geographic restrictions at Fictionwise - Page 32

kennyc · 11-02-2009, 09:48 PM

Gareth this sounds great, but how can you get around the geographic restrictions, when other seller can't? Do you simply not sell books that require restrictions? Or is there some other method?

Color me confused.

Direct Ebooks · 11-03-2009, 04:10 AM

Hi Kenny C

We specifically source eBooks that are restriction free. In some cases it restricts our choice, but its a compromise we decided to make as I was personally sick of finding a website/ebook I liked and then not being able to buy it!
So, we do lose out somewhat - some NYT bestsellers often dont get to us etc, but I think the customer wins - nothing hidden at all in terms of price or availability.

kennyc · 11-03-2009, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Direct Ebooks

Hi Kenny C

We specifically source eBooks that are restriction free. In some cases it restricts our choice, but its a compromise we decided to make as I was personally sick of finding a website/ebook I liked and then not being able to buy it!
So, we do lose out somewhat - some NYT bestsellers often dont get to us etc, but I think the customer wins - nothing hidden at all in terms of price or availability.

Thanks! I appreciate your response, approach and honest straight-forward policies! That will take you far!

GeoffC · 11-03-2009, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Direct Ebooks

Hi Guys.

I noticed a few questions about geographic restrictions and formats that we might be able to help you with. We have a great selection of ebooks in Epub, Pdf, ereader and msReader formats. About 150k total.
ALL our books are available worldwide. This was a concious decision we made as I myself was frustrated at geographic restrictions here in not-so-sunny Ireland.We have no clubs, subscriptions, rebates or similar, that I personally find confusing - just simple, clear pricing.
Also, one of the most important thing for me was customer care. as we are a small but independent company, we can guarantee a 24 hour response to all queries. We also have live help available on the site about 12 hours a day.

We are really passionate about eBooks and their future, and we hope to get that enthusiasm across to all, so if we can help in any way, please let us know.

Gareth Cuddy
Founder

www.directebooks.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by Direct Ebooks

Hi Kenny C

We specifically source eBooks that are restriction free. In some cases it restricts our choice, but its a compromise we decided to make as I was personally sick of finding a website/ebook I liked and then not being able to buy it!
So, we do lose out somewhat - some NYT bestsellers often dont get to us etc, but I think the customer wins - nothing hidden at all in terms of price or availability.

Okay - you've answered my question - I looked for Sir Terrys and found none .......

You're a possible store to look at - thanks I've bookmarked you - btw your front page appeared to open up rather slowly on my FF browser ....

HappyMartin · 11-03-2009, 07:33 AM

I just signed up at cyberread. At least I can buy what I see. I have found that the restrictions are very unevenly applied and if I look at enough stores and formats I will eventualy find what I am looking for.

Direct Ebooks · 11-03-2009, 08:25 AM

Thanks Geoff C.

We are having issues with the images from our suppliers - hence the slow load. we are working on it.

We are also working on setting up our own distribution arm which will see authors and publishers getting a larger slice of the pie. I'll keep everyone posted on developments.

GeoffC · 11-03-2009, 09:56 AM

slices of the pie ----- make mine a chocolate one (

oh sorry

wrong thread

)

kennyc · 11-03-2009, 10:10 AM

mmmm, chocolate creme pie!

calvin-c · 11-03-2009, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyMartin

I just signed up at cyberread. At least I can buy what I see. I have found that the restrictions are very unevenly applied and if I look at enough stores and formats I will eventualy find what I am looking for.

It's probably not that the GR are unevenly applied, it seems more likely (to me) that different stores obtain their ebooks from different publishers. And that's the whole basis behind the GR, don't you know? You sell the same book to multiple publishers, giving them exclusive rights to a given region. So, the secret to obtaining a book is to find the publisher in your region that has the rights to it. (And the problem is that 1) sometimes no publisher in your region has bought the rights to it and 2) sometimes the publisher with the rights to your region doesn't offer it as an ebook, or only offers it in an ebook format not suitable for your reader.)

It's also possible that you're right & some stores are more strict than others in enforcing GR. But with the current push by publishers to get GR enforced, I think that'll change. Stores will either start enforcing them or publishers will stop allowing them to sell their books.

This isn't exclusive to ebooks, by the way. It's just easier to enforce due to DRM. Some goods manufacturers grant exclusive geographic rights to dealerships. That doesn't prevent competition, it's just that the competitors must either buy from that dealership or find a cooperative dealer elsewhere (and if the manufacturer can track down the cooperative dealer the dealer sometimes loses their franchise-depends on the dealership contract whether or not the manufacturer can limit who they sell to).

It'd be interesting for somebody who wanted to challenge the law to establish a 'used ebook' store. Legally purchase the ebooks (probably from users) then strip the DRM (and probably replace it, when they resell the books, to keep the inevitable lawsuits limited to only the 'reselling' issue).

After all the harping by publishers that ebooks should be treated 'just like a physical book' (i.e. not copied) it'd be ironic to see them suing somebody for treating ebooks 'just like a physical book'. But it'd still mean getting involved in a lawsuit which is probably why nobody has done it. Once something gets into the courts it's hard to tell what will happen-except that the lawyers will always make their money.

Margrete · 11-03-2009, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

they refunded my club subscription .....

How did you get them to do that? I've written 2 emails (I think) about it and I haven't recieved an answer from them

. My membership doesn't expire until november 2012

GeoffC · 11-03-2009, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Margrete

How did you get them to do that? I've written 2 emails (I think) about it and I haven't recieved an answer from them

. My membership doesn't expire until november 2012

all I did was point out that all the books in my wish list I was unable to purchase because of the restriction, and thus my club membership was useless....they stated it should only affect (I think) 20% of books. for me it was 100% of my picks...

I stated "I appreciate it is not totally your fault, but how can I make use of my membership under these restrictive terms ....." .

the subsequent reply was acknowledgment of the issue and notification that a refund of my club subscription had been paid....

Margrete · 11-03-2009, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

all I did was point out that all the books in my wish list I was unable to purchase because of the restriction, and thus my club membership was useless....they stated it should only affect (I think) 20% of books. for me it was 100% of my picks...

I stated "I appreciate it is not totally your fault, but how can I make use of my membership under these restrictive terms ....." .

the subsequent reply was acknowledgment of the issue and notification that a refund of my club subscription had been paid....

thanks, I'll check it out but I believe only about half of my wishlist is restricted, and until lately I've managed to work around the restrictions for the books I've really really really wanted

calvin-c · 11-03-2009, 04:45 PM

Something to try might be buying (or removing) whatever isn't restricted, then writing to them & point out that 'everything on your Wishlist is restricted'. Not sure whether they'd check for recent activity or not. Might depend on how many such requests they're getting.

GreyCat · 11-03-2009, 06:35 PM

I just bought three books with geographic restrictions. Two were from the in Death serier (J. D. Robb); no problem. The last one I cannot download; Madeline Hunter The Rules of Seduction. The undownloadable book is published by Random House, Inc./Dell. The in Death books are published by Penguin Group/Putnam Adult.

So is Random House the culprit or are the stricter restrictions caused by the ebook sourcing company (I guess we all remember the Overdrive debacle in the beginning of this year)? Is there any way we can check which server the ebooks are from? What publishers are the rest of you unable to download books from?

This is obviously the beginning of the end of my relationship with Fictionwise. I still have $140 in my Micropay account that I need to spend, but after that I will have to find another source for ebooks. Too bad, I've enjoyed being a Fictionwise customer.

DaleDe · 11-03-2009, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreyCat

This is obviously the beginning of the end of my relationship with Fictionwise. I still have $140 in my Micropay account that I need to spend, but after that I will have to find another source for ebooks. Too bad, I've enjoyed being a Fictionwise customer.

So who are you going to buy your eBooks from?

Dale

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11-02-2009, 09:48 PM	#466
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,930 Karma: 119747553 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2 & PW, Onyx Boox Go6	Gareth this sounds great, but how can you get around the geographic restrictions, when other seller can't? Do you simply not sell books that require restrictions? Or is there some other method? Color me confused.

11-03-2009, 04:10 AM	#467
Direct Ebooks Hibernian eBook Warrior Posts: 184 Karma: 1264 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Cork, Ireland Device: Sony Reader	Hi Kenny C We specifically source eBooks that are restriction free. In some cases it restricts our choice, but its a compromise we decided to make as I was personally sick of finding a website/ebook I liked and then not being able to buy it! So, we do lose out somewhat - some NYT bestsellers often dont get to us etc, but I think the customer wins - nothing hidden at all in terms of price or availability.

11-03-2009, 07:33 AM	#470
HappyMartin Martin Kristiansen Posts: 1,546 Karma: 8480958 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Johannesburg Device: Kindle International Ipad 2	I just signed up at cyberread. At least I can buy what I see. I have found that the restrictions are very unevenly applied and if I look at enough stores and formats I will eventualy find what I am looking for.

11-03-2009, 08:25 AM	#471
Direct Ebooks Hibernian eBook Warrior Posts: 184 Karma: 1264 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Cork, Ireland Device: Sony Reader	Thanks Geoff C. We are having issues with the images from our suppliers - hence the slow load. we are working on it. We are also working on setting up our own distribution arm which will see authors and publishers getting a larger slice of the pie. I'll keep everyone posted on developments.

11-03-2009, 09:56 AM	#472
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,599 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	slices of the pie ----- make mine a chocolate one ( oh sorry wrong thread )

11-03-2009, 10:10 AM	#473
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,930 Karma: 119747553 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2 & PW, Onyx Boox Go6	mmmm, chocolate creme pie!

11-03-2009, 04:45 PM	#478
calvin-c Guru Posts: 787 Karma: 1575310 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Moon+ Pro	Something to try might be buying (or removing) whatever isn't restricted, then writing to them & point out that 'everything on your Wishlist is restricted'. Not sure whether they'd check for recent activity or not. Might depend on how many such requests they're getting.

11-03-2009, 06:35 PM	#479
GreyCat Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 1721 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Oslo, Norway Device: Cybook Gen3 & Opus, Sony PRS-650, Sony PRS-T1	I just bought three books with geographic restrictions. Two were from the in Death serier (J. D. Robb); no problem. The last one I cannot download; Madeline Hunter The Rules of Seduction. The undownloadable book is published by Random House, Inc./Dell. The in Death books are published by Penguin Group/Putnam Adult. So is Random House the culprit or are the stricter restrictions caused by the ebook sourcing company (I guess we all remember the Overdrive debacle in the beginning of this year)? Is there any way we can check which server the ebooks are from? What publishers are the rest of you unable to download books from? This is obviously the beginning of the end of my relationship with Fictionwise. I still have $140 in my Micropay account that I need to spend, but after that I will have to find another source for ebooks. Too bad, I've enjoyed being a Fictionwise customer.