Reader poll: Preorders

[mrmcmanus]

I used to do more preordering than I do now. With some of the very popular authors, if you wait a couple of weeks after release, the price drops by a couple of dollars. If I consider the preorder price reasonable or it's someone I just can't wait for, then I will preorder.

[technomom]

I just tried preordering ebooks from Amazon for the first time recently. In one case, the book was something in a series that would fell right after a book I had just finished, and I wanted to read as soon as possible. It was coming out in a few days, and I knew that I would notice it as soon as it showed up in my Kindle app. The other was an anthology that contained a story by one of the few authors whose grocery lists I would happily read. I've been waiting for it for several months. I was quite annoyed with Amazon regarding the anthology. On the release date, the book was available for sale on the Amazon site for nearly 24 hours before it was actually available in my app. On my digital orders page, it showed as "pending," and their customer service people said I would just have to wait for it to show up. So I may not bother with preordering again.

In the past, I have preordered a self-published physical book by a favorite pair of authors, in part to be sure it actually got published. I was willing to wait to receive it, and to invest in the book. I trusted their integrity from long experience.

[GA Russell]

I have pre-ordered a few books and CDs at Amazon recently because of their price guarantee.

[kyteflyer]

I don't preorder anything... books, software, cameras. with books and software I'll read the reviews first, and with cameras I want to go hands on before I commit.

[meeera]

I put a hold on it at the library as soon as it's listed as being "On Order". Does that count?

[Canuck_in_Japan]

I get pre-ordering physical books but ebooks? That's gotta be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Now if there was some sort of financial incentive for pre-ordering, like a 20% discount then I could see the advantage.

[Geralt]

I pre-order only paper, and that only if there is a discount on pre-ordering.
I never pre-order ebooks. Pre-ordered kindle books cost always more than if you wait a month or so after publishing.

[CRussel]

If it's a very favourite author, I will sometimes pre-order. I like the magically appearing book on my Kindle from a series I know and look forward to.

[Yapyap]

If it's a book I know I'll want to read immediately (say, next book in a series I love, or new book by a favourite author), then yes, I do pre-order the ebook. I read a lot of books and a lot of series and my memory isn't such that I could remember the exact release date for every single one of those "want as soon as it's available" books - some of the absolute favourite ones, yes, but with others the best I can do is remember that "the sequel will be out some point later this year".

Also, I've had quite a few instances of price temporarily dropping a bit at some between pre-order and release day, and in all of those cases, Amazon has adjusted my pre-order price to that lowest point, so if it's a book I'll want to read immediately, pre-ordering has often been advantageous price-wise as well. If it's a book I want to read but "at some point", not right away, then I'm more than fine with putting it on a wish list and waiting for the price to drop later on.

[Bertolt]

I wait till it's been out a year or so. What's the rush? Books often cost a LOT less after the initial interest has subsided a bit. It's still the same book you're reading 12 months later and it's often only 25 percent of the original price. If it's a good book now, it will be a good book 12 months later too.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

I get pre-ordering physical books but ebooks? That's gotta be the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Er, why is it "dumb" to want to have a book delivered automatically to your Kindle the day that it's released, rather than having to remember to order it after release? It may not be something that you'd personally want to do, but please don't insult people who make a different choice.

[Yapyap]

Originally Posted by Bertolt

I wait till it's been out a year or so. What's the rush? Books often cost a LOT less after the initial interest has subsided a bit. It's still the same book you're reading 12 months later and it's often only 25 percent of the original price. If it's a good book now, it will be a good book 12 months later too.

It makes discussing the book with friends - sharing theories, squeeing, comparing reactions, guessing what might happen in the next book, etc etc - quite a bit trickier if you wait for a year. Especially if you're in the fandom for a book/series. ;-)

Of course plenty of people prefer to keep reading a solitary activity, but it can also be a social activity; with series in particular it can be fun and rewarding to discuss plots, characters & theories with friends/others into the same series. Waiting for a year for everything means giving up on all that plus the chances of running into spoilers increases considerably - again not something that is important to everyone but there are plenty of people who really would prefer not to know some important plot twist in advance.

I don't read everything on release; with most books, I can easily wait and it's not like I'll run out of things to read in the meantime (I'm also still young enough and in good enough health that, barring accidents, I anticipate I'll still be here to read those books next year). But there are plenty of people who have series/authors/books they wait for, impatiently, ready to grab the book the moment it's available, because they've already been waiting for it for a year, counting down the days, needing to know what happens next.

[rhadin]

I regularly preorder hardcovers, but I have not preordered an ebook. The primary reason for preordering hardcovers is that I want to be sure I do not miss the publication and I also want to be sure I am getting a first edition, first printing copy. Also, the price at the time of preorder is often lower than it is at release. For example, I preordered the 2-volume biography of Lincoln a couple of years ago and the list price was $125 and the preorder price when I made it was $55. By the time of publication, the price had creeped up to around $100, but I paid only the preorder price of $55.

eBooks don't have the "rarity" problem that a print book may have and there really isn't a first edition ebook.

[DiapDealer]

The effort, by many, to make the act of pre-ordering ebooks seem pointless and/or silly, seems a bit ... well ... pointless and/or silly.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by rhadin

eBooks don't have the "rarity" problem that a print book may have and there really isn't a first edition ebook.

I just finished The Cuckoo's Calling, as a DRM'd library eBook, and was surprised to find, at the end, a page stating that Galbraith is a pen name for J. K. Rowling. So I guess I read the second edition.

Maybe, some day, a Kindle or Nook with the first edition on it will be worth something.