EReader lending

[Soldim]

I just noticed someone mentioning they lend their eReader to a Sister in Law in another thread; I have in the distant past borrowed an eReader from someone for a couple of days (before deciding to buy my first one) and since I bought a second one, have lend one my mother for a couple of days and currently to a friend.

Since quite a few people around here have multiple eReaders, I was wondering how frequently eReaders get lend out. Personally I guess that with eReaders getting cheaper -- and individual eBook lending being rather restricted -- lending (or temporary swapping) eReaders will become more common. Any thoughts?

[mldavis2]

Lack of portability has been a factor, I think, in the reluctance of many avid readers to adopt eReaders. Many book collectors enjoy shelves of books in their homes as a reminder of their literary experiences or to re-read or loan them to friends. eReaders have removed that sharing for the most part. I still purchase pBooks that I think I might want to loan. I would be reluctant to loan my Kindles out except to a very select group of people. On the other hand, our local library does loan (rent) Nooks for Overdrive access to patrons - about $2.00/week I think.

Readers are not cheap enough yet that I would loan mine out to anyone but immediate family or very close friends. Our library is about to start a reader lending program though, each preloaded with one book.

[JoeD]

I wouldn't loan my reader out, but that's mainly because I'd then be without it for however long it took someone to read the book on it :P

[emilikins]

Both libraries I've worked out loan readers (without a charge). The public library has Sonys it sends out preloaded with several OverDrive books (usually best sellers). My current library lends out Kindles that have our purchased books on them. If someone downloads a Kindle book through their Amazon account, that's cool, it'll disappear when we deregister, re-register and sync, and they have it forever. It's been working out nicely. :-)

Now personally lending an ereader out? I think if I bought an "upgrade," then the old one would be open to lending with friends and family, or gifted to someone as an entry device.

[DuskyRose]

I don't loan books or ereaders out. It just causes hard feelings when they're returned broken or mutliated, if they're even returned at all. No one treats my stuff as carefully as I do.

On the other hand, I've given a ton of books, and two ereaders away. I gave my mom my old Kindle I wasn't using, and she ended up sending me money for it anyway because my Dad loves it. I gave my old Kobo to my sister, who was thinking of getting an ereader but didn't know if she'd really like them or not.

Physical books... well, it's just easier on everyone involved to not let them leave the house unless in my mind it's for good. I've traded them out, donated them, sent them to soldiers overseas, and when my son comes to visit he usually takes a couple of my larger fantasy series with him. He knows which ones are up for grabs, and which ones I'm keeping. So when the books leave, I just 'let them go' and no hard feelings to what happens with them.

Saves me a lot of grief in the end.

[wvcherrybomb]

Originally Posted by emilikins

My current library lends out Kindles that have our purchased books on them. If someone downloads a Kindle book through their Amazon account, that's cool, it'll disappear when we deregister, re-register and sync, and they have it forever. It's been working out nicely. :-)

So your library doesn't loan Kindle books, just the Kindle itself to use with your Amazon account? It would be cool if you didn't have an ereader, but I imagine hard to bring back!

I would not loan out my ereader because I use it every day. If I upgraded, I would just give my current one to a family member or friend. I share my books with family by stripping DRM so they can load the books onto their own readers. Much easier than swapping readers.

[Quake1028]

Here's my e-reader timeline:

Mar/April 2010 - Bought Kindle 2

Aug 2010 - Bought Kindle 3, gave Kindle 2 to fiancee's mother

November 2010 - Bought nook

December 2010 - Gave nook to brother

June 2011 - Got iPad 2 for my birthday, gave Kindle 3 to fiancee

So, I don't lend them out, I pass the gift of e-reading along .

[AlbertaCowboy]

After I replaced my wifes PRS-300 with a PRS-350, I kept the old one as a spare "just in case" Reader. As I don't really care about it, I have lent it out a few times, mostly to people who would like to try out an e-ink device without buying. I just make sure I tell them that the substrate can be fragile, and not to leave it unattended. I've not had any problems at all.
On the other hand, would I lend out my PRS-650? HELL NO!

[Hellmark]

I've never lent my reader out. Usually I just let them play with it for a little bit, and help them get one of their own. In my experience, they end up liking it right away, and when they do is a great way for me to take care of gifts.

[pidgeon92]

I gave my Sony 300 to my mother-in-law. I don't think the thing has seen the light of day since. I didn't sell my nook until I found someone who really wanted it, and then I sold it to them cheap.

I'm not getting rid of any of my other ereaders, and I'm not lending unless someone is really, really interested.

[The Terminator]

I haven't had anyone borrow any of mine. But I have borrowed one from the local library for a few weeks (No Charge you check it out just like a book).

[taming]

I have an extra reader that has had some amazing vacations in places like Mexico, Greece, Saskatoon. When the loaner gets home, the borrowers generally buy their own device .

[Hatgirl]

Originally Posted by DuskyRose

I don't loan books or ereaders out. It just causes hard feelings when they're returned broken or mutliated, if they're even returned at all. No one treats my stuff as carefully as I do.
[...EDIT...]
Physical books... well, it's just easier on everyone involved to not let them leave the house unless in my mind it's for good. I've traded them out, donated them, sent them to soldiers overseas, and when my son comes to visit he usually takes a couple of my larger fantasy series with him. He knows which ones are up for grabs, and which ones I'm keeping. So when the books leave, I just 'let them go' and no hard feelings to what happens with them.

Saves me a lot of grief in the end.

I agree. I've a spare ereader, a rather rubbish LCD Binatone I got on the cheap that turned out to be too small to read a comic comfortably on. I loan it out because I really don't care what happens to it