#7
JSWolf Mobile Reader Geek Posts: 17,387 Karma: 21146 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Sony Reader PRS-505	I do buy my Start Trek ebooks from Simon and Schuster. Nobody else is as cheap. __________________ Jon If you want to listen to really good music while you surf Mobileread, here.

08-17-2007, 05:05 AM	#15
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 24,773 Karma: 43285 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Gen3, Opus, DR1000S, iPod Touch, Pocketbook 360, PRS-600, Kindle 2	It's up to the publisher to determine if they wish to provide a mechanism to transfer the licence to somebody else or not. Doesn't affect the principle that with both paper books and eBooks you're just "buying" the medium, not the contents. __________________ Harry

08-05-2007, 10:30 AM	#2
Mitchll Cave Dweller Posts: 206 Karma: 506 Join Date: Oct 2006 Device: Sony reader prs-505 prs-900	Interestingly enough, Simon & Shuster's prices seem to be less than econnect, although not in Sony format.

08-06-2007, 06:49 AM	#3
lee1234 Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 55 Join Date: May 2006 Device: Sony Reader, Nokia E61	Does anyone know which ebook store website has the most books and the widest selection of books?

08-06-2007, 10:36 AM	#4
wallcraft reader Posts: 5,297 Karma: 10146 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: iLiad, Kindle 1, EZ Reader Basic and Pocket Pro	In this table, Fictionwise and MobiPocket are always the most expensive (i.e. always charge the list price). However, Fictionwise has various ways to save if you buy lots of books from them. I still think MobiPocket is the single best DRMed format (i.e. if you don't want to break the DRM then go with MobiPocket), but it does also seem to be the most expensive of the widely used formats. On the other hand the bestsellers page on Books on Board has two titles with big discounts for the MobiPocket format only.

08-15-2007, 06:51 PM	#9
cherdman Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: T-E-X-A-S Device: Dell Axim X51v	Don't forget http://paperbackdigital.com/ You will find the best prices on Mobipocket content here (I love BooksOnBoard as well though).

08-16-2007, 01:34 PM	#10
rlauzon Guru Posts: 957 Karma: 1059 Join Date: Jan 2005 Device: Opus/System76 Starling	Hmmm... Except for Fictionwise, none of these sites SELL eBooks. All they sell are restrictive licenses allowing you to read an eBook - usually for the same price (if not more) than the paper version of the book. Not a very good deal.

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