Sony or Kindle - which is best pricewise for ebooks?

[Aquadiva]

I read a lot bestsellers, nonfiction and some classics. Is it true that Sony sells their books for a higher price point than Amazon? I am wondering which of the readers offers the majority of selection and the best prices. Any help with this?

Thanks,
confused

[kelly1010]

Well amazon is cheaper....BUT you can get free ebooks from your library if they have an ebook collection, and it is easier to put them on a sony than a kindle. So that kind of offsets the price of ebooks....ALSO I shop around and have actually found several for the same price or sometimes even cheaper than the kindle store. Sony has the fliexibility of shopping at alot more stores than the kindle does.

[Alisa]

I'd recommend looking for the kind of books you want on Amazon, Sony, and other sites like Fictionwise and Books on Board. Sometimes people do this by looking for the last 10 books they read and see how they stack up. I usually find the Kindle is a dollar or two less. Not a lot. Fictionwise also has special member prices and micro-pay rebates that help level the field.

Where I save money is the free sample chapters. Most other stores just give you a few paragraphs if you get anything at all. Getting a whole chapter before I buy the book makes a big difference. I've read a lot of samples and not bought the book where I would have if I'd only read a few paragraphs. Plus you can read them on your device at your leisure rather than on your computer. I wish more stores would do this. I don't see why they can't.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by Aquadiva

I read a lot bestsellers, nonfiction and some classics. Is it true that Sony sells their books for a higher price point than Amazon? I am wondering which of the readers offers the majority of selection and the best prices. Any help with this?

Thanks,
confused

Welcome to MobileRead, aquadiva. Alisa has some good advice there.

Don't forget that the Kindle also has a built in dictionary, and don't underestimate your use for that.

Amazon clearly has the best selection of books, Sony has the easiest way to download library ebooks, but you have to research your library to see if it offers enough in the genres you like to make it worthwhile.

You can always check out our wiki on "ebook lending libraries" to find others that, with a paid subscription, will allow you to do so.

The ability to download sample chapters on the kindle is another great time and money saver.

Good luck with your choice. There are satisfied customers in both camps.

[wallcraft]

A good single source for ebook prices is ebookprice.info here is their listing for The Hobbit. They include kindle (amazon) and BBeB (sony) in their search. Typically the pdf/ADE (Adobe Digital Editions) and ePub versions are also readable on the Sony. For the Kindle you are essentially limited to the Kindle Store unless you remove the DRM (encryption) from the ebooks bought at other stores.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

A good single source for ebook prices is ebookprice.info here is their listing for The Hobbit. They include kindle (amazon) and BBeB (sony) in their search. Typically the pdf/ADE (Adobe Digital Editions) and ePub versions are also readable on the Sony. For the Kindle you are essentially limited to the Kindle Store unless you remove the DRM (encryption) from the ebooks bought at other stores.

Or if you buy non-DRM books. There are plenty of those around as well.

[angelad]

Sony books will eventually drop in price. But it looks like Kindles are a bit cheaper now

[angelad]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Or if you buy non-DRM books. There are plenty of those around as well.

Sony prices seem a bit higher right now at least, but probably a matter of time before a drop.

[emellaich]

I'm not convinced that Sony will drop to be equal to Amazon. Amazon's core business started around books, and they are still important to the Amazon future. From the notes around here, it looks like Amazon's $9.99 ebooks may be sold at a loss. They may see this as in investment in the long term future of their online book store.

Looking down the road, do we see Sony as a co-equal player in selling books? It seems to me that would be quite a stretch from where they are and have been.

Barnes and Noble has been rumored to be preparing an entry into the ebook market. If I was looking for someone to challenge Amazon's prices I would probably look to BNB who considers the book market their core market. Unfortunately, this is for the future, not for today.

[Alisa]

Sony's already did drop considerably. They had to if they wanted to compete at all with the Kindle. They were charging hardcover prices before.

[emellaich]

Originally Posted by Alisa

Sony's already did drop considerably. They had to if they wanted to compete at all with the Kindle. They were charging hardcover prices before.

... And I realize that my earlier discussion my have sounded anti-Sony. The truth is that Sony's better support for library books also makes sense if you figure out that they aren't so tied to the success of their store. Similarly, the Sony deal with Google books works with this scenario.

I'm casting tea leaves here, and my prediction capabilities are notoriously bad . However, over the long run I would expect to see Sony make moves that support open access to multiple book stores. I would expect to see Amazon more interested in making their store the best single place to buy books.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised to continue to see more aggressive pricing from the Amazon book store. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see more choices and potentially bargains from Sony through its partners (libraries, google, and more -- possibly even Barnes and Noble).

[Teddman]

The Kindle is so much more expensive than the Sony, you'd have to buy a lot of books to make up the difference. I guess it depends on how often you buy e-books.

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by emellaich

However, over the long run I would expect to see Sony make moves that support open access to multiple book stores. I would expect to see Amazon more interested in making their store the best single place to buy books.

Well, the Sony 505 & 700 devices already support open access, as they support the ePub format, which is a non-vendor specific eBook format. EBooks in this format can have been available for some time from various 'other' books stores, including Baen/WebSubscriptions, Books on Board, Waterstones (UK), W H Smith (UK) and others.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Teddman

The Kindle is so much more expensive than the Sony, you'd have to buy a lot of books to make up the difference. I guess it depends on how often you buy e-books.

You have a good point here, that I think a lot of people overlook. They only look at the books you can buy and at what price.

[Lilly]

Originally Posted by emellaich

Barnes and Noble has been rumored to be preparing an entry into the ebook market. If I was looking for someone to challenge Amazon's prices I would probably look to BNB who considers the book market their core market. Unfortunately, this is for the future, not for today.

It's not a rumor and it's past, they are in the ebook market. they now own Fictionwise ebook store. We have not seen any improvement yet but I'm sure they're coming. Also, there are 50% coupon out there from other ebook retailers, even though I own a Kindle, I buy a lot of books from other retailers using 40% or 50% coupons (every time I needed a book, there's a coupon out there to be found). Also being able to use the library is huge, I also have a Sony PRS-505, I just got interested in Nora Roberts books, I have a library card from NYPL and they had 53 of her books in eformat. I just checked out a complete 3 book series that was recommended to me on this board as my introduction to Nora Roberts; the fact I have these 3 books and spent $0 makes me happy!!