eBook Stores

Maggie-Me · 12-23-2010, 07:20 AM

How about a sub-forum for eBook Stores.

I have visited many of the well know ones, Amazon, Kobo,B&N,Borders,Sony.....

I have a pet peeve with all of them except Sony (I know I will get yeslled at liking Sony). Some allow wish list some don't, none except Sony allow you to buy more then one at at time (am I wrong?). The browsing experiance is very painful on some of them, seems like the like to start the list with thier self-published authors and you have to keep on paging to find established authors.

I have to say, even thou they started rocky I enjoy the Sony Bookstore the best. If you buy from Sony you do not have to have Adobe Digital Editions loaded since Sony seems to have it built in.

some may think my comment are off base or wrong, but these have been my experiances.. And can you add to the list of stores?

How about you !

jbcohen · 12-23-2010, 08:24 AM

Personally I have nothing against Sony at all they are great if you want a reader that is technologically the most advanced reader out there and/or well put together. Their Viaos are excellent stuff and the Walkman is supurb stuff and their playstation is great. Trouble is that in the Information Technology field past sucesses mean absolutely nothing and does not indicate future performance.

I don't think their ebookstore is bad at all, its just that the navigation tools on their web site could use a little work, in my opinion. If all stores were offering their readers for the price I want to pay for the readers, $100, I would probably buy a Sony PRS, since their not I will stick with my Libra Pro for now.

How about Kobo Books, Borders, ebooks and diesel-ebooks.

rhadin · 12-23-2010, 11:03 AM

Well, I, too, like the Sony ebookstore. My second favorite of the majors is B&N. I have tried Kobo several times, especially when they have a coupon for a discount off the total order, but I have yet to discover how to purchase more than one book at a time so as to make the coupon worthwhile. And I really hate the .ascm system of downloading books. Why I can't simply download directly the ePub file baffles me.

Yes, I know that Amazon offers more ebooks for sale than does Sony, but raw numbers are meaningless. The question is whether or not Sony has the ebook I want when I want it at a price I am willing to pay for it. So far, Sony has every book I have wanted, although not always at a price I was willing to pay, but in those cases, Amazon was no cheaper -- the book was an Agency book.

KenJackson · 12-23-2010, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maggie-Me

(I know I will get yeslled at liking Sony).

I searched for the word yeslled and the closest Google could come up with was YesLED.com. Did you just make that word up? Or did you transliterate it?

I'm pleased to hear someone prefers the Sony store. I bought an ebook there and the purchase went smoothly, but I don't have much experience buying ebooks anywhere yet, so I can't compare.

pwalker8 · 12-23-2010, 02:35 PM

Once Sony dropped the proprietary format, I started buying from them again. I think that Sony's website/ebook store has the best experience from the view point of browsing. I just wish that Sony let you buy directly over the web rather than just via their software.

shanghaichica · 12-23-2010, 06:46 PM

I'm not able to buy from Sony as I'm outside the US, so I don't have a lot of exprience with it. Amazon and Kobo are the best sites i've bought from. The worst are WH Smiths and Waterstones. They are not easy to navigate and the WH Smith site is very slow and crashes a lot.

ATDrake · 12-23-2010, 09:09 PM

I like the Sony store's checkout and wishlist functions and wish other stores would adopt something similar. The website version of the store is actually pretty decent, but the Reader Library app interface for accessing it for actual purchases is horrible and I deduct points for that.

But the Reader Library app itself is pretty nifty with clean layout and decent functionality. I like how highlights and annotations are organized and how you can export your annotations and highlights to an RTF file. Be nice if there were some obvious way to import your highlights for non-Sony books to an RL app on another machine, though.

Frankly, all of the stores could use improvement.

It's easy to find things and get samples at Amazon, but 1-click with no confirmation just leads to frustration when your mouse lands in the wrong place. And they're kind of cluttered and mingle reviews from all editions which does not help when it comes to works with many versions like various classics.

B&N's got a decent layout, but their search function is kind of crap and their system tends to be glitchy. Plus they pretend that books that are no longer available for various reasons never even existed, and good luck finding info on that book you got way back when which is now no longer for sale.

Kobo looks really nice on the surface, but their search function is even worse (defaults to finding 500 results, whether they fit or not), they're conflicted and unclear on which of their formats can be read on what, their CS is currently rather bad and unhelpful when it comes to ebook issues, and their checkout page now makes you click more things than it used to just to enter a simple coupon code. But at least they give you the coupons in the first place.

Baen's Webscription is apparently dependent on Flash to show certain listings, such as Author pages and Webscription months, which disappear if you don't have it installed and turned on. But they're DRM-free and let you online read and put the formats readily accessible right on the book page, which is convenient, so I forgive them.

Fictionwise is actually pretty decent when it comes to search/wishlist/checkout/batch download functions. They're not pretty, but they work well enough. For now.

As for Borders, I used to think that Sony had the worst combination of app/shopping functionality. I took that back after my experiences getting even the promo free books (a process laden with frustration) at Borders, which combines having poor layout and info with a glitchy system that often spits up error messages for simple tasks, thus necessitating the use of the Borders Desktop app to search and add stuff to one's library.

Kai Winters · 12-24-2010, 12:06 AM

I use the Sony store and Baen. I like them both and have not had any problems with either.

Maggie-Me · 12-24-2010, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenJackson

I searched for the word yeslled and the closest Google could come up with was YesLED.com. Did you just make that word up? Or did you transliterate it?

I'm pleased to hear someone prefers the Sony store. I bought an ebook there and the purchase went smoothly, but I don't have much experience buying ebooks anywhere yet, so I can't compare.

Dah... typing to fast, should say yelled at..

Maggie-Me · 12-24-2010, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Once Sony dropped the proprietary format, I started buying from them again. I think that Sony's website/ebook store has the best experience from the view point of browsing. I just wish that Sony let you buy directly over the web rather than just via their software.

I would agree with that except, if they had it on the web instead of the appliccation then you would probably have to use the Adobe Digital Additions. One of the nice things about the application is that it avoids another program. It would be nice if you could buy and add to wish list and have it link to the sony application..

jbcohen · 12-24-2010, 08:48 AM

A pal of mine who works for Sony tells me that they use the wishlist to see what books their customers want that they don't have. If their customers add a book to their wish list that they don't have they will usually go add it to their catalog since it costs next to nothing to add a book.

Terisa de morgan · 12-24-2010, 08:50 AM

Books On Boards has a basket too, a great selection, they sell outside US and give reads the books they're allowed, and they download directly to Bluefire in iPhone/iPad. Of course, you need ADE, but I prefer ADE interface to Sony Reader.

TallMomof2 · 12-24-2010, 08:56 AM

I don't care for any bookstore that requires me to run proprietary software (Hello, Sony and other bookstores). I already have ADE so I won't install another program. If the bookstore is selling Adobe DRM then one application is enough for me. At least Kobo allows you to download to ADE.

The Sony bookstore does have an excellent layout but I won't install their software so sometimes I use the Sony bookstore to browse but buy elsewhere. I still like Fictionwise, as a club member until 2019 I get the club discount on all titles and that often makes their price the lowest for unsecured titles. Browsing is easy.

I dislike Kobo, browsing is more difficult but I can purchase and download directly to ADE. Absolutely cannot stand Books on Board. Unless I know the exact title I find it frustrating to simply browse.

My favorite is the Kindle bookstore because most of my reading is done on my Kindle or in the Kindle app. Browsing is easy, lots of reviews and what I like the best are the recommendations. Frequently I'll end up buying an extra book or two simply based on the recommendations.

I've purchased from Smashwords and it's an okay experience. ARE is good for romance readers. Baen of course for space opera and military science fiction but Baen has a clunky website.

12-23-2010, 07:20 AM	#1
Maggie-Me Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 2594 Join Date: May 2009 Device: Kindle PW,Sony 700, Sony 950 (Daily Edition),Nook Color,iPad	eBook Stores How about a sub-forum for eBook Stores. I have visited many of the well know ones, Amazon, Kobo,B&N,Borders,Sony..... I have a pet peeve with all of them except Sony (I know I will get yeslled at liking Sony). Some allow wish list some don't, none except Sony allow you to buy more then one at at time (am I wrong?). The browsing experiance is very painful on some of them, seems like the like to start the list with thier self-published authors and you have to keep on paging to find established authors. I have to say, even thou they started rocky I enjoy the Sony Bookstore the best. If you buy from Sony you do not have to have Adobe Digital Editions loaded since Sony seems to have it built in. some may think my comment are off base or wrong, but these have been my experiances.. And can you add to the list of stores? How about you !

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Classic eBook stores that use PayPal?	JewishMatt	Barnes & Noble NOOK	12	01-15-2012 12:37 PM
Ebook Stores that Work with the PP?	Blossom	Astak EZReader	36	05-23-2010 06:51 PM
Canadian ebook stores?	Carpethead	Sony Reader	4	05-01-2009 11:58 AM
What are the top 5 ebook stores and why?	charlieperry	News	43	03-11-2009 01:16 PM
What are the best eBook stores and why?	Over	Reading Recommendations	18	07-12-2008 11:06 AM

12-23-2010, 08:24 AM	#2
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,030 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Where am I? Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature edition and a Samsung S24 Ultra	Personally I have nothing against Sony at all they are great if you want a reader that is technologically the most advanced reader out there and/or well put together. Their Viaos are excellent stuff and the Walkman is supurb stuff and their playstation is great. Trouble is that in the Information Technology field past sucesses mean absolutely nothing and does not indicate future performance. I don't think their ebookstore is bad at all, its just that the navigation tools on their web site could use a little work, in my opinion. If all stores were offering their readers for the price I want to pay for the readers, $100, I would probably buy a Sony PRS, since their not I will stick with my Libra Pro for now. How about Kobo Books, Borders, ebooks and diesel-ebooks.

12-23-2010, 11:03 AM	#3
rhadin Literacy = Understanding Posts: 4,833 Karma: 59674358 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: The World of Books Device: Nook, Nook Tablet	Well, I, too, like the Sony ebookstore. My second favorite of the majors is B&N. I have tried Kobo several times, especially when they have a coupon for a discount off the total order, but I have yet to discover how to purchase more than one book at a time so as to make the coupon worthwhile. And I really hate the .ascm system of downloading books. Why I can't simply download directly the ePub file baffles me. Yes, I know that Amazon offers more ebooks for sale than does Sony, but raw numbers are meaningless. The question is whether or not Sony has the ebook I want when I want it at a price I am willing to pay for it. So far, Sony has every book I have wanted, although not always at a price I was willing to pay, but in those cases, Amazon was no cheaper -- the book was an Agency book.

12-23-2010, 02:35 PM	#5
pwalker8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,196 Karma: 70314280 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Pro, iPad mini, Kobo Aura, Amazon paperwhite, Sony PRS-T2	Once Sony dropped the proprietary format, I started buying from them again. I think that Sony's website/ebook store has the best experience from the view point of browsing. I just wish that Sony let you buy directly over the web rather than just via their software.

12-23-2010, 06:46 PM	#6
shanghaichica Guru Posts: 991 Karma: 5782970 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Scribe,Kindle Oasis 3, iPad Pro 11,15 Pro Max,iPad mini 7,colorsoft	I'm not able to buy from Sony as I'm outside the US, so I don't have a lot of exprience with it. Amazon and Kobo are the best sites i've bought from. The worst are WH Smiths and Waterstones. They are not easy to navigate and the WH Smith site is very slow and crashes a lot.

12-23-2010, 09:09 PM	#7
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	I like the Sony store's checkout and wishlist functions and wish other stores would adopt something similar. The website version of the store is actually pretty decent, but the Reader Library app interface for accessing it for actual purchases is horrible and I deduct points for that. But the Reader Library app itself is pretty nifty with clean layout and decent functionality. I like how highlights and annotations are organized and how you can export your annotations and highlights to an RTF file. Be nice if there were some obvious way to import your highlights for non-Sony books to an RL app on another machine, though. Frankly, all of the stores could use improvement. It's easy to find things and get samples at Amazon, but 1-click with no confirmation just leads to frustration when your mouse lands in the wrong place. And they're kind of cluttered and mingle reviews from all editions which does not help when it comes to works with many versions like various classics. B&N's got a decent layout, but their search function is kind of crap and their system tends to be glitchy. Plus they pretend that books that are no longer available for various reasons never even existed, and good luck finding info on that book you got way back when which is now no longer for sale. Kobo looks really nice on the surface, but their search function is even worse (defaults to finding 500 results, whether they fit or not), they're conflicted and unclear on which of their formats can be read on what, their CS is currently rather bad and unhelpful when it comes to ebook issues, and their checkout page now makes you click more things than it used to just to enter a simple coupon code. But at least they give you the coupons in the first place. Baen's Webscription is apparently dependent on Flash to show certain listings, such as Author pages and Webscription months, which disappear if you don't have it installed and turned on. But they're DRM-free and let you online read and put the formats readily accessible right on the book page, which is convenient, so I forgive them. Fictionwise is actually pretty decent when it comes to search/wishlist/checkout/batch download functions. They're not pretty, but they work well enough. For now. As for Borders, I used to think that Sony had the worst combination of app/shopping functionality. I took that back after my experiences getting even the promo free books (a process laden with frustration) at Borders, which combines having poor layout and info with a glitchy system that often spits up error messages for simple tasks, thus necessitating the use of the Borders Desktop app to search and add stuff to one's library.

12-24-2010, 12:06 AM	#8
Kai Winters Lover of Books Posts: 218 Karma: 1073074 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Northern NY Device: iPhone 7+	I use the Sony store and Baen. I like them both and have not had any problems with either.

12-24-2010, 08:48 AM	#11
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,030 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Where am I? Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature edition and a Samsung S24 Ultra	A pal of mine who works for Sony tells me that they use the wishlist to see what books their customers want that they don't have. If their customers add a book to their wish list that they don't have they will usually go add it to their catalog since it costs next to nothing to add a book.

12-24-2010, 08:50 AM	#12
Terisa de morgan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,592 Karma: 12595249 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Device: Kobo Clara/Aura One/Forma,XiaoMI 5, iPad, Huawei MediaPad, YotaPhone 2	Books On Boards has a basket too, a great selection, they sell outside US and give reads the books they're allowed, and they download directly to Bluefire in iPhone/iPad. Of course, you need ADE, but I prefer ADE interface to Sony Reader.

12-24-2010, 08:56 AM	#13
TallMomof2 Kindlephilia Posts: 2,017 Karma: 1139255 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Snowpacolypse 2010 Device: Too many to count	I don't care for any bookstore that requires me to run proprietary software (Hello, Sony and other bookstores). I already have ADE so I won't install another program. If the bookstore is selling Adobe DRM then one application is enough for me. At least Kobo allows you to download to ADE. The Sony bookstore does have an excellent layout but I won't install their software so sometimes I use the Sony bookstore to browse but buy elsewhere. I still like Fictionwise, as a club member until 2019 I get the club discount on all titles and that often makes their price the lowest for unsecured titles. Browsing is easy. I dislike Kobo, browsing is more difficult but I can purchase and download directly to ADE. Absolutely cannot stand Books on Board. Unless I know the exact title I find it frustrating to simply browse. My favorite is the Kindle bookstore because most of my reading is done on my Kindle or in the Kindle app. Browsing is easy, lots of reviews and what I like the best are the recommendations. Frequently I'll end up buying an extra book or two simply based on the recommendations. I've purchased from Smashwords and it's an okay experience. ARE is good for romance readers. Baen of course for space opera and military science fiction but Baen has a clunky website.

Advert

Advert