The Power of Kindle Unlimited - Page 2

John F · 11-19-2022, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Yeah. I don't like the 'have to become Amazon exclusive' clause.

Now that Kobo has a competing service, maybe Amazon could limit KU books from being on another 'streaming' service, but otherwise not care where the books are sold.

Before folks come on with their 'the authors have a choice, take it or leave it', I'm not trying to start an argument. I just don't think there's any harm in allowing small authors to go wide as far as selling the book, while allowing those books to be in their streaming KU program. As the first post shows, KU reads are different than book sales. Having the first few books in KU didn't convince leebase to buy the ones that weren't.

Tough to say with a sample size of one?

The flip side is that the author got paid something from leebase and leebase probably wouldn't have paid to read the books if they weren't in KU?

Sounds like a win for the small authors: people enroll for the "big authors" and stay for the small ones?

Quoth · 11-19-2022, 07:44 AM

KU is a malicious anti-competitive subscription service. It makes Amazon better profits per person than real ebook sales and cheats authors & publishers. High usage readers are subsidised by those that don't read so much.
As Amazon as over 90% of the English Language ebook market worldwide the exclusivity clause for content providers should be illegal.

It's also marketed dishonestly, especially in Amazon search results.
Free on Kindle Unlimited (Big print)
xx to buy (small print).

Nothing is free on KU because you can't keep it and you pay a subscription. Irish Library ebooks are "freer" in that dishonest sense as there is no subscription fee.

The best reason to buy an eInk ereader is about 80,000 public domain ebooks, nearly 70,000 on gutenberg.org as they are really free and most can only be read on a screen.

Amazon doesn't even buy the content for KU, unlike Pay TV or physical libraries. They decide themselves how much to pay content provider, after the fact based on unreliable and invasive of privacy detection of pages read. They should have to buy as many copies as concurrently on loan and pay a "per borrow" royalty, just like physical libraries in Ireland & UK (though the royalty payment is too low there).

jhowell · 11-19-2022, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John F

Where do you report violations?

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-c...y-for-murder-3

https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Murder-K.../dp/B07F2N3PRB

and also available at libraries.

That isn't a violation of Kindle Unlimited exclusivity, because that isn't actually a thing. If a book is handled by a traditional publisher it can be placed in Kindle Unlimited without being exclusive to Amazon.

Amazon has a program for self-publishers called KDP Select. One of the benefits of that program is that books are enrolled in Kindle Unlimited. But in order to be in that program the book has to be with Amazon exclusively.

In practice most publishers do not see a benefit to placing their books in Kindle Unlimited so its catalog is mostly composed of books enrolled in KDP Select.

Deskisamess · 11-19-2022, 08:39 AM

My property tax rate includes about $8-$11 per month that goes towards public libraries in my county. I pay about the same for KU.

I make heavy use of both, and read 12-20 books per month.

Nothing is free. But the $20-$22 spent each month for those programs would only buy 5-6 books, so it works very well for me.

John F · 11-19-2022, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhowell

That isn't a violation of Kindle Unlimited exclusivity, because that isn't actually a thing. If a book is handled by a traditional publisher it can be placed in Kindle Unlimited without being exclusive to Amazon.

Amazon has a program for self-publishers called KDP Select. One of the benefits of that program is that books are enrolled in Kindle Unlimited. But in order to be in that program the book has to be with Amazon exclusively.

In practice most publishers do not see a benefit to placing their books in Kindle Unlimited so its catalog is mostly composed of books enrolled in KDP Select.

So authors/publishers that do see benefit can go with Kindle Select, and those that don't see benefit can go with something like smashwords? Or mix and match.

DiapDealer · 11-19-2022, 11:51 AM

As a reader, I don't really care what kind of deals authors make to get their books published. That's their business.

Deskisamess · 11-19-2022, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

As a reader, I don't really care what kind of deals authors make to get their books published. That's their business.

Agreed.

ZodWallop · 11-19-2022, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John F

Tough to say with a sample size of one?

The flip side is that the author got paid something from leebase and leebase probably wouldn't have paid to read the books if they weren't in KU?

Sounds like a win for the small authors: people enroll for the "big authors" and stay for the small ones?

You took the last sentence out of context, ignoring what was before it. It wasn't about whether a user would have read a book whether available on KU or not. It is that streaming vs. purchasing a book are two different things. I do not think allowing small time authors to not be Amazon exclusive would impact the desirability of Kindle Unlimited as a service.

I could see Amazon demanding books in KU not also be available in competing services like Kobo Plus while allowing the books to be sold elsewhere.

hleo12 · 11-19-2022, 02:36 PM

It's probably wiser for me to just subscribe to KU in the long run (I've spent more in 1 paperback than a KU subscription before), but one main thing that prevents me from doing so is Amazon's non-competitive pricing.

Coming from a "developing country", BIG companies like Netflix, Disney, HBO, Spotify, Apple, etc have adjusted their subscriptions to match the economy. From the $10 elsewhere to just $3 here. They're the company that could probably afford to do it more than the others, but since there's no competition, they probably won't.

I miss the days where there were tons of small publishers roaming around and their ebooks were priced at 0.99 to 1.99 (sometimes 2.99 if they were big titles/authors).

Quoth · 11-19-2022, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John F

So authors/publishers that do see benefit can go with Kindle Select, and those that don't see benefit can go with something like smashwords? Or mix and match.

The Kindle Select "benefit" to authors/publishers is a lie. They'll make more and serve readers better with ordinary KDP, then they can be also on Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo etc (All via Smashwords) and on Google Playbooks at no cost. If you publish via KDP adding "Select" only helps Amazon to dominate. It benefits Amazon the most and boosts DRM. That's why Amazon promotes KU so dishonestly to readers and KDP Select (rather than KDP) so hard to small content providers. The KU exclusivity doesn't apply yet to the big publishers.

Amazon's goal is to not be just a retailer but the main publisher. They and KU are anti-competitive.

Having just one encyclopedia, one search engine (Google), one browser (Chrome), one book store, one Social Media (Meta) etc won't be good.

John F · 11-19-2022, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

You took the last sentence out of context, ignoring what was before it. It wasn't about whether a user would have read a book whether available on KU or not. It is that streaming vs. purchasing a book are two different things. I do not think allowing small time authors to not be Amazon exclusive would impact the desirability of Kindle Unlimited as a service.

I could see Amazon demanding books in KU not also be available in competing services like Kobo Plus while allowing the books to be sold elsewhere.

I disagree. I see it as paying to read a book. I don't really care about subscription vs own. Readers and authors can decide for themselves which benefits them.

John F · 11-19-2022, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quoth

The Kindle Select "benefit" to authors/publishers is a lie. They'll make more and serve readers better with ordinary KDP, ...

Can self published authors get into KU without Select?

Aleron Ives · 11-19-2022, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quoth

It's also marketed dishonestly, especially in Amazon search results.
Free on Kindle Unlimited (Big print)
xx to buy (small print).

Nothing is free on KU because you can't keep it and you pay a subscription.

People parrot Amazon's dishonest marketing about Prime's "free two-day shipping" all the time, too. Amazon Prime costs $140 per year in the US, which is definitely more than $0, thus making Prime shipping definitely not free. You get unlimited two-day shipping with Prime, not free two-day shipping. There's a difference, and Amazon tries as hard as it can to make sure people don't notice it.

Deskisamess · 11-19-2022, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

People parrot Amazon's dishonest marketing about Prime's "free two-day shipping" all the time, too. Amazon Prime costs $140 per year in the US, which is definitely more than $0, thus making Prime shipping definitely not free. You get unlimited two-day shipping with Prime, not free two-day shipping. There's a difference, and Amazon tries as hard as it can to make sure people don't notice it.

Amazon hasn't used "two-day shipping" in their Prime ads in a while. It's "Fast & Free" or "Free delivery on millions of items as fast as today." We still get most of our orders within 2 business days of ordering.

Prime offers a lot of benefits. Every consumer needs to decide if the cost is worth it for them. It hasn't been about just the shipping for a long time. It's a subscription with many varied benefits. Video, music, shipping, reading, exclusive discounts, etc.

ownedbycats · 11-19-2022, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

People parrot Amazon's dishonest marketing about Prime's "free two-day shipping" all the time, too. Amazon Prime costs $140 per year in the US, which is definitely more than $0, thus making Prime shipping definitely not free. You get unlimited two-day shipping with Prime, not free two-day shipping. There's a difference, and Amazon tries as hard as it can to make sure people don't notice it.

The last few times I ordered something physical from Amazon, they like to try pushing me into a Prime trial. Once, I had to uncheck it three times for a single order.

I saw a post somewhere from a bank teller where they said "unauthorized Amazon Prime charge" was one of their most common problems— it wasn't unauthorized, but they unknowingly signed up after a one-time purchase.

EDIT: Found it!

Quote:

Ex-personal banker here: People coming to complain about an "unauthorized Amazon Prime charge", that they just happened to subscribe unknowingly after making an one time purchase, was one of the most recurrent visits I got.

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11-19-2022, 07:44 AM	#17
Quoth Still reading Posts: 14,045 Karma: 105092227 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	KU is a malicious anti-competitive subscription service. It makes Amazon better profits per person than real ebook sales and cheats authors & publishers. High usage readers are subsidised by those that don't read so much. As Amazon as over 90% of the English Language ebook market worldwide the exclusivity clause for content providers should be illegal. It's also marketed dishonestly, especially in Amazon search results. Free on Kindle Unlimited (Big print) xx to buy (small print). Nothing is free on KU because you can't keep it and you pay a subscription. Irish Library ebooks are "freer" in that dishonest sense as there is no subscription fee. The best reason to buy an eInk ereader is about 80,000 public domain ebooks, nearly 70,000 on gutenberg.org as they are really free and most can only be read on a screen. Amazon doesn't even buy the content for KU, unlike Pay TV or physical libraries. They decide themselves how much to pay content provider, after the fact based on unreliable and invasive of privacy detection of pages read. They should have to buy as many copies as concurrently on loan and pay a "per borrow" royalty, just like physical libraries in Ireland & UK (though the royalty payment is too low there).

11-19-2022, 08:39 AM	#19
Deskisamess Wizard Posts: 2,752 Karma: 45301087 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Ohio Device: iPhone 13 Pro, iPad mini, iPad Pro 12.9",Paperwhite 6.8", Scribe 2022	My property tax rate includes about $8-$11 per month that goes towards public libraries in my county. I pay about the same for KU. I make heavy use of both, and read 12-20 books per month. Nothing is free. But the $20-$22 spent each month for those programs would only buy 5-6 books, so it works very well for me.

11-19-2022, 11:51 AM	#21
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,572 Karma: 204127028 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	As a reader, I don't really care what kind of deals authors make to get their books published. That's their business.

11-19-2022, 02:36 PM	#24
hleo12 Guru Posts: 655 Karma: 5078890 Join Date: Feb 2014 Device: Kobo Glo (deceased), Kindle 4th, Kindle Basic 10th Generation	It's probably wiser for me to just subscribe to KU in the long run (I've spent more in 1 paperback than a KU subscription before), but one main thing that prevents me from doing so is Amazon's non-competitive pricing. Coming from a "developing country", BIG companies like Netflix, Disney, HBO, Spotify, Apple, etc have adjusted their subscriptions to match the economy. From the $10 elsewhere to just $3 here. They're the company that could probably afford to do it more than the others, but since there's no competition, they probably won't. I miss the days where there were tons of small publishers roaming around and their ebooks were priced at 0.99 to 1.99 (sometimes 2.99 if they were big titles/authors).