Books removed from fictionwise?

[TallMomof2]

I went back and checked on my unavailable ebooks at both eReader and Fictionwise and the situation is greatly improved. At eReader I was able to download 4 of 6 books that were unavailable 6 weeks ago. At Fictionwise I still have 1 ePub, 4 MS Reader and 15 pdb books unavailable. That's a huge improvement since I was able to download 55 pdb and 26 lit books that were unavailable 6 weeks ago at Fictionwise.

I'm very happy to see improvement and hopefully Fictionwise (and eReader) will be back with all publishers available. I still have 8 or 9 years left on my club membership at Fictionwise and would like to still use it.

[wgrimm]

Originally Posted by ficbot

Thank you so much for posting about your success. I had all but given up that they would ever resolve this problem! I was resigned to having to re-buy some of the books in order to access them again. I went and checked today after reading your post and ALL of my 22 non-downloadable books were downloadable again. Yay! I downloaded, liberated, backed up the PDBs and then converted them in Calibre to read on my Kindle. And now that I have ALL the books I paid for, I am officially done with Fictionwise!

I am glad to hear that you were able to download your books. That was a very frustrating experience. I will never buy from ereader again, and have set up my spam filter to block their e-mails. They were a good company at one time, but not any more....

[wgrimm]

Originally Posted by wgrimm

This is precisely what they are saying- see my previous post- and will not give refunds. This is bogus, because if you read on an Ipad or Ipod, you need to use their omnline bookshelf- no way to copy a book from your hard drive over to these devices.

I think we need a petition about this- let them know all of the pissed off ebook readers on this site, and how we will be hitting them in the pocketbook if they do not fix this nonsense. Their customer services are certainly not what they were when the company was Peanut Press.

This is an excellent idea! I would be happy to sign a well-written petition, and I am wondering if we might not be able to include the number of purchases in total that our signers have bought- if ereader sees, for example, that 100 people have purchased 10,000 books from them, it might make them a little worried....Especially if we are telling them that we will not be using their service again...

[wgrimm]

Originally Posted by Bob Butler

I'm a little hesitant to get a magazine subscription myself. I'm not sure FW will survive if they can't come to some sort of agreement with the "Agency 5". I'm not sure what would happen to remaining issues. Hopefully either B&N or the publisher would honor the subscription.

It's too bad, they were my ebook store of choice for several years.

Well, whatever happens it is still bogus. Why should negotiations matter when we have already purchased their books? Amazon has the right idea with 9.99 pricing- they just haven't gone far enough- down to the $7 range. I really have to laugh when I read articles that greedy publishers are looking to Apple's Itunes for salvation- they think they ca sell their ebooks for more there. Pathetic, really. Why the heck would I pay any more for a book bought at Itunes? I mean- I can use Kindle on my Ipad too....

[wgrimm]

Originally Posted by aagstn

Random House added Rex Stout books this week. The MSRP was a crazy $15 to $19 for books that are over 50 years old. However, I have wanted this series for ages and with the day one discounts and rebates and the 20% coupon they have going it was worth it. Of course I pay for them and they are unavailable for download. Really have to wonder about old Fictionwise.

There is an answer here- these publishers are dicks. Seriously, I can grab many of the Rex Stout books in paper at the used bookstore for less than a buck. Many have been out of print for years. This is greed, pure and simple- the costs for these books were all paid over 40 years ago. The publishers should wise up and sell the ebooks for $2 or so. Like I have been saying- it's all about greed....

[wgrimm]

Originally Posted by RWJ

Is Fictionwise publishing updates anywhere about which publishers they've come to terms with, and expected progress?

Well, this will drive many readers to one of the largest publishers out there- the folks at Darknet, Inc. <G>. They have all the latest books, and make them readily available for FREE- on torrents and on well-organized websites with download links to Rapidshare, and on newsgroups, and on IRC. Now it seems there may be some copyright infringement with what Darknet, Inc. does, but for these guys it is a matter of love, and their books are always availble and at an extremely attractive price- free. Just use Google to find their distribution points, or search on a particular title (include the title in quotes and then the words Rapidshare or Hotfiles in the search, and you can usually find what you want).

Seriously, Fictionwise and misguided publishers, this is where you are directing your cutomers with idiotic pricing and shenanigans like books disappearing from customers' bookshelves. Don't be so greedy....

[GeoffC]

I would suspect it is more the publishers than the outlets like Fictionwise ...

[wgrimm]

Originally Posted by langshipley

Thanks. I hadn't thought of that. It is wonderful to know. I'll keep Kindle in mind. Do you know - if I buy a Kindle book from Amazon, can I deliver it to more than 1 iPhone?

I think so; you are limted to 4 or 5 different devices on your Kindle account. I use an Ipad and an Ipod Touch in addition to my Kindle and PC...

[wgrimm]

Originally Posted by momghoti

I'm disturbed about the people who purchased books, but didn't download them, before the books were yanked....isn't that illegal? I know they keep a record of when/if a title is downloaded...if you purchased it, and didn't 'take possession'(download), surely they have to either make it available to you or refund your money? I'd definitely send some emails.... Also, did I understand correctly that some people can't access DRM books they've already downloaded?

Oh, I am sure ereader's "Terms of Disservice" covers that too- they usually give you a download link on the confirmation page, so if you don't use it then it is probably YOUR fault and they have no responsibility.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

I would suspect it is more the publishers than the outlets like Fictionwise ...

The lack of content from the Big 5, and the books removed from access, are the publishers' fault. Fictionwise's refusal to inform customers of big changes in store content is their fault. They didn't send out a newsletter that said "as of (date), Buywise membership will be discontinued; if you want it, get it now"--nor have they publicly said "because we've lost so much content, we've been refunding Buywise memberships to people who ask for it."

Dropping subscriptions--while still advertising them in their newsletter--is business fraud. Unfortunately, it's not likely anyone has time & resources to press the issue.

They also don't answer questions about copyright. (I asked who owns copyright on a couple of their free public-domain books, which are listed as copyrighted with no name attached. No answer.)

People would be a lot more tolerant of FW's new, leaner selection if they were open & honest with their customers about the changes.

[fry]

Apparently fictionwise dropped the subscriptions for at least two magazines "NO LONGER ON SALE": Asimov's and Analog.

I suspect the two year subscriptions are out as well.
When I contacted them and asked why this is happening I was told to buy the individual issues - which is no answer at all.

I'm still waiting to see what they say about existing subscriptions and if it'll be the same kind of non-answer.

I also contacted Analog with the same question; the fact that this is the only multiformat and DRM free alternative is not a good sign for us who care about such things.

[GeoffC]

@elfwreck : you've shifted my context a little - the issue of Geo. Rest. is what I was commenting on.

Since the 'take-over' of FW they have become very very poor about advising customers - so I agree wholeheartedly with your comments...

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by fry

Apparently fictionwise dropped the subscriptions for at least two magazines "NO LONGER ON SALE": Asimov's and Analog.

I suspect the two year subscriptions are out as well.
When I contacted them and asked why this is happening I was told to buy the individual issues - which is no answer at all.

I'm still waiting to see what they say about existing subscriptions and if it'll be the same kind of non-answer.

I also contacted Analog with the same question; the fact that this is the only multiformat and DRM free alternative is not a good sign for us who care about such things.

It'd be nice if Dell Magazines (the publisher) would make their subscriptions available through someplace like Webscription since FW is out of it now.

[cfrizz]

We can complain & moan all we want, but the only thing that will truly get action is to send these complaints to people who have authority to look into it.

Meaning State Attorney Generals, and maybe local tv stations & the like. If all of a sudden these issues were made TRULY public then these publishers & stores would be falling all over themselves to suddenly fix it.

It is truly a shame that the only way to get things like this resolved is to make it a very public, country/worldwide issue.

We KNOW that we cannot rely on these businesses to DO THE RIGHT THING, so in order to get the right thing done, we have to basically take it to the street.

[wgrimm]

Originally Posted by HarryT

With respect, Marcy, it's not their fault if you don't download the book, is it? Doesn't their purchase e-mail ask you to download it within the hour?

Yeah, just like it sez in their "Terms of Disservice." With ereader.com, it does me little good to download and archive a book- I read their books on their software on my Ipad. I haven't had a palmpilot that works in over a year. So, I am dependent on their Bookshelf to obtain my books; the only way I could possibly load their books on my Ipad without using thei Bookshelf would be to jailbreak my Ipad, which voids my warranty.

There is a simple solution, though, that I have taken, and I imagine many others will too- don't buy anything from them any more!