Amazon vs Hachette

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by shalym

Edited to add: Whoops--they already charged my card. Bad form for them to charge the card for a product that not only hasn't shipped yet, but won't be shipping for 2 weeks!

They need your money to buy your book from Hachette

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by MikeB1972

That's more the Fleming estates fault than Amazons though . . .

See:

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix....cle&ID=1684161

SEATTLE, Apr 17, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Ian Fleming Publications Ltd today announced that Amazon Publishing has acquired a ten-year license for North American rights to the entire list of James Bond books by Ian Fleming in print and ebook. . . .

This agreement comes on the heels of the announcement last month by The Random House Group that the Bond backlist was returning to its publishing roots in the UK, with Vintage Books (sister imprint of Jonathan Cape, the original publisher of Casino Royale) acquiring a ten-year license for exclusive rights to the Bond novels in the English language with the exception of North America.

The best deal the estate could get, in the UK, is through a publisher, Random House, that sells their eBooks through many outlets. The best deal they could get in the US was through a publisher, Amazon, that sells their eBooks directly. How is that the estate or family's fault? I can't see why the estate has any more responsibility towards Nook owners than does Amazon.

I just did a search to compare the library borrowing situation for Bond/Ian Fleming titles in the US vs. the UK.

In the UK, titles being reissued by Random House are available, as eBooks, from a small number of public libraries. Examples:

http://peterboroughe-book.lib.overdr...e-18ed74b7a7ca

http://newcastle.lib.overdrive.com/1...5-d6832af018a0

http://rbwm.lib.overdrive.com/DC2592...2-c2557a3c3b8a

Given how few British libraries have Ian Fleming/Bond eBooks, I surmise that Random House is charging them, through Overdrive, a high price. That's bad.

In the US, as far as I can tell, no public libraries lend Ian Fleming/Bond eBooks. Please, fellow posters, search on your own to double-check my finding, which is based on a check of search.overdrive.com, and, thanks to J. Howell's Calibre plugin, a few 3M and Axis360 collections. If my finding is true, this means Thomas & Mercer, the Amazon imprint, refuses to let our public libraries lend their Ian Fleming/Bond books at any price. That's worse.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

The best deal the estate could get, in the UK, is through a publisher, Random House, that sells their eBooks through many outlets. The best deal they could get in the US was through a publisher, Amazon, that sells their eBooks directly. How is that the estate or family's fault?

Because they shouldn't have been trying to get the "best deal" for themselves. They should have made their decision based solely on what was best for the industry. I mean, hell ... isn't that what Amazon's getting lambasted for NOT doing?

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

The best deal the estate could get, in the UK, is through a publisher, Random House, that sells their eBooks through many outlets. The best deal they could get in the US was through a publisher, Amazon, that sells their eBooks directly. How is that the estate or family's fault? I can't see why the estate has any more responsibility towards Nook owners than does Amazon.

It's the Flemming estates fault that you can only get the book via Amazon in the states, I was commenting on someone blaming Amazon for it.

I'm not knocking them, I assume they got a good deal and it's still better than the no ebook at all before this for readers.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by jersysman

Now that's a low blow for us people from SE PA!

Sorry.
I lived in Philly and my uncle is a Phillie phan.
I keep telling him you need to squat like a catcher and let the chest protector take the blows if you buy into that squad as contenders. They are an (inevitable?) Utley dl appearance away from the first pick in the next draft.
They really should've started rebuilding once Doc was done.

[jersysman]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Sorry.
I lived in Philly and my uncle is a Phillie phan.
I keep telling him you need to squat like a catcher and let the chest protector take the blows if you buy into that squad as contenders. They are an (inevitable?) Utley dl appearance away from the first pick in the next draft.
They really should've started rebuilding once Doc was done.

I agree with what you are saying. Still hard to take!!

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by jersysman

I agree with what you are saying. Still hard to take!!

I just hope Utley *doesn't* get to the dl. I want to see what he's got left.

As for hard to take, look at Tampa or Texas...all that talent on the dl... At least the phillies have money to play with. All they need is GM.
Cleveland needs an owner who cares.
The Dodgers need a manager.

In this season of super-parity, baseball is a lot like publishing: everybody has issues except the folks from silicon valley. Or there-abouts.

[SteveEisenberg]

HACHETTE AUTHOR STEPHEN COLBERT TO AMAZON, JEFF BEZOS: "WATCH OUT, THIS MEANS WAR"

His America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't is available from Amazon, in hardcover, with a "usually ships within 2 to 4 weeks" warning, using the Amazon.com link I just provided, for US$28.99.

Or you can use this other link to buy the same book, also from Amazon, also in new condition, as a "Hardcover – Bargain Price," with prompt "In Stock" shipping, for US$11.60.

Or you can get the Kindle eBook version from Amazon, instantly, for US$12.99.

So no one thinks I'm a total shill for Colbert and Hachette, I'll mention this:

You can also get the eBook, instantly and for free (after having paid the $50 out of state membership fee) from the Brooklyn Public Library. Or if you live near approximately 1,000 other American libraries, you can get it for free, via Overdrive, without paying anything.

Of course, this is because Hachette, unlike Amazon Publishing, commonly licenses books to public libraries. So I am indeed more sympathetic to Hachette than Amazon.

[DiapDealer]

How dare Amazon take away one of the five ways you pointed out that you could use to get that book (two of which were through Amazon). Those beasts.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

How dare Amazon take away one of the five ways you pointed out that you could use to get that book (two of which were through Amazon). Those beasts.

That's one of the things I don't get about all the author complaints. The ebooks are still available and any discounts that went away really just puts the price equal to that of other retailers. I mean, sure, I loved it when Amazon put my books on sale, but the price break was not a "given." It lasted for a while and then it was gone. If the Hachette (and other publisher) terms aren't great, maybe all the discounts will go away...and then what? Will the authors be happier?

The shipping delays do stink, but I don't understand why Hachette doesn't have a more efficient ordering system. I think it's because they have always counted on third-party distributors to handle it. And now that Amazon is treating them more like a POD, that isn't working so well for them. This ought to be showing them where they need to make improvements at home, but I wonder if anyone is taking notes.

I don't know. This situation is not a win for anyone, including readers.

As for Colbert, I think he's just using this for publicity. His books are available and his books are available instantly at Amazon in digital form. If they chose not to discount the print version or have delayed shipping, there are plenty of other vendors (and the library).

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

You can also get the eBook, instantly and for free (after having paid the $50 out of state membership fee) from the Brooklyn Public Library. Or if you live near approximately 1,000 other American libraries, you can get it for free, via Overdrive, without paying anything.

You're linking to his I Am America and not America Again. As far as I can tell, the latter book is only available in audio formats on OverDrive.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

You're linking to his I Am America and not America Again. As far as I can tell, the latter book is only available in audio formats on OverDrive.

That's also what I see.

This is why I said that Hachette commonly licenses their titles to American libraries. They don't always. My strong impression is that Random House, the publisher whose products I read the most, is more likely to release their titles to Overdrive, Axis360, etc.

As for Amazon Publishing, I can't say they never license eBook titles to free libraries. But I haven't noticed them doing it, so it certainly isn't common.

[eschwartz]

I thought the libraries don't want Amazon books, because they don't trust indie publishing?

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I thought the libraries don't want Amazon books, because they don't trust indie publishing?

He's talking about Amazon Publishing (47 North, Thomas & Mercer, Montlake, etc.), not KDP.

I know A-Pub does print library sales, but I don't know about ebook.

[Synamon]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

<snip>

So no one thinks I'm a total shill for Colbert and Hachette, I'll mention this:

You can also get the eBook, instantly and for free (after having paid the $50 out of state membership fee) from the Brooklyn Public Library. Or if you live near approximately 1,000 other American libraries, you can get it for free, via Overdrive, without paying anything.

Of course, this is because Hachette, unlike Amazon Publishing, commonly licenses books to public libraries. So I am indeed more sympathetic to Hachette than Amazon.

Commonly??? Only if by commonly you mean that after 2 years of a pilot project with a single library system, Hachette finally agreed to sell their ebooks to all public libraries at an inflated price.