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Old 05-19-2010, 03:31 AM   #1
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Sample Chapter
I'm really enjoying (my wife's) new Kindle 2 and (being overly careful and cheap) am collecting a lot of free sample chapters from Amazon as I explore books I may be interested in.

Is this feature unique to the Kindle world or do other e-bookstores do something similar?

I'm finding that it complements well Google Book's "limited preview" that lets you look at significantly long excerpts from many books (but only on a computer). This also makes me wonder if Google Editions will make "limited preview" available on e-books when it comes out.

What do other people think about the usefulness and ubiquity of free previews?

--Rob
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Old 05-19-2010, 05:57 AM   #2
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It is my belief you have posted this in the wrong section. I think this is more fitting in "General Discussions"
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Old 05-19-2010, 06:01 AM   #3
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It is my belief you have posted this in the wrong section. I think this is more fitting in "General Discussions"
You are, of course, correct! Mea culpa. My contorted logic was that this might be a factor in people deciding which reader to buy....
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Old 05-19-2010, 06:04 AM   #4
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Old 05-19-2010, 06:29 AM   #5
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I've moved this thread to General Discussions as requested. Rob, welcome to the forum ! If in the future you need assistance from a moderator for something like this, please don't hesitate to click the "report post" button to the left of any post and explain your request in the message.
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Old 05-19-2010, 11:26 AM   #6
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I wish this was a feature in Sony's eBook store. I may have run across one or two sample previews, if that, but then I don't read many "bestsellers". Maybe they are available for more mainstream, popular books. I usually have to go to Amazon's website to "Search Inside" a book or actually check out the paper version in a bookstore before buying from Sony, which is where I get most of my ebooks. It seems that Kindle offers a whole lot more free ebooks as well.
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Old 05-19-2010, 11:51 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fumanchu314159 View Post
What do other people think about the usefulness and ubiquity of free previews?
I love 'em. I bought my newest book after reading a couple of chapters, for instance. Samples help me screen out duds and save money. Amazon also ups its chances of selling me books, because I can read samples 24/7 in the comfort of a chair. It takes more effort and time to drive to a bookstore during business hours and such, which limits a retailer's chances to sell me books. And I'm not willing to stand around in a bookstore sampling for long. Digital samples also mean no wear and tear on books for retailers.
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Old 05-19-2010, 11:58 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by fumanchu314159 View Post
... free sample chapters from Amazon ...Is this feature unique to the Kindle world or do other e-bookstores do something similar?
smashwords.com offers free samples, as does barnesandnoble.com, and probably others do as well.

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Originally Posted by rebarnmom View Post
I wish this was a feature in Sony's eBook store...
You and me both! It's a great way to decide if you really want to buy the book. No doubt the Sony eBook Store losses a great number of buyers that they would otherwise have. I can certainly name one.
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Old 05-19-2010, 05:18 PM   #9
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Yeah, it's a great feature and one of my favorite things about the Kindle.

I see a blurb about a book that sounds interesting and I send the sample to my Kindle. When I finish a book I usually look through the samples on my Kindle and find one that I think I may be in the mood for and go from there. Like the sample, I'll buy the book. Hate it I'll delete it and move on. Think it's ok, but I'm not in the mood for it right now? Leave it and move on to another sample.
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Old 05-19-2010, 05:26 PM   #10
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BookView Cafe has a lot of free samples, and Baen Books (Webscriptions) hands out whole free books. I don't dare go there to get the exact URL -- I did that last night for someone and bought more books.
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