Quote:
Originally Posted by ProfCrash
As I see it. the assumption being made by most folks is that Amazon has made a poor business decision by not selling EPub books. I don't think that is the case. I think Amazon is the clear leader, maybe for the time being, in the US using Mobi. I think Amazon is making a tidy profit. If Amazon was not making a profit and they thought that the format was the issue, Amazon would change the format. Instead they added lending.
|
"For the time being" is the operative phrase, I think. As I see it, a year ago when BN brought out Nook, Amazon could have undercut BN either by supporting epub on the Kindle and/or by selling epub books. Instead, it seems that ever since BN got into the game, Amazon has been reactive, not proactive, e.g., the dramatic price cutting.
Amazon clearly made great decisions to become the behemoth that it is. But getting to the top is different from staying on top against the competition.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ProfCrash
How is it any more sensible for BN to not sell books in Mobi format? They know that there are millions of people with Kindles who are buying books but they are not selling books to those customers. BN doesn't seem to care, and for the most part Kindle users don't seem to be complaining, so it is ok for them not to sell Mobi but it is wrong for Amazon not to sell EPub.
|
The point is that on the one side you have Amazon, and on the other side you have everybody else, including the public libraries. As a consumer, I've decided that it's more likely that epub will win the format wars, just as VHS won out over Betamax and Blu-ray won out over HD.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ProfCrash
Both companies have made choices and yet one is deemed bad because a specific format is not used. If Amazon does control 75% of the ebook market in the US then who has made the worse choice?
|
Even if the number is accurate--how much of the market did Amazon control last year before the Nook? Do you think Amazon's share has been going up--or down?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ProfCrash
What I get from reading these posts is that people who own Sony's, Nook's, and Kobo's want to be able to shop at Amazon and cannot do so easily. That tells me that Sony, BN, and Kobo Books are not able to meet all of their reading needs but that Amazon sells books that they would like to read.
My interpretation is that some folks, not all because I know plenty of folks who are happy with their EPub options, want the best of both worlds. They want the flexibility of EPub but for Amazon to sell the books that their bookstores are not.
|
I can only speak for myself--I don't need Amazon for my e-books. I'm perfectly happy shopping at BN and Kobo. With Agency pricing, Amazon has lost any possible price advantage vis-a-vis the other booksellers. For non-Agency books, Kobo's frequent coupons give me a better deal than I could get at Amazon. For books I don't need to own, there's the library. And the selection? There's been exactly one book I wanted that only Amazon carried. I can live with that.