Baen can no longer provide automatic delivery to Kindle by email.

[gbm]

Word on Baen's Bar is that this is coming from Amazon. The word is that Amazon will be restricting the "Send Ebook to Kindle" feature for Baen on or about June 10.

More info possibly tomorrow.

No word if other vendors are affected.

So keep an eye out for a change in TOS around June 10.

bernie

[susan_cassidy]

I can't see why Amazon would do this. Even if delivered via 3G, they charge for that. It doesn't cost them anything but a little bandwidth to deliver via wi-fi. I can't imagine that the traffic from Baen would be significant enough to matter.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

How many of those have distribution deals with Amazon, like BAEN does?

All of them sell their books through Amazon as well as their own publisher sites, except OmniLit/All Romance which is a competing retailer.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

I can't see why Amazon would do this. Even if delivered via 3G, they charge for that. It doesn't cost them anything but a little bandwidth to deliver via wi-fi. I can't imagine that the traffic from Baen would be significant enough to matter.

BAEN alone, no.
But the BPHs have been making some (feeble) attempts at setting up bookstores to sell to Kindle owners. If Amazon doesn't enforce the *existing* rules against the small fry they might end up in court when they enforce them against the big boys. That is one annoyance they'd rather avoid.

The rules aren't new, they just stopped looking the other way.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

I can't see why Amazon would do this. Even if delivered via 3G, they charge for that. It doesn't cost them anything but a little bandwidth to deliver via wi-fi. I can't imagine that the traffic from Baen would be significant enough to matter.

But if even a few people buy from Amazon instead, Amazon gets a cut of each book--and keeps the audience on their "board game." They want readers out of the habit of buying direct and since more publishers are starting to offer direct, they certainly don't want that habit to form. They don't want people learning to shop around, look for coupons, staying on a publisher site because it's more fun, etc.

I buy direct when I can because I know the publisher (and possibly the author) makes more. But I am often tempted by the convenience of "one click and it shows up" especially if I am traveling.

[Atunah]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

But if even a few people buy from Amazon instead, Amazon gets a cut of each book--and keeps the audience on their "board game." They want readers out of the habit of buying direct and since more publishers are starting to offer direct, they certainly don't want that habit to form. They don't want people learning to shop around, look for coupons, staying on a publisher site because it's more fun, etc.

I buy direct when I can because I know the publisher (and possibly the author) makes more. But I am often tempted by the convenience of "one click and it shows up" especially if I am traveling.

Yeah, they sure want one stay on the site. But I have to say that the only place I have ever been able to buy books outside of Amazon was a Sourcebooks romance club that has just been closed. I have kindles only and have no clue what to do with epub if they are drm. So Sourcebooks had their whole catalog drm free. I know that harper collins is now owned by Harlequin and they have great sales, but again, I have no clue what I would do with the format as they don't have mobi. So useless again. Allromance, I could never figure out exactly what format is drm free, what isn't, etc.

And I don't think any of the books I buy on average are available direct.

I think all the book sellers and publishers missed out by having DRM on their stuff. If they all sold DRM free like Sourcebooks did with DANL club, I might have bought books outside of Amazon. And Sourcebooks didn't have a auto send to kindle service in any case.

I don't know much about Baen since I don't read the genre they sell there but it sure is convenient for kindle owners to get purchased books send to them directly like that.

Overall its just more easy and no fuss just buying from Amazon. I guess that is what they want.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by Atunah

Yeah, they sure want one stay on the site. But I have to say that the only place I have ever been able to buy books outside of Amazon was a Sourcebooks romance club that has just been closed. I have kindles only and have no clue what to do with epub if they are drm. So Sourcebooks had their whole catalog drm free. I know that harper collins is now owned by Harlequin and they have great sales, but again, I have no clue what I would do with the format as they don't have mobi. So useless again. Allromance, I could never figure out exactly what format is drm free, what isn't, etc.

And I don't think any of the books I buy on average are available direct.

I think all the book sellers and publishers missed out by having DRM on their stuff. If they all sold DRM free like Sourcebooks did with DANL club, I might have bought books outside of Amazon. And Sourcebooks didn't have a auto send to kindle service in any case.

I don't know much about Baen since I don't read the genre they sell there but it sure is convenient for kindle owners to get purchased books send to them directly like that.

Overall its just more easy and no fuss just buying from Amazon. I guess that is what they want.

That is exactly what they want. Keep an eye on your favorite publishers. Most of them are adding clubs and direct sales. Sometimes they do it for a select imprint or for promos, but they are all moving in that direction. They'll all have DRM, but most are selling kindle type files now. I'll have to look and see or maybe someone else can say if harlequin has added kindle support.

[BearMountainBooks]

Oh, I see. Like SCRIBD, they reinvented the wheel and have their own app you have to download to your android or kindle file, etc. I don't know what the format is, but it's probably some form of epub for their own app.

[Atunah]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

Oh, I see. Like SCRIBD, they reinvented the wheel and have their own app you have to download to your android or kindle file, etc. I don't know what the format is, but it's probably some form of epub for their own app.

Yeah, that won't work for me. If I buy a book, I want to be able to back it up and read on my e-ink kindle. I only read Scribd on my tablets and I don't own those books so its ok for that, but majority of my reading is on e-ink.

Oh well, I just want to read books and not have to jump through hoops to do so.

You'd think by now they'd have it all figured out.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by Atunah

Yeah, that won't work for me. If I buy a book, I want to be able to back it up and read on my e-ink kindle. I only read Scribd on my tablets and I don't own those books so its ok for that, but majority of my reading is on e-ink.

Oh well, I just want to read books and not have to jump through hoops to do so.

You'd think by now they'd have it all figured out.

They just won't give in. I let my Scribd sub expire without renewing because I don't want to use their app. I want to read on my e-ink as well. And even if I didn't, I don't want to have to download 8 apps for 8 different stores and try to remember which book is where.

I buy from several stores, but the publishers are going to have to offer me either kindle format or the ability for me to convert it. Bah.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

They just won't give in. I let my Scribd sub expire without renewing because I don't want to use their app. I want to read on my e-ink as well. And even if I didn't, I don't want to have to download 8 apps for 8 different stores and try to remember which book is where.

I buy from several stores, but the publishers are going to have to offer me either kindle format or the ability for me to convert it. Bah.

This is the fundamental barrier to entry in the ebook area. People want ebooks just to show up on their ebook reader of choice without any effort. EBook retailers who also have their own ebook reader device (Amazon, B&N, Apple) have little incentive to give that level of access to their specific ebook device.

There are a few possible scenarios that I can think of that might cause some sort of break through. Amazon might get hit with an Anti-trust suit and be forced to open the kindle to their competitors (kind of unlikely, IMPO). Someone might market an e-ink device that supports all known formats and stores (also unlikely, IMPO). New technology may come out that makes e-ink obsolete (most likely, IMPO).

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

This is the fundamental barrier to entry in the ebook area. People want ebooks just to show up on their ebook reader of choice without any effort. EBook retailers who also have their own ebook reader device (Amazon, B&N, Apple) have little incentive to give that level of access to their specific ebook device.

There are a few possible scenarios that I can think of that might cause some sort of break through. Amazon might get hit with an Anti-trust suit and be forced to open the kindle to their competitors (kind of unlikely, IMPO). Someone might market an e-ink device that supports all known formats and stores (also unlikely, IMPO). New technology may come out that makes e-ink obsolete (most likely, IMPO).

I don't mind copying it to my device. I'm not too keen when I have to convert and copy, but again, I do that. It's when I have to read on some app I have to download this is a deal breaker. I don't have a tablet or small device OTHER than my e-ink. So that means I'd have to read it on my laptop. I did it for a while with SCRIBD because they have a great selection, but it's never going to be my first choice. In the case we were talking about above, the problem isn't Amazon. Harper Collins could offer a .mobi or kindle file, but they choose not to. Instead they want to force people to use their ecosystem and their reader on a tablet/computer. I tried that with SCRIBD and it doesn't work long term. So I'm not likely to download more software even if a book is a good deal. I'll just shop elsewhere or buy something else.

If I can buy a book and covert it, I'll usually do that, but I'm not going to deal with a different app for each publisher.

[Tarana]

I'm happy to sideload, but I share my magazines with other family members who are attached to my account. When my magazines arrives on my Kindle, I go to Amazon and send it to their individual kindles. The one who has a Nook isn't interested in magazines.

I will miss the option to email Baen books. It made it a lot easier to share the books with family members with a quick swipe of the button. Now I have to upload myself and then swipe. I know. It's not that tough. I just hate something easy getting harder when it's politics rather than technology causing it.

[DBDigital]

I don't mind sideloading either. But I know that most people just won't do it. I just use calibre as my main library and slide load as needed. While I use nook and most of it is delivered wirelessly, other locations are not. Libraries that use overdrive for example and that requires sideloading. Well for most e-ink devices, overdrive does have a tablet app. I also like having calibre as my "backup" system. I have been burned too many times with ebook stores closing and I lost out on books that I did purchase.

Regarding scribd, it is a good company however I didn't like their tablet app either. I couldn't get it to work with audio books (at least with my android tablet anyway, and the feedback option in the app always crashed lol). Normal book reading was fine though. I did read a few books on scribd I didn't have access to in libraries , but I also let my subscription lapse. I just have too many in my purchased "to read" pile to justify continuing the subscription right now.

Oh btw Bear, you might want to take a look at calibre. You can easily convert and copy a book to your device in one go if you need. It does a nice job of converting epub to mobi (kindle) and vice versa. Among many other formats. Of course, perhaps, this is what you already do.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by DBDigital

I don't mind sideloading either. But I know that most people just won't do it. I just use calibre as my main library and slide load as needed. While I use nook and most of it is delivered wirelessly, other locations are not. Libraries that use overdrive for example and that requires sideloading. Well for most e-ink devices, overdrive does have a tablet app. I also like having calibre as my "backup" system. I have been burned too many times with ebook stores closing and I lost out on books that I did purchase.

Regarding scribd, it is a good company however I didn't like their tablet app either. I couldn't get it to work with audio books (at least with my android tablet anyway, and the feedback option in the app always crashed lol). Normal book reading was fine though. I did read a few books on scribd I didn't have access to in libraries , but I also let my subscription lapse. I just have too many in my purchased "to read" pile to justify continuing the subscription right now.

Oh btw Bear, you might want to take a look at calibre. You can easily convert and copy a book to your device in one go if you need. It does a nice job of converting epub to mobi (kindle) and vice versa. Among many other formats. Of course, perhaps, this is what you already do.

Believe me, I have calibre! LOVE IT. Couldn't get by without it. I do it in a couple of steps because I'm not that good at remembering what to do each time. Calibre not only helps me with my publishing, it makes it possible for me to buy books from various retailers. ROCKS.