Reader poll: Preorders

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by HarleyB

So my answer is that I do sometimes preorder but only when I can lock in a special price.

Pre-ordering (at Amazon anyway) always locks you in to the lowest price the book experiences between the time you order and the time it's released.

[sakura-panda]

I don't preorder for myself because I have a large backlog and can wait until I am ready to read the book before I order it.

I do preorder books for my son -- it's fun to see his reaction when he goes into his Kindle's library and finds an unexpected book. He reads his books right away (unlike me) so I don't mind getting them at the release day price.

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

I'll pre-order at Baen because they take my money when I order the product. Other places, not so much.

This, particularly with the monthly bundles. If I could apply promo codes to preorders at Kobo, I might preorder there, but as it stands, I just watch the calendar and wait for it to go on sale at midnight Monday night.

The rare exception is when something goes up at a really low preorder price and I just can't resist, because I don't know if the price will stay that low when it actually gets released. Celebromancy was one such; it was $1.99 until six weeks after release. Since I didn't know that duration ahead of time, I snapped it up right away.

Now, I preorder DVDs all the time. Amazon's price-match guarantee and the lack of any promo codes to deal with make that a no-brainer.

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by HarleyB

Except that sometimes there are financial benefits to it.

My husband enjoys the Jack Reacher novels and a while ago I preordered "Never Go Back" which is due to be published at the end of August. When it is released I will pay my special preorder price of $9.99 and he will enjoy it immediately. The price is currently $15.96 at Amazon and over $22 at Kobo so the saving in this case will be quite significant.

Fair enough, the .co.uk site never seems to have any cost benefits to a preorder over buying in the first week for the books I would consider buying day one.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

Maybe, some day, a Kindle or Nook with the first edition on it will be worth something.

I doubt it. The first edition ebook files get stored and if it looks like they have some value above the 89th edition, it would be just made available again. The first edition ebook is of infinite supply whereas the first edition, first printing hardcover is of finite supply and always will be.

[pdurrant]

If it's a book that I would buy now at the release price if it was available now, than I'll pre-order.

But mostly I'm happy to wait for the "paperback" release price.

[applesauce]

I buy most books from amazon. I see no need to pre order, amazon is great at telling me when any of my favourite authors has a new book coming out. I add it to my wish list. Amazon then tells me when it is released. If I can not wait, as in will read within the week, I will buy it. Otherwise amazon tells me when it is on special. I then work out if that price will make me buy right then. Or again I wait until I am ready to read it to purchase. I had turned into a book hoarder and had to mend my ways

applesauce

[Smashwords]

Thanks everyone for your insights and opinions!

mark

[Yapyap]

Originally Posted by Crowl

Fair enough, the .co.uk site never seems to have any cost benefits to a preorder over buying in the first week for the books I would consider buying day one.

As another example, I pre-ordered a Kindle book due out next week back in June, when the pre-order price was $6.21. My Amazon pre-order price now shows at $5.94 (which is what I will pay unless it drops even further). The current pre-order price for the book is $7.29.

I don't expect it to drop significantly below $5.94 after release, no matter how long after - unless there's a special deal on it at some point, but as it's the eighth book in a series, that is somewhat less likely than for first or even second books in series. By pre-ordering, I've already saved myself $1.35 (perhaps not a huge amount on its own, but when you buy a lot of books, those bits add up).

If there is a book I know I'll want to read on or immediately after release date, I'll always try to pre-order as soon as it becomes possible, as that way I can be certain that I'll pay the lowest price it will be at between ordering and release. Perhaps it differs regionally, but e.g. as a European buying on Amazon.com, this definitely makes sense for me.

[OldDarth]

I only preorder Stephen King books. And those I get in hardcover. Everyone else I wait and shop for sub $5 prices.

[wawasteele]

I just did my first pre-order but it wasn't an ebook, it was from Audbile. I had some coupon money that was going to expire and used it for a pre-order.

I do like Amazon's policy about guaranteeing the lowest price from when you pre-order until it's released. If there was any book that I just knew I had to read right away, I would pre-order. My problem is, my TBR list grows faster than I can possibly read, so I am usually not in a big rush to read a book as soon as it's available.

[Mivo]

I have only pre-ordered physical books, but never an e-book. An e-book is available at any time and is delivered instaneously, so when the mood strikes and I have finished what I was reading previously, I can get a new e-book right away (and increase the back log some more!). With physical books that is different, and there is also the issue with limited stock and titles going OOP.

[Tarana]

I preorder audiobooks because I know what the price will be today and that it likely won't be less than that 6 months after it is issued. Otherwise, I only preorder books on Baen.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

I don't pre-order ebooks. If it's not something I'm likely to remember the release date of, it's likely not something I really want or would read right away anyway. However, I'd probably put it on my library waiting list if available. I only read purchased ebooks after they've been disinfected (and converted to epub if necessary) so it's not like there's any benefit to me pre-ordering (books I like never seem to get discounted).

I take that back. Viz is running a 20% off sale on all their titles on the Nook store (first time that's ever happened although it occurs from time to time on their proprietary app/platform). Pre-ordered 16 ebooks for $64. At normal prices, those would've cost me $80 so not bad at all. If they have more titles I like available for pre-order while the sale is going on, I'd probably grab those, too.

[dkb]

It depends on the price. If it's over $10, I don't. If it's under $10, I usually order it.