Ebook Buying Addicts' Support Thread

[isarl]

Originally Posted by issybird

it's Big Five and was never going to get cheaper.

I'm not super familiar with the publishing industry – is there a better way to get a sense for this kind of characteristic for a given book other than just looking at its price history on eReaderiQ? (I have noticed that some books' price histories are remarkably flat, while others have extraordinarily frequent sales. And then some books fall between, like LotR going on sale on Tolkien Reading Day each year.)

Great job on your restraint, though. Although the median price was ~$3 (and the lowest was 21¢), I was not so successful, and managed to expand my library by over forty books in March alone. I am down to my last $10 of gift credit at this point though, so I'm starting to get a bit more selective in how I spend it.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by isarl

I'm not super familiar with the publishing industry – is there a better way to get a sense for this kind of characteristic for a given book other than just looking at its price history on eReaderiQ? (I have noticed that some books' price histories are remarkably flat, while others have extraordinarily frequent sales. And then some books fall between, like LotR going on sale on Tolkien Reading Day each year.)

Great job on your restraint, though. Although the median price was ~$3 (and the lowest was 21¢), I was not so successful, and managed to expand my library by over forty books in March alone. I am down to my last $10 of gift credit at this point though, so I'm starting to get a bit more selective in how I spend it.

In this case there's not much price history as it was published a few months ago. However, it's my best guess based on my experience with other books -- Big Five, nonfiction, special interest. Similar books have languished on my wishlist for years. The Big Five aspect is critical as it means no discounts from list, so it's the same price everywhere and discounts don't apply.

So, I could be wrong. But if I read it soon, at least I paid the going price. And I won't be looking to see if it gets cheaper!

As for binge mode: cheap books are a snare and a delusion. In most cases, if the price creates the want, the book should be given a miss. I am not a poster child for this, more's the pity, but I've got better over time.

[isarl]

Originally Posted by issybird

The Big Five aspect is critical as it means no discounts from list, so it's the same price everywhere and discounts don't apply.

Thanks for your explanation! Which publishing houses comprise the “Big Five”?
(I would assume that their various imprints are included as well, which I mention not so much to raise the question, but more to call attention to the fact for any readers who might not know that it is common for a single publisher to have multiple brands under which they publish, and that these are referred to as imprints. In other words, that I expect the list of publishers to which the “Big Five” description applies to be more than five names long!)

As for binge mode: cheap books are a snare and a delusion. In most cases, if the price creates the want, the book should be given a miss. I am not a poster child for this, more's the pity, but I've got better over time.

There's definitely wisdom in this. I'm not exactly at risk for acquiring free ebooks just because they're free, but on the other hand, I do seem to be at risk for acquiring titles off my wishlists of past Hugo and Nebula award-winners, when they're steeply discounted… so this might be wisdom I could stand to take closer to heart.

[ownedbycats]

Recently I saw an interesting premise book on discount. Rather than impulse-buying I instead checked and found it available on one my Overdrive libraries.

Turned out it wasn't too good so I'm glad I didn't have to pay for it....

[DrNefario]

March wasn't great for me. Having only bought 4 books before then (only 2, really, 3 were in an omnibus), I ended up buying 6 in March, and falling behind on my goals. It seems March is when the new books from last year start to turn up as Daily Deals as they head towards paperback.

Only one of the purchases really broke my rules - the 4th book in a series where I've only read the 1st - but I didn't feel I could pass up the deal price.

[Tarana]

14 titles in March, and all but one met my criteria (filling in series, current author, heavy discount). So no guilt. Several series I have chosen to no longer acquire fill-ins.

Need to get 4 audiobooks this month to use up my credits and close Audible account again. Two are already chosen. I'm doing well on audiobooks this year - acquiring only a few and listened to 2 of those already. Get my hearing aid today, so should be able to pick up the pace with audiobooks as I can listen while doing stuff again.

So the addiction is still there but under some containment.

[ownedbycats]

My Kobo VIP membership just renewed. It was 10 dollars. While looking through the selection of the annual free books, I found one that was on my wishlist. It would normally cost over 9.50.

[pdurrant]

Five in March, but I don't regret any of them.

[CWatkinsNash]

Hello fellow addicts! It's been a while. But naturally, this is the first thread I post in as I wander back in. 😁

Some things have changed. Those of you who know me might notice the change of location in my info over there
<---
Moved twice, actually, at the end of January of this year and again at the end of March, though only one of those moves was planned. Long story. Anyway, it's been a few years of chaos but I think I'm settled now, mostly. So naturally, on this weird spring weekend, I decided to get my records updated, so to speak.

Some of you may recall that I did a "Goodreads Dump" back in 2020 (wow, both feels like yesterday and a thousand years ago) in which I imported my Amazon purchases into GR and then exported to csv, stripped it down to the unread owned books and then dumped them into Calibre as empty book records (Import List plugin is a treasure) with the intent of wrangling the whole pile into something that makes sense.

Then a month or so later, I prompty forgot about it / gave up / blocked it from my mind... Who knows? It was a weird time.

Today, I repeated the process, cut it down to books purchased since the last dump, and imported, which ended up being a total of 171 books added. Some of these are paper books but most of them are not. I've somehow added an average of almost 6 books per month. I don't know how. I don't remember doing it. But apparently I did.

So here I am. Apparently I still have a "problem".

Sidebar: When I moved from Nashville, I left at least 95% of my paper books behind. I now have one rotating bamboo bookcase (which I adore, it's lovely) that is about 14" square and will hold about 100 books, give or take depending on book thickness. It's not full, it probably has about 50 or so books on it now. I've kept mostly poetry, reference / other non-fiction in the paper collection.

[pdurrant]

Welcome back to the thread, CWatkinsNash.

I am cautiously beginning to beleive I might have my habit under control. I've bought fewer books in the first four months of this year than in the first four months of any year in the last 20+ years!

I'm astonished to find that I first started buying ebooks in significant numbers way back in 2002!

[issybird]

After buying only one book in the first three months of the year, I crashed and burned with seven books in April. I don't really regret any of them, but it's too many.

Still, if I extrapolate from the first third of the year, I'm on track for a pretty good year, although not as good as 2017 or 2018. I should, however, do better than that as seven books in one month is excessive. It's not as if I've read any yet.

[Fat Abe]

So far, I believe I've purchased at least three dozen ebooks in 2023. Some have been dirt cheap. Just search for Mammoth, Megapack, Black Lizard, and a few other keywords on Amazon or Kobo. It is far cheaper to just buy the 3 Megapack Talmage Powell collections than buying short stories, novellas and novels individually.

One author that I'm following now is Minette Walters. Try as I might, I cannot find one of her books in epub or azw3 format. The Sculptress is only out as a hardcover or paperback, with used pricing around $7. The publishing industry is only concerned with profits, and pushing out fluff by Joanne Fluke. Just try finding a Minette Walters or Margaret Millar book the next time you visit your ebook sellers. At least Millar is experiencing a resurgence of interest, with some old titles finally seeing daylight in the ebook market.

[SomeSteve]

Originally Posted by Fat Abe

One author that I'm following now is Minette Walters. Try as I might, I cannot find one of her books in epub or azw3 format. The Sculptress is only out as a hardcover or paperback, with used pricing around $7.

Hmm . . . And yet it is available as an ebook from non-US stores. For example:

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-sculptress-7

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-sculptress-2

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sculptress-...dp/B0044KLPJW/

[HLS]

I am buying a lot less than usual. Choosing to place books on a wish list on amazon and wait to see a price drop.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by Fat Abe

One author that I'm following now is Minette Walters. Try as I might, I cannot find one of her books in epub or azw3 format. The Sculptress is only out as a hardcover or paperback, with used pricing around $7.

FWIW, The Sculptress was put out in ebook in the UK market by Pan McMillan UK. I have it in my Kobo account from a time when I could 'travel' so roughly 2013. It's just not in the US market.