Kindle books have now overtaken paperback books in Amazon

jocampo · 01-27-2011, 04:45 PM

I just got a notification on Facebook (from Amazon page) that Amazon is officially announcing that Kindle books have now overtaken paperback books as most popular format on Amazon.com.

Could that be true, or just a way to boost ebook sales?

pdurrant · 01-27-2011, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jocampo

I just got a notification on Facebook (from Amazon page) that Amazon is officially announcing that Kindle books have now overtaken paperback books as most popular format on Amazon.com.

Could that be true, or just a way to boost ebook sales?

It might well be true, if you include 'sales' of free ebooks.

Barty · 01-27-2011, 05:05 PM

I STILL have not seen anyone with an ebook reader of any kind in public, besides me of course. So I'm skeptical of these claims. But hey, maybe everybody is reading kindle on their phones

Russell Brooks · 01-27-2011, 05:18 PM

What would be interesting to know is if this is universal or just in the US. So far I've discovered that the Kindle or ereaders in general have not yet picked up in certain countries. Here at home in Montreal, several people have told me that they're still into the old-fashioned paperback/hardcover.

jocampo · 01-27-2011, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russell Brooks

What would be interesting to know is if this is universal or just in the US. So far I've discovered that the Kindle or ereaders in general have not yet picked up in certain countries. Here at home in Montreal, several people have told me that they're still into the old-fashioned paperback/hardcover.

Well, let me tell you this ...

... I traveled this December to see my mom and family in South America, and my Kindle 3 was like an "ET" or kind of alien for most people there. Even in the airplane people asked me about what was that.

I would say is just in US, but I could be wrong.

jocampo · 01-27-2011, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It might well be true, if you include 'sales' of free ebooks.

Good point!

Russell Brooks · 01-27-2011, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jocampo

Well, let me tell you this ...

... I traveled this December to see my mom and family in South America, and my Kindle 3 was like an "ET" or kind of alien for most people there. Even in the airplane people asked me about what was that.

I would say is just in US, but I could be wrong.

LOLOL. My thoughts exactly. I was in Barbados last September and told my family and friends that my novel was coming out as an ebook. They didn't know what an ebook was. They've never heard of Kindle. I'm not surprised because it would probably cost close to $500 if they were to sell it down there.

abookreader · 01-27-2011, 05:31 PM

In their Press Release they stated it didn't include sales of Free Kindle books but it does include paper books that have no Kindle Edition. If you include Free books the gap is even wider.

jocampo · 01-27-2011, 05:34 PM

@Russell,

Sad, but the price of a Kindle DX is what the min wage in my country is, for a month!. We all are lucky than regardless of the brand, we can enjoy our devices and read.

pdurrant · 01-27-2011, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It might well be true, if you include 'sales' of free ebooks.

I take it back. It is only for US sales, but they aren't including free ebooks, and they're not just including books available in Kindle editions.

The actual press release says:

Quote:

Amazon.com is now selling more Kindle books than paperback books. Since the beginning of the year, for every 100 paperback books Amazon has sold, the Company has sold 115 Kindle books. Additionally, during this same time period the Company has sold three times as many Kindle books as hardcover books. This is across Amazon.com's entire U.S. book business and includes sales of books where there is no Kindle edition. Free Kindle books are excluded and if included would make the numbers even higher.

From the figures they give, their unit volumes are:
15% hardbacks
40% paperbacks
45% kindle ebooks

Of course, by value I'd expect that bot hardbacks and paperbacks are more than kindle ebooks. But it certainly seems that by volume Kindle ebooks will soon sell more at Amazon US than hardbacks and paperbacks combined.

It's anyone's guess when ebooks will outstrip either hardbacks or paperbacks by value. No doubt Amazon will tell us when that happens.

jocampo · 01-27-2011, 06:45 PM

I wonder what the B&N numbers are.

Francesco · 01-27-2011, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barty

I STILL have not seen anyone with an ebook reader of any kind in public, besides me of course. So I'm skeptical of these claims. But hey, maybe everybody is reading kindle on their phones

I live in Denver and take the bus pretty much everyday. Even though I don't always take the same bus, I always see at least one (if not two or three) people with a Kindle (mostly 2s and 3s).

Baldrake · 01-27-2011, 11:34 PM

I think this partly tells us about the demographic that Amazon sells to. I bet the numbers are nowhere close to this at, say, Barnes and Noble, because they have the bricks and mortar stores that most people are buying from.

Anyone know what percentage of the US book market Amazon holds over all? I'm betting it's not that high.

And yes, e-book readers are still a pretty rare sight "in the wild". There's been a big change over the last 18 months since I bought my first reader, though -- I'm no longer getting frequent insane curiosity from people when I bring it out.

stargazir · 01-28-2011, 12:08 AM

Theres also a whole lot of people from other countries that are buying in the US store for various reasons (price, availability etc) so thats going to sway the data a bit.

Barty · 01-28-2011, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I take it back. It is only for US sales, but they aren't including free ebooks, and they're not just including books available in Kindle editions.

The actual press release says:

From the figures they give, their unit volumes are:
15% hardbacks
40% paperbacks
45% kindle ebooks

Of course, by value I'd expect that bot hardbacks and paperbacks are more than kindle ebooks. But it certainly seems that by volume Kindle ebooks will soon sell more at Amazon US than hardbacks and paperbacks combined.

It's anyone's guess when ebooks will outstrip either hardbacks or paperbacks by value. No doubt Amazon will tell us when that happens.

Pretty impressive. Isn't it about time Amazon drops the k3 down to $99 ? Okay, I'm not saying that's good business, just good for me

01-27-2011, 04:45 PM	#1
jocampo Layback feline Posts: 3,034 Karma: 6980745 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: USA Device: Oasis 2nd gen, Sony DPTS1, iPad Pro 10.5"	Kindle books have now overtaken paperback books in Amazon I just got a notification on Facebook (from Amazon page) that Amazon is officially announcing that Kindle books have now overtaken paperback books as most popular format on Amazon.com. Could that be true, or just a way to boost ebook sales?

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01-27-2011, 05:05 PM	#3
Barty doofus Posts: 2,543 Karma: 13089041 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Voyage	I STILL have not seen anyone with an ebook reader of any kind in public, besides me of course. So I'm skeptical of these claims. But hey, maybe everybody is reading kindle on their phones

01-27-2011, 05:18 PM	#4
Russell Brooks Fanatic Posts: 538 Karma: 569642 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Montreal, Quebec Device: none	What would be interesting to know is if this is universal or just in the US. So far I've discovered that the Kindle or ereaders in general have not yet picked up in certain countries. Here at home in Montreal, several people have told me that they're still into the old-fashioned paperback/hardcover.

01-27-2011, 05:31 PM	#8
abookreader Wizard Posts: 1,516 Karma: 2567610 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindles - Keyboard, Fire, 2-US, iPhone, iPAD	In their Press Release they stated it didn't include sales of Free Kindle books but it does include paper books that have no Kindle Edition. If you include Free books the gap is even wider.

01-27-2011, 05:34 PM	#9
jocampo Layback feline Posts: 3,034 Karma: 6980745 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: USA Device: Oasis 2nd gen, Sony DPTS1, iPad Pro 10.5"	@Russell, Sad, but the price of a Kindle DX is what the min wage in my country is, for a month!. We all are lucky than regardless of the brand, we can enjoy our devices and read.

01-27-2011, 06:45 PM	#11
jocampo Layback feline Posts: 3,034 Karma: 6980745 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: USA Device: Oasis 2nd gen, Sony DPTS1, iPad Pro 10.5"	I wonder what the B&N numbers are.

01-27-2011, 11:34 PM	#13
Baldrake Connoisseur Posts: 90 Karma: 1792 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 3, HTC Mozart	I think this partly tells us about the demographic that Amazon sells to. I bet the numbers are nowhere close to this at, say, Barnes and Noble, because they have the bricks and mortar stores that most people are buying from. Anyone know what percentage of the US book market Amazon holds over all? I'm betting it's not that high. And yes, e-book readers are still a pretty rare sight "in the wild". There's been a big change over the last 18 months since I bought my first reader, though -- I'm no longer getting frequent insane curiosity from people when I bring it out.

01-28-2011, 12:08 AM	#14
stargazir Enthusiast Posts: 45 Karma: 78 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kindle 3	Theres also a whole lot of people from other countries that are buying in the US store for various reasons (price, availability etc) so thats going to sway the data a bit.

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