First experience buying an ebook at Chapters

[coinín]

Originally Posted by m_bisson

I'm just gonna say what everyone's thinking.... WHAT A WEIRDO!!!!

Do you stand in bushes with a trench coat and dark sunglasses and stare at women? Sorry that buying from Chapters almost compromised your secret identity.

As the immortal Joseph Heller stated in Catch-22 (later paraphrased by Kurt Cobain), "Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't after you."

[m_bisson]

I get the feeling this guy walked into Chapters and asked someone to buy Mein Kampf the ebook version.

[charleski]

Originally Posted by Ninjalawyer

No, that would only be nice feature if you can't quite wrap your head around buying something electronically and only managed to find one of them thar new er-eaders because it was a gift from a grandchild. No, that would only be nice feature if you can't quite wrap your head around buying something electronically and only managed to find one of them thar new er-eaders because it was a gift from a grandchild.

Don't be ridiculous. The experience of browsing in a physical bookshop is still far superior to flicking through screens on Amazon. In-store downloads are one of the few chances that physical stores have to stay alive over the next decade, and it's something they need to get right. And if we really are moving into a 'Post-PC' era, you need to be able to do that without having to sync back home.

Maintaining anonymity and the security of your personal details is becoming more important by the day. If you think that companies store your data securely then you need to read the news more often.

[Ninjalawyer]

Browsing in-store has thus far done little to save physical bookstores. I suspect you might be in a smaller minority than you realize of people who want to go to a physical store to download ebooks.

[charleski]

Originally Posted by Ninjalawyer

Browsing in-store has thus far done little to save physical bookstores. I suspect you might be in a smaller minority than you realize of people who want to go to a physical store to download ebooks.

The numbers say different:
http://www.booksellers.org.uk/Indust...1999-2008.aspx

In 2009 large chains and independent bookshops were still responsible for a little over 50% of book sales by value. It's direct mail and internet sales that are in the minority, at 28%. These numbers have changed very little over the past decade. Physical bookshops are suffering compared to the times when they were the only outlet available, but they still represent the primary outlet, and browsing is an important part of that.

[G0AT]

Does this data exist for US/Canada? We're in a transitional period right now from pBooks to eBooks, and I'm not sure where the UK is in that transition. It seems to me that its really starting to pick up pace here.

IMO, what is slowing this transition down is that the people most comfortable with tech read significantly less than those on the other side of the spectrum. Even if they're not in trouble already, the next few years might spell doom for brick and mortar bookstores. Even in the posted statistics, supermarkets have been stealing their marketshare of pBooks.

It actually doesn't seem clear whether eBooks are even included in the posted statistics. Are they, or are the stats for pBooks alone?

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by charleski

Physical bookshops are suffering compared to the times when they were the only outlet available, but they still represent the primary outlet, and browsing is an important part of that.

Not only browsing, but the main thing that physical book stores have that helps them compete is the social element of books and reading. Almost 90% of the studying I did in college was in the coffee shop section of a book store, alone or with a study group of friends.

Book circles and clubs still exist, groups that read a book together and talk about it, and they often meet in book stores. And one of my best ever book-related experiences was when I got to meet Terry Brooks in a local Borders and listen to him read a chapter of his next book to the visiting fans and take questions.

Book stores around where I live (north-west US) are becoming social hubs and meeting points, where book lovers can meet among books and talk about them, and unlike in a library, we can snack, have coffee, and talk loudly about what we love. Don't underestimate the importance of that aspect.

[TonyToews]

Originally Posted by m_bisson

I'm just gonna say what everyone's thinking.... WHAT A WEIRDO!!!!

Do you stand in bushes with a trench coat and dark sunglasses and stare at women? Sorry that buying from Chapters almost compromised your secret identity.

That is an derogatory comment.

Privacy is a very important issue and becoming much more important with all the digital information out there.

When I shop at Safeway I use my cousin's wifes parents phone number to get the deals. All the better to confuse the marketing databases.

[jackastor]

Originally Posted by 46jimbo

But wouldn't it be nice to be able to browse in a book store, take a book up to the counter and say, "I'd like the epub version of this one, please." You hand them your ereader and they load it for you on the spot.

You have noticed the extreme high cost on some ebooks lately some costing more then the hard copy cousins? I know this may be petty, but since an ebook does not require killing a whole forest to publish, keeping costs down and being a very green for the enviroment move it would be nice if the books price would more reasonable then currently they are. It seems to me a few years ago that ebooks were aprox 4.99 give or take... and now they seem to be as much as 45 dollars a pop... (i think that was a collection) but regardless i would like a more reasonable price I dont mind buying what i enjoy doing... (with a few exceptions) but i use the ereader so i dont have a garage full of books that were esentially a tropical rain forest some time ago (analogy not actually) at any rate

regards


jack

[jackastor]

Originally Posted by hermes

Short story: A few hiccups, but eventually satisfactory procedure, although book selection leaves something to be desired.

Long story: For me the essential privacy info is as follows - if you buy a Kobo for cash (or presumably anonymous debit card), and pay for the book with a Chapters gift card paid for in cash also (presumably in person), the reading purchases can be anonymous. The only information I was asked for was an email address (and yahoo/gmail ones registered a few years ago don't require telephone verification), and to create a password. No ID required. Using the gift card involves entering the 20-digit card #, scratching off to reveal the PIN (Personal Identification Number) and entering that also.

Regarding purchases, it is not without a few delays and minor hassles. First, one must set up an account. I presumed (wrongly) that one just enters a Chapter store with one's Kobo and goes wild. Chapter's in-store computer terminal interface (what buttons you have to click on the screen to do stuff) and also Wifi (no cable connection to internet) in store is not the very best. But I have had worse. I had to call over a clerk to assist. And he stood by watching me type in my password - something my bank manager never did. If the registered address for the Kobo user is outside of Canada there are ZERO TAXES as I found out from experience. The computer will insist on a zipcode even if the sand dune in the desert of Yemen where your friend lives has no postal code. The computer will insist on a telephone number the same number of digits as one uses domestically in USA or Canada [10 digits] even though the REAL number is 11 digits internationally-speaking, viz. it doesn't consider the '1' for North America. Leave it out. My using an Asian telephone number failed, because that country uses fewer digits. So, I had to b.s. the computer and it didn't recognize it. I explained to the store manager that I did not have my friend overseas postal address and he very accommodatingly suggested I just make something up. It seems to be a corporate habit to ask for information, even if it could be false and therefore useless. I cannot resist a tangent here...

I spoke with a major Canadian bank's mortgage broker today and he informed me that his bank is now expecting staff to turn over the name and contact info of all their friends and relatives. A private contact list becomes leads for profit! Talk about company loyalty - profit before family. This policy is now causing staff to lie to their employers as an organized vocal protest would cause them to lose their jobs. We discussed how the corporate world is now blurring the line between what is personal and what is business and the ethical/privacy implications of this trend.

Back to Chapters... Misinformation from sales staff - One CANNOT use several cards (say one has $5 and another one $10) to purchase a book. Instead one must top up one card (or let balance be wasted). A different staff member made another mistake - it escapes me right now what it was.

Buying the book was not so complicated, but turns out one has to register the account with the device also. So, one cannot use a Kobo without a computer this very one time at the least. I got impatient and let the manager do it for me. She was very helpful.

She said I could change 'my friend's' email address later if I wished.

Software had to be downloaded and updated on the device so she connected it to her own computer. I was very happy to see not my own computer being used for this purpose - as presumably all computers have identifying info. Saved me a trip to the closed net cafe. There was a technical problem (imagine that..) due to faulty piece of equipment, which she replaced.

My book showed up and I tried a second test of one of Chapter's free books. It took a looooooooong time and required me to go to a different place in the store (poor signal). Eventually I got that second book. I have not tried the computer at library, office or home method. Funny, I would have thought that doing so at the bookstore would be the very best. Apparently not so.

I am intrigued free ebooks from chapters... can you expand on that? is this dif from the free books kobo is doing ?

regards

jack