Thinking about joining fictionwise...

[mgm1979]

So, with two enTourage eDGe's on their way to my doorstep this week, I've been doing a little research into where our first eBooks will be purchased from. I wasn't able to find the answer on their site directly, so I figured I'd post here and see if I could get some clarity.

Can my fiance and I "share" the same fictionwise membership? In other words, do they have a means to "tie" a membership (purchased eBooks) to a single device - or once we buy books, can we download them to any/all eReader devices we want?

Any other tips/pointers about fictionwise or any other eBook store out there would also be appreciated...

[pdurrant]

The Entourage Edge says it supports ePub and PDF ebook formats. So that probably means it uses Adobe's Adept DRM system. So the answer, I think, is yes, you can share membership, by having both devices registered with the same Adobe ID.

Fixtionwise is beginning to have more secure ePubs in its store, as well as having added the ePub format to its non-DRMed Multiformat ebooks.

I like fictionwise because I find that it has very good prices, if you're prepared to wait for special offers. For instance, I just bought a load of Agatha Christie titles at under $1 each. But if you want a specific book at a specific time it can be cheaper to buy elsewhere.

I do recommend Fictionwise's Buywise club. At the moment it's $29.95 with a $10 book voucher bundled, so with the extra 15% off you'd need to expect to spend over $140 or so over the next year for it to be worth it to you. Every so often they offer it at 100% rebate, which makes it a no-brainer.

The other thing to mention is that some books won't be available in secure ePub from Fictionwise, but might be available in ePub from other stores. In that case you'd have to make a choice between buying elsewhere, or buying a different format from Fictionwise, stripping the DRM and converting to ePub.

[mgm1979]

perfect - so as long as they're not tying anything to specific devices, we should be good...my issue is I don't think BOTH of us will spend more than $200 total on eBooks for the year, so 1 membership is about all I can rationalize...and honestly, even THAT may not end up being worth it in the end, but I feel like some of the deals and whatnot that FW runs, we might be more apt to spend a little money in order to hit that break-even point, ya know?

So what's this Adobe ID all about? Is it something we setup when we buy the first book - or the device itself? (I know, I can probably answer most of these questions when I get the thing in my hands, but I'm kinda antsy having pre-ordered these things back in the beginning of December...LoL)

[rhadin]

Fictionwise doesn't require you to register devices with it. Consequently, my son and I share a single account. It just means that we have to share the log in information. I only buy multiformat books in ePub from Fictionwise; they are DRM free. Once bought they are downloaded to one of our computers and Calibre is used to load them on to our Sonys. With the multiformat ePub, we avoid using Adobe Adept system.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by mgm1979

So what's this Adobe ID all about? Is it something we setup when we buy the first book - or the device itself? (I know, I can probably answer most of these questions when I get the thing in my hands, but I'm kinda antsy having pre-ordered these things back in the beginning of December...LoL)

To use Adobe Adept DRMed ePub, you must install Adobe Digital Editions. You have to register this with an Adobe ID (easiest to use you email address, if it's a stable email address). You also register your devices with the installed copy of Adobe Digital Editions. You can use the same ID on more than one installation of Adobe Digital Editions, and register more than one device. I think there's a combined limit of six devices and installations per ID, so you should be fine.

So - at fictionwise you'll buy a DRMed ePub. When you download, it won't download the book, but a small file that needs to be opened with Adobe Digital Editions. This will then download the ePub, encrypted with your Adobe ID. This book can then be transferred to your devices (or read on your computer(s) of course).

Personally, I strip all DRM from books I buy, to avoid just this sort of hassle, now and in the future.

[mgm1979]

excellent - thanks for all the info...I guess I'll give it a whirl and see how things go...maybe I'll have to smarten up on stripping the DRM, for simplicities sake. I mean, if I buy it in good conscience (which I have every intention of doing), I should be able to do what I want with it, without having to jump through a whole lot of hoops...

Thanks again.

[wayrad]

Originally Posted by mgm1979

Any other tips/pointers about fictionwise or any other eBook store out there would also be appreciated...

If you buy books at Fictionwise for a while, you'll likely eventually receive an offer of a 100% Micropay rebate on a 1, 2, or 3-year Buywise Club membership.

[AFK_Matrix]

Also I don't know which country your from but watch out for Geographic Restrictions. If your in the US then don't worry about it, if your from anywhere else then look carefully at the book descritions to make sure what Restrictions they have.

[Crusader]

Originally Posted by AFK_Matrix

Also I don't know which country your from but watch out for Geographic Restrictions. If your in the US then don't worry about it, if your from anywhere else then look carefully at the book descritions to make sure what Restrictions they have.

Yes, this is an important fact to stress. If you are not from the US a membership might not be worth it since the books you will be able to buy will be severely limited.

Alternatively you could use a workaround by using valid US addressses, but recently they are checking the IP when paying via credit cards, so you will need some secure proxy or VPN to use for CC purchases.

[mgm1979]

I'm in the US, so no worries there...

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by AFK_Matrix

Also I don't know which country your from but watch out for Geographic Restrictions. If your in the US then don't worry about it, if your from anywhere else then look carefully at the book descritions to make sure what Restrictions they have.

I would second that notion. Non US ebook readers are seriously, almost severely restricted access wise to ebooks currently

[lene1949]

When I first got my Palm Zire 72 I joined Fictionwise... I was so happy to have found a place, where I could buy any book I wanted...

Now... most of the books I would like to buy from Fictionwise are geo restricted, and I have long ago canceled my membership.

[SimonSays]

hmm FW sounds great. Now to convince my husband to pay for it for me.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by mgm1979

perfect - so as long as they're not tying anything to specific devices, we should be good...my issue is I don't think BOTH of us will spend more than $200 total on eBooks for the year, so 1 membership is about all I can rationalize...and honestly, even THAT may not end up being worth it in the end, but I feel like some of the deals and whatnot that FW runs, we might be more apt to spend a little money in order to hit that break-even point, ya know?

So what's this Adobe ID all about? Is it something we setup when we buy the first book - or the device itself? (I know, I can probably answer most of these questions when I get the thing in my hands, but I'm kinda antsy having pre-ordered these things back in the beginning of December...LoL)

I think the Club membership is worth it if you buy throughout the year and plan on buying more than $133 dollars in books.

A side benefit is that you can borrow books from their library, which would be okay but the book selection is limited mostly to fiction books. If they books on the library fit your bill this alone is worth the membership.

What I realized however is that I only buy their books when there is a 100% rebate sale. They tend to have 2 a year. It was not worth it for me since the discount is reduced to 0. So I did not benefit from the15% discount. (One can argue that paying less upfront is better than reclaiming the discount via micro rebates but that is just preference).

That in addition to the fact that their library just did not carry the books I was interested in.


=X=

[mgm1979]

so this is taking the thread off topic a bit, but now I'm curious...if not FW, then where else does everyone get their eBooks?