W H Smith fights back — 66% of top 100 ebooks

pdurrant · 08-13-2010, 02:23 PM

W H Smith is trying to compete with Amazon on price. They're now offering 66% off their top 100 ebooks. Even with this discount, they're still not always cheaper than Amazon, but they're getting closer.

e.g. Charlaine Harris's Dead in the Family is now £5.10 at W H Smith, but £5.08 at Amazon.

Similarly, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is £2.72 at W H Smith, but £2.68 at Amazon.

In their top 10, only one book is currently cheaper at W H Smith.

Hmm.. checking further, I think Amazon must be enforcing their 'can't offer it cheaper elsewhere' clauses. Nearly every book is £0.02 cheaper at Amazon!

Price Wars - good for consumers.

jayne80 · 08-13-2010, 04:14 PM

Thanks for this, just been off to encourage WHSmiths, not worried about a 2 pence difference in price when the books i'm buying are under £3, 15 books for under £40 yippee!!

noticed that they are selling the PRS 300 for £99, £0.99 cheaper than Waterstones.

Go WHSmiths, (I prefer their website to Waterstones anyway)

BTW Its 35% off the top 100 fiction books

tech_au · 08-14-2010, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayne80

Thanks for this, just been off to encourage WHSmiths, not worried about a 2 pence difference in price when the books i'm buying are under £3, 15 books for under £40 yippee!!

noticed that they are selling the PRS 300 for £99, £0.99 cheaper than Waterstones.

Go WHSmiths, (I prefer their website to Waterstones anyway)

BTW Its 35% off the top 100 fiction books

It is 66% off the top 100 ebooks but they haven't changed their 35% banner advert yet. Further down the page all the top 100 have a 66% discount showing.
I also prefer WH Smith's to Waterstones as well but since Borders AU opened up there's no real incentive to buy from the UK unless they have one of these 50% or more off sale.

Hellmark · 08-14-2010, 03:59 AM

Wow, some of those prices are cheap compared to the US. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo works out to be $4.24 US, where as from US retailers it is $7.14 at the cheapest.

shanghaichica · 08-14-2010, 05:17 AM

At least they have responded. That's good.

I wonder what Waterstone's will do, their prices are ridiculus even compared to WH Smith. They would have to make big reductions just to be approaching decent prices.

Blue Tyson · 08-14-2010, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hellmark

Wow, some of those prices are cheap compared to the US. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo works out to be $4.24 US, where as from US retailers it is $7.14 at the cheapest.

That one seems to have always been cheap whenever I have noticed it. Maybe because they are selling so many they can't count fast enough to keep up?

abookreader · 08-14-2010, 06:41 AM

That's encouraging news because competition is always a good thing for the consumer. I have as a US citizen actually bought a few titles from WH Smith before that I couldn't get here. I remember have to throw the whole shebang at them though to circumvent the Geographic restrictions .. a VPN server, a faked London address, purchase of a gift card...

HarryT · 08-14-2010, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hellmark

Wow, some of those prices are cheap compared to the US. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo works out to be $4.24 US, where as from US retailers it is $7.14 at the cheapest.

There's no "agency pricing" in the UK, so very often book prices are lower than the US.

eric11210 · 08-14-2010, 07:39 AM

This probably should have been in the deals section, not the news section. Anyway, thanks. I didn't think I wanted to buy more books right now, but the prices were insanely cheap. I got three books for 8.22 pounds (around $12.83) which would have cost $34 from American stores. And given that I'm overseas, I wouldn't be able to buy them there either. I used a VPN to make the purchases (thank goodness I'm a huge fan of Doctor Who and have a VPN to be able to watch the show) and I apparently now live at a hotel in London. :P

Anyway, thanks for the deal.

Eric

ShellShock · 08-14-2010, 02:56 PM

I keep getting a checkout error: "We're sorry, but one or more required checkout fields have been left blank." But I've filled every possible field in! Grrrrr

Edit....my mistake--I had set the wrong credit card type. Doh!

Hellmark · 08-15-2010, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

There's no "agency pricing" in the UK, so very often book prices are lower than the US.

Even before the agency pricing took effect, prices on hot sellers like that were always closer to the $10 mark.

afa · 08-15-2010, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Similarly, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is £2.72 at W H Smith, but £2.68 at Amazon.

Wow.

Now I feel like an idiot for buying it a couple of weeks ago when it was 'only' 35% off...

hols57 · 08-15-2010, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shanghaichica

At least they have responded. That's good.

I wonder what Waterstone's will do, their prices are ridiculus even compared to WH Smith. They would have to make big reductions just to be approaching decent prices.

I agree! I find Waterstones to be way overpriced. I'm delighted that the 'Amazon effect' is starting to filter through to the UK market.

But it pays to shop around. I saw 'The Help' by K. Stockett priced at £2.79 on Kobo and it's at least £5 everywhere else in UK. Who said competition wasn't good?!

HarryT · 08-15-2010, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hols57

But it pays to shop around. I saw 'The Help' by K. Stockett priced at £2.79 on Kobo and it's at least £5 everywhere else in UK. Who said competition wasn't good?!

It's £2.76 at Amazon.

shanghaichica · 08-15-2010, 11:07 AM

It does pay to shop around but I really think that amazon has got all the other store (minus waterstones) on their toes, so that can only be a good thing for all of us.

08-13-2010, 02:23 PM	#1
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 74,450 Karma: 318076944 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	W H Smith fights back — 66% off top 100 ebooks W H Smith is trying to compete with Amazon on price. They're now offering 66% off their top 100 ebooks. Even with this discount, they're still not always cheaper than Amazon, but they're getting closer. e.g. Charlaine Harris's Dead in the Family is now £5.10 at W H Smith, but £5.08 at Amazon. Similarly, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is £2.72 at W H Smith, but £2.68 at Amazon. In their top 10, only one book is currently cheaper at W H Smith. Hmm.. checking further, I think Amazon must be enforcing their 'can't offer it cheaper elsewhere' clauses. Nearly every book is £0.02 cheaper at Amazon! Price Wars - good for consumers. Last edited by pdurrant; 08-15-2010 at 01:13 PM.

08-14-2010, 02:56 PM	#10
ShellShock Wizard Posts: 1,178 Karma: 2431850 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: IPad Mini 2 Retina	I keep getting a checkout error: "We're sorry, but one or more required checkout fields have been left blank." But I've filled every possible field in! Grrrrr Edit....my mistake--I had set the wrong credit card type. Doh! Last edited by ShellShock; 08-14-2010 at 02:59 PM.

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08-13-2010, 04:14 PM	#2
jayne80 Connoisseur Posts: 68 Karma: 5837 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: UK Device: iphone 4s, ipad 3, kindle touch,kindle PW, kobo mini, kobo aura	Thanks for this, just been off to encourage WHSmiths, not worried about a 2 pence difference in price when the books i'm buying are under £3, 15 books for under £40 yippee!! noticed that they are selling the PRS 300 for £99, £0.99 cheaper than Waterstones. Go WHSmiths, (I prefer their website to Waterstones anyway) BTW Its 35% off the top 100 fiction books

08-14-2010, 03:59 AM	#4
Hellmark Wizard Posts: 2,592 Karma: 4290425 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Foristell, Missouri, USA Device: Nokia N800, PRS-505, Nook STR Glowlight, Kindle 3, Kobo Libra 2	Wow, some of those prices are cheap compared to the US. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo works out to be $4.24 US, where as from US retailers it is $7.14 at the cheapest.

08-14-2010, 05:17 AM	#5
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	At least they have responded. That's good. I wonder what Waterstone's will do, their prices are ridiculus even compared to WH Smith. They would have to make big reductions just to be approaching decent prices.

08-14-2010, 06:41 AM	#7
abookreader Wizard Posts: 1,516 Karma: 2567610 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindles - Keyboard, Fire, 2-US, iPhone, iPAD	That's encouraging news because competition is always a good thing for the consumer. I have as a US citizen actually bought a few titles from WH Smith before that I couldn't get here. I remember have to throw the whole shebang at them though to circumvent the Geographic restrictions .. a VPN server, a faked London address, purchase of a gift card...

08-14-2010, 07:39 AM	#9
eric11210 Addict Posts: 295 Karma: 400001 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Sony Reader PRS-600	This probably should have been in the deals section, not the news section. Anyway, thanks. I didn't think I wanted to buy more books right now, but the prices were insanely cheap. I got three books for 8.22 pounds (around $12.83) which would have cost $34 from American stores. And given that I'm overseas, I wouldn't be able to buy them there either. I used a VPN to make the purchases (thank goodness I'm a huge fan of Doctor Who and have a VPN to be able to watch the show) and I apparently now live at a hotel in London. :P Anyway, thanks for the deal. Eric

08-15-2010, 11:07 AM	#15
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	It does pay to shop around but I really think that amazon has got all the other store (minus waterstones) on their toes, so that can only be a good thing for all of us.