Ad-sponsored ebooks - Page 3

BeccaPrice · 02-21-2012, 06:46 PM

I could probably learn to ignore an ad that was one line at the top of the screen - just like I ignore the ads at the bottom of my home screen on my Kindle.

QuantumIguana · 02-21-2012, 06:49 PM

There used to be ads for cigarettes in books, people just tore them out. But these ads didn't make the books free, they didn't reduce the price of the books at all. To make the book free, the ads would have to be so numerous that there would be little room for the book.

Books should be between the reader and the author.

BeccaPrice · 02-21-2012, 06:52 PM

which discussion reminded me to turn off ads on my K3. I turned them on before Christmas to see what the fuss was about, but now they're never about anything that interests me.

xg4bx · 02-21-2012, 07:13 PM

ad-free books would simply become the new cottage indusrty on pirate sites, even for a free book.

theducks · 02-21-2012, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tecweston

If ads were unobtrusive and only placed in between chapters or at the beginning/end? Sure, I see no problem with that. Not any different from having to watch ads during a TV show.

However, I'd be pissed if I was in the middle of a chapter, turned the page and saw an ad pop up.

EDIT: Let me just clarify... I see no problem with that, if the book is free or drastically reduced in price. If I pay full price for a book there better be zero ads in it, other than maybe for other books in the series or by the same author, at the end of the book.

I gave up on TV when the Ad air time equalled or exceeded the program contend .
The horror: 30 minute (or longer) Infomercials

Serpentine · 02-21-2012, 07:32 PM

While I think the poll itself is somewhat invalid, it does raise the interesting idea of :

Would an author/publisher offer both an ad powered version of books, as well as the full version?
At the moment I generally just pirate a book I'm considering purchasing, and based on the first few chapters, will buy it should it pass muster (or stop reading; or read on if it's not worth the asking price to me.). However should there be an ad-powered version accessible through the Kindle store (for example), that would mean that I'd save both my time and generally have a better 'try before buy'.

SteveEisenberg · 02-21-2012, 08:33 PM

I voted "Yes I'm fine with ads."

It sounds like the proposal would, for a reader with good library access, mean a choice between free-with-ads-right-away and getting in line for a no-ads library copy. My main concern would be the effect on public libraries.

If authors and publishers find that the ad-supported business model works for them, there's no fair way to stop them. But it would be one more challenge to the free library model in an already challenging environment.

In the real world, I think that any free ad-supported books will be ones that got few or bad reviews, so I probably wouldn't read them anyway.

davidhburton · 02-21-2012, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serpentine

Would an author/publisher offer both an ad powered version of books, as well as the full version?

This is along the lines of what I was thinking when I created the poll (and yes I know it's not very scientific.)

If you had the choice of the regularly priced ebook (priced $2.99-$9.99) or the free "ad-sponsored" version, would you download the free one or would you want to pay to keep the ads out.

For me, it would, of course, depend on price. The higher the price the more likely I would be to take the ad-sponsored version since I don't mind ads myself. They pervade everything, including Facebook and forums such as this, so I'm okay with them. I was curious what others' take is on this.

pwalker8 · 02-21-2012, 09:21 PM

No how, no way. Would you pay for a DVD of a movie that had ads every 15 minutes? Heck, I don't even watch free movies with commercials, why would I pay to watch or read commercials?

Jaden · 02-21-2012, 09:40 PM

I'm used to ads in magazines and mostly don't even realize they are there - I just skip them. So I guess I would not mind ads in ebooks that much - placed in the beginning/end and maybe before chapters if the chapters are not 5 pages long. It would depend on how much ads there were and how much the book would cost without ads.

Can't stand ads in TV, though, but they tend to be loud and start all of a sudden, often spoiling scenes... But "quiet" ads that don't pop up I can ignore.

Barty · 02-21-2012, 10:21 PM

I don't think ad-supported ebooks are viable unless the books are very inexpensive to begin with and/or the ads are so numerous and/or intrusive as to be unacceptable both to the reader and author.

So the question is moot.

The Terminator · 02-21-2012, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

I gave up on TV when the Ad air time equalled or exceeded the program contend .
The horror: 30 minute (or longer) Infomercials

FMC is very good for a TV movie channel. They skip 2-3 commercial breaks each segment of movie, the screen just fades out for a second and then starts up again.

AgentOrange · 02-22-2012, 06:32 AM

I was actually talking about this with my roommate the other day before I even saw this! What a coincidence.

We have ads in T.V. shows, ads in online games and websites, some apps are entirely ad-supported, why not books? It would give people legitimate ways to be able to read for free (other than Gutenburg and those free indie books). As long as the ads are placed where they aren't too obtrusive, why not?

apbschmitz · 02-22-2012, 07:08 AM

I'm used to ignoring the ads in the New Yorker or any other magazine. Unlike TV ads, I don't feel they make any unavoidable demands on my time. Surely they lower the cover price. I don't see much difference with ads in eBooks, provided they lower the price sufficiently. The worst case, which I wouldn't altogether rule out, is the current price level with an increasing number of ads.

Apache · 02-22-2012, 07:42 AM

I do not listen to commercial radio at all. My MP3 player allows me to listen to the music I want to when I want to and it is ad free.
When I read a book I do not want to be interrupted in the middle of a scene because an ad popped up as I turned the page. when I read I see the action as if I am watching a movie. I do not want my reading to change to "as if I am watching TV. TV ads are loud and obnoxious. So as I said previously, I will not buy or even accept free, any book with advertising.
Apache

View Poll Results: Ebook (priced at $2.99+) - would you read a FREE ad-sponsored version:
Yes, I'm fine with ads	15	10.64%
Yes, only if ads are placed between chapters and/or at the beginning/end of the ebook	40	28.37%
No, I'd rather pay for the version without ads	86	60.99%
Voters: 141. You may not vote on this poll

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02-21-2012, 06:46 PM	#31
BeccaPrice Wizard Posts: 2,145 Karma: 11174187 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Sony 350, K3-3G, K4SO, KPW	I could probably learn to ignore an ad that was one line at the top of the screen - just like I ignore the ads at the bottom of my home screen on my Kindle.

02-21-2012, 06:49 PM	#32
QuantumIguana Philosopher Posts: 2,034 Karma: 18736532 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2 gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen, Kindle Touch	There used to be ads for cigarettes in books, people just tore them out. But these ads didn't make the books free, they didn't reduce the price of the books at all. To make the book free, the ads would have to be so numerous that there would be little room for the book. Books should be between the reader and the author.

02-21-2012, 06:52 PM	#33
BeccaPrice Wizard Posts: 2,145 Karma: 11174187 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Sony 350, K3-3G, K4SO, KPW	which discussion reminded me to turn off ads on my K3. I turned them on before Christmas to see what the fuss was about, but now they're never about anything that interests me.

02-21-2012, 07:13 PM	#34
xg4bx Are you gonna eat that? Posts: 1,633 Karma: 23215128 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Phillipsburg, NJ Device: Kindle 3, Nook STG	ad-free books would simply become the new cottage indusrty on pirate sites, even for a free book.

02-21-2012, 07:32 PM	#36
Serpentine Evangelist Posts: 416 Karma: 1045911 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Cape Town, South Africa Device: Kindle 3	While I think the poll itself is somewhat invalid, it does raise the interesting idea of : Would an author/publisher offer both an ad powered version of books, as well as the full version? At the moment I generally just pirate a book I'm considering purchasing, and based on the first few chapters, will buy it should it pass muster (or stop reading; or read on if it's not worth the asking price to me.). However should there be an ad-powered version accessible through the Kindle store (for example), that would mean that I'd save both my time and generally have a better 'try before buy'.

02-21-2012, 08:33 PM	#37
SteveEisenberg Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,034 Karma: 39379388 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: near Philadelphia USA Device: Kindle Kids Edition, Fire HD 10 (11th generation)	I voted "Yes I'm fine with ads." It sounds like the proposal would, for a reader with good library access, mean a choice between free-with-ads-right-away and getting in line for a no-ads library copy. My main concern would be the effect on public libraries. If authors and publishers find that the ad-supported business model works for them, there's no fair way to stop them. But it would be one more challenge to the free library model in an already challenging environment. In the real world, I think that any free ad-supported books will be ones that got few or bad reviews, so I probably wouldn't read them anyway.

02-21-2012, 09:21 PM	#39
pwalker8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,195 Karma: 70314280 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Pro, iPad mini, Kobo Aura, Amazon paperwhite, Sony PRS-T2	No how, no way. Would you pay for a DVD of a movie that had ads every 15 minutes? Heck, I don't even watch free movies with commercials, why would I pay to watch or read commercials?

02-21-2012, 09:40 PM	#40
Jaden Evangelist Posts: 409 Karma: 1244354 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: Kobo Touch	I'm used to ads in magazines and mostly don't even realize they are there - I just skip them. So I guess I would not mind ads in ebooks that much - placed in the beginning/end and maybe before chapters if the chapters are not 5 pages long. It would depend on how much ads there were and how much the book would cost without ads. Can't stand ads in TV, though, but they tend to be loud and start all of a sudden, often spoiling scenes... But "quiet" ads that don't pop up I can ignore.

02-21-2012, 10:21 PM	#41
Barty doofus Posts: 2,521 Karma: 13088847 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Voyage	I don't think ad-supported ebooks are viable unless the books are very inexpensive to begin with and/or the ads are so numerous and/or intrusive as to be unacceptable both to the reader and author. So the question is moot.

02-22-2012, 06:32 AM	#43
AgentOrange Coffee Monster Posts: 12 Karma: 410 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Colorado, USA Device: iPod Touch	I was actually talking about this with my roommate the other day before I even saw this! What a coincidence. We have ads in T.V. shows, ads in online games and websites, some apps are entirely ad-supported, why not books? It would give people legitimate ways to be able to read for free (other than Gutenburg and those free indie books). As long as the ads are placed where they aren't too obtrusive, why not?

Advert

Advert

02-22-2012, 07:08 AM	#44
apbschmitz Lord of Frogtown Posts: 149 Karma: 1154748 Join Date: May 2011 Location: St. Paul MN Device: Kindle	I'm used to ignoring the ads in the New Yorker or any other magazine. Unlike TV ads, I don't feel they make any unavoidable demands on my time. Surely they lower the cover price. I don't see much difference with ads in eBooks, provided they lower the price sufficiently. The worst case, which I wouldn't altogether rule out, is the current price level with an increasing number of ads.

02-22-2012, 07:42 AM	#45
Apache Readaholic Posts: 5,137 Karma: 89858112 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: South Georgia Device: Surface Pro 6 / Galaxy Tab A 8"	I do not listen to commercial radio at all. My MP3 player allows me to listen to the music I want to when I want to and it is ad free. When I read a book I do not want to be interrupted in the middle of a scene because an ad popped up as I turned the page. when I read I see the action as if I am watching a movie. I do not want my reading to change to "as if I am watching TV. TV ads are loud and obnoxious. So as I said previously, I will not buy or even accept free, any book with advertising. Apache