are you ever going to buy a paper novel again? - Page 4

hidari · 12-29-2011, 04:30 PM

Siince I started serious ebook reading there is no comparison. The smell and feel of a book is a good experience, but The ability to change Font size and Font wins hands down for me.

And... one of the elephants in the closet...SPACE more space in my flat for other things besides dead wood trees....and lastly availability I am not limited to the mall English market here in Japan via a chain store, Amazon.jp and can read heaps of free or cheaply priced books in English, Russian, Spanish etc... CHOICE.... The net wins in my corner of the world.

/QUOTE=Chi Cygni;1901154]I bought two paper books in 2011. I have not read them yet. One of them I have as ebook but in English so I bought paper one in my native language. Gathering dust on the shelf. I bought/downloaded over 50 ebooks this year and except 6 read them all. I was hesitating over hardback copy of "Agony and extasy" by Irving Stone but put it back even though I loved it when I read it first time (brick size, font size fixed etc) Will buy ebook when it comes out. Hopefully. So, mayhaps I will buy a paper book but will I ever read it?

[/QUOTE]

carld · 12-29-2011, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Is that really true in the US? In the UK, eBooks are normally significantly cheaper than their paper equivalents, normally about two thirds the price.

Yes, thanks to agency pricing ebooks in the US are significantly more expensive than they are in the UK. Ebooks are often (I want to say almost always) more expensive than paperbacks.

That annoys the hell out of me since I can't really read paperbooks anymore without significant effort and eye-strain.

DiapDealer · 12-29-2011, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carld

Yes, thanks to agency pricing ebooks in the US are significantly more expensive than they are in the UK. Ebooks are often (I want to say almost always) more expensive than paperbacks.

I'm in the US and I simply can't agree with that at all. Except for the rare occurrence, I find my ebooks to almost always be cheaper than their current physical counterparts.

EDIT: Or do you mean recently released ebooks (only currently available physically in hardcover) are typically more expensive than a paperback book? I guess I could agree with that, but wouldn't really understand the significance of it.

Nyssa · 12-29-2011, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carld

Yes, thanks to agency pricing ebooks in the US are significantly more expensive than they are in the UK. Ebooks are often (I want to say almost always) more expensive than paperbacks.

That annoys the hell out of me since I can't really read paperbooks anymore without significant effort and eye-strain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'm in the US and I can't agree with that at all. Except for the rare occurrence, I find my ebooks to almost always be cheaper than their current physical counterparts.

Cheaper or the same price. There are a handful that have been more expensive, but not that many.

HarryT · 12-29-2011, 05:04 PM

And don't forget that we have agency pricing in the UK, too. But even so, the price the publisher sets for the eBook is almost always lower than Amazon's discounted price for the paperback.

carld · 12-29-2011, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'm in the US and I simply can't agree with that at all. Except for the rare occurrence, I find my ebooks to almost always be cheaper than their current physical counterparts.

EDIT: Or do you mean recently released ebooks (only currently available physically in hardcover) are typically more expensive than a paperback book? I guess I could agree with that, but wouldn't really understand the significance of it.

Ehh, I might be wrong. But when I think of paperbacks I think of the smaller, and cheaper, mass-market paperbacks that the publishers seem to be phasing out. Yes ebooks tend to be cheaper than, or the same price as, the larger format trade paperbacks, but those will never be "paperbacks" as I think of them.

I admit, it's been a while since I've checked ebook versus paperback prices, my memory may not be accurate.

carld · 12-29-2011, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

And don't forget that we have agency pricing in the UK, too. But even so, the price the publisher sets for the eBook is almost always lower than Amazon's discounted price for the paperback.

I thought agency pricing was illegal in the UK.

HarryT · 12-29-2011, 05:15 PM

No, we've had it for ages. There's currently an investigation going on by the European Commission about whether it is legal or not, but until they reach a decision, we have it.

If you look at the Kindle Store at amazon.co.uk, whenever it says "This price was set by the publisher", it's an agency price.

MrTeatime · 12-29-2011, 05:25 PM

eBooks of Penguin Classics are almost always more expensive than the (discounted) paperback price, although less than the paperback RRP.

In general, though, my findings match those of HarryT.

DiapDealer · 12-29-2011, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Yes ebooks tend to be cheaper than, or the same price as, the larger format trade paperbacks, but those will never be "paperbacks" as I think of them.

I'm still willing to go on record as saying that of the books I see that are available in MMPB format... the majority of them have an ebook version that is available for a cheaper (or at most equal) price. Unless I'm just one lucky son-of-a-gun.

HarryT · 12-29-2011, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'm still willing to go on record as saying that of the books I see that are available in MMPB format... the majority of them have an ebook version that is available for a cheaper (or at most equal) price. Unless I'm just one lucky son-of-a-gun.

That's the way it is with us, too.

Eg, "Dune":

Paperback list price: £7.99
Amazon's discounted paperback price: £5.00
Kindle eBook price (set by the publisher): £4.99

carpetmojo · 12-29-2011, 05:37 PM

Can't remember if I've posted a reply - so....

Yes.

Elfwreck · 12-29-2011, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Eg, "Dune":

Paperback list price: £7.99
Amazon's discounted paperback price: £5.00
Kindle eBook price (set by the publisher): £4.99

Dune in Amazon-US: MMPB $9.99; Kindlebook $14.99
Trade PB: $12.24, marked down from $18.00

Of course, used mmpb starts at $.01 + shipping.

Most of the agency-priced ebooks I see charge the same for MMPB and ebook, except for, apparently, special award-winning books, where the ebook costs more.

Fellowship of the Rings: MMPB $7.99; Kindlebook $10.99; Trade $8.76 marked down from $10.95

Quexos · 12-29-2011, 06:08 PM

As a matter of fact I have purchased a couple of paper books a couple days ago. The books in question I could not find on ebook at the places I usually check out.

carld · 12-29-2011, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'm still willing to go on record as saying that of the books I see that are available in MMPB format... the majority of them have an ebook version that is available for a cheaper (or at most equal) price. Unless I'm just one lucky son-of-a-gun.

Yes, but I don't think that's always been the case, either that or I'm not one of the lucky ones. I know for certain that I've gone looking at prices in the past and have seen paperbacks cheaper than ebooks in a lot of cases. I don't have the time or energy to try to go through all that searching again, and prices and formats change all the time. I'm not even sure I could prove it now, even if I invested a lot of time into it.

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12-29-2011, 04:30 PM	#46
hidari MR Drone Posts: 1,613 Karma: 15612282 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: DRONEZONE Device: PB360+, Huawei MP5, Libra H20	Siince I started serious ebook reading there is no comparison. The smell and feel of a book is a good experience, but The ability to change Font size and Font wins hands down for me. And... one of the elephants in the closet...SPACE more space in my flat for other things besides dead wood trees....and lastly availability I am not limited to the mall English market here in Japan via a chain store, Amazon.jp and can read heaps of free or cheaply priced books in English, Russian, Spanish etc... CHOICE.... The net wins in my corner of the world. /QUOTE=Chi Cygni;1901154]I bought two paper books in 2011. I have not read them yet. One of them I have as ebook but in English so I bought paper one in my native language. Gathering dust on the shelf. I bought/downloaded over 50 ebooks this year and except 6 read them all. I was hesitating over hardback copy of "Agony and extasy" by Irving Stone but put it back even though I loved it when I read it first time (brick size, font size fixed etc) Will buy ebook when it comes out. Hopefully. So, mayhaps I will buy a paper book but will I ever read it? [/QUOTE]

12-29-2011, 05:04 PM	#50
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	And don't forget that we have agency pricing in the UK, too. But even so, the price the publisher sets for the eBook is almost always lower than Amazon's discounted price for the paperback.

12-29-2011, 05:15 PM	#53
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	No, we've had it for ages. There's currently an investigation going on by the European Commission about whether it is legal or not, but until they reach a decision, we have it. If you look at the Kindle Store at amazon.co.uk, whenever it says "This price was set by the publisher", it's an agency price.

12-29-2011, 05:25 PM	#54
MrTeatime Connoisseur Posts: 61 Karma: 513276 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Sony PRS-350	eBooks of Penguin Classics are almost always more expensive than the (discounted) paperback price, although less than the paperback RRP. In general, though, my findings match those of HarryT.

12-29-2011, 05:37 PM	#57
carpetmojo Wizard Posts: 3,117 Karma: 9269999 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: UK Device: Sony- T3, PRS650, 350, T1/2/3, Paperwhite, Fire 8.9,Samsung Tab S 10.5	Can't remember if I've posted a reply - so.... Yes.

12-29-2011, 06:08 PM	#59
Quexos Member Retired Posts: 1,999 Karma: 11348924 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Limbo Device: none	As a matter of fact I have purchased a couple of paper books a couple days ago. The books in question I could not find on ebook at the places I usually check out.