UK Ebook startup calls on publishers to "do a Pottermore"

[plib]

Originally Posted by stonetools

At OR Books, which specializes in nonreturnable, prepaid sales

I think this is definitely the business model of the future.

[ProfCrash]

Did Amazon kll your mother and that is why you dislike them so? There has to be a reason for the constant Amazon bashing. I would love to know what it is.

Many suppliers don't like Walmart and Target because they are able to dictate prices and profit margins due to their size. Shock, stun, amazement, there are smaller Publishers who don't like Amazon because of its size and the control that it can dictate over prices.

This is not a new concpet. It is still going to be with us in the future as well. There is always a larger company that is the target.

Guess what, I am not going to buy from Publishers that do not sell at Amazon. If a small publisher wants me to look at their work, they will sell at Amazon. I buy my e-books from Amazon. I like one stop shopping. I am not the only one. That is why there are now grocery stores in Walmarts and Targets. People like going to one place to do as much of their business as possible. It saves them time, and in these case, it saves them money.

I am not going to go out and search 15 different stores to find the book I want to read. It is too much effort. Most of the population is not going to do that. I would love to have the numbers to post but I would put sold money on the fact that 85% of people who buy an e-reader do their shopping at the store associated with that e-reader.

The people on this board are an anamoly. They know more then the vast majority of people with e-readers. My brothers are both computer programmers and neither one of them has heard of Apprentice Alf or taken the time to look into stripping DRM. They know they can. I have offered to show them who. They just don't. Instead my one brother who has had a Kindle from day one buys his books from Amazon. My other brother switched from a Sony to a Kindle (his family now has three) because it is easier to shop at Amazon. These are well educated, computer programmers and they don't want to have to shop around. Nevermind stripping DRM.

If the Publishers stop using Amazon and the other e-book stores they will lose business. It is really that simple. I enjoy reading and am sure I would find something to read or simply focus on my backlog of books. I also enjoy strategic board games and can find myself playing Ticket to Ride, Ra, Puerto Rico, and Tikal online for hours on end. It is not reading but it does egage my brain and it is fun. I can go that route easily enough.

When DRM goes away, competition will improve. I will check out the different e-book stores and find the one or two that sells what I like that I tend to have the best prices and I will shop there. But I will not visit a ton of different sites in order to buy one book. That is just silly.

Seriously, did Amazon run over your dog? Steal your lollipop? What?

[stonetools]

Did Amazon kll your mother and that is why you dislike them so? There has to be a reason for the constant Amazon bashing. I would love to know what it is.

I started a thread complimentary of Amazon today. I am being objective regarding Amazon's effect on the book industry. That means not being an Amazon cheerleader, but seeing all sides. In these parts, it seems anything other than fawning admiration for Amazon is considered Amazon bashing.
In the book industry, there are lots of different actors and sides-Amazon, BPHs, independent publishers, indie authors, consumers, and authors. Unsurprisingly, the interests of these actors converge and diverge in different ways. I find this interesting, and see no need to always take one side.
AS the world shifts to ebooks, publishers, who earlier did not see Amazon as a threat, now see them as a threat-a dominant retailer who can dictate to them on terms and prices. They are now looking to reduce that threat. Agency pricing was one strategy, but the DOJ has blocked that for the time being. Another strategy would be direct sales, with Pottermore being one approach. OR books suggests another.
Regardless of what you are comfortable with, publishers are going to keep trying. Sorry if it offends you when I point that out.
You are right about people who use readers generally buying from the store associated with that reader. That's what called device lock-in, and its a powerful part of Amazon's advantage ( Hey, it worked for you). Amazon also benefits from format lock-in and DRM lock-in.
The Pottermore approach takes away from those Amazon advantages, at the cost of inconvenience to Kindle owners. (If you are a Sony Reader owner, its great. You can now buy books from anywhere, including Amazon.) Most of the things that you point out as disadvantages to Kindle owners arre ADVANTAGES to everyone else
.
See how it works if you consider all sides? But hey, maybe Amazon is PAYING you to defend their side... See howtht works?