Kindle Unlimited is it worth it? - Page 7

tempest@de · 09-29-2020, 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

It's not about just the number of books you read, but it is also the number of books you start but never finish because while they SOUND interesting, they suck in some way. Not having to buy books like that saves a lot of money.

totally agree on that

Tazling · 10-02-2020, 08:21 PM

I haven't been into ebooks for all that long, so I'm more or less a n00b. Tried the early "book readers" like Hanlin way back when, underwhelmed; don't care for the Kindle reader very much (prefer Marvin)... Kindle UL is a nice idea but I just don't like the reader and resent being shackled to it... but over the last year or so I've got quite fond of Marvin esp for evening reading (at lowest brightness in Night Mode). So Marvin has become a close 2nd choice to a Real Book. And when I'm travelling light, it's nice to be able to bring a whole library with me :-)

So, I'm becoming habituated to ebooks and no longer consider them weird or meh. But... anyone but me find the pricing of epub books (Kindle and otherwise) absolutely bewildering? I mean, in the real world of bookstores, a trade paperback has an average price, a mass market pb has an average price, a hardback has an average price... so you know pretty much what to expect based on the format you're buying. But in the world of Kindle books, one book (by comparable authors) might sell for $2.99 and another for $12.99 or more.

Is it just "what the market will bear"? It seems a little odd to me because I think of ebooks as inherently lower in value than paper books. For a start, they contain no paper! And there's not the great publishing gamble of a print run, the risk of remainders. They are utterly safe for publishers to offer, and the cost of producing a million copies is approximately the same as one copy. So... How are these prices set? I have to confess I find it hard to justify spending more on an ebook than I would pay for the same book in paper form, used, from Abebooks... given that paper books are, on balance, nicer... and still work even when the power's out for several days!

I can see that for OOP books for which no camera ready layout file exists, there's an investment in scanning, converting and proofing an extant copy -- not a trivial undertaking -- but surely, spread over X thousand sales, that's only a buck or two?

Anyway, I find the pricing of ebooks about as comprehensible as the pricing of airline tickets :-) does someone else find it logical? And if so, can you explain the rules of the game that result in such divergent prices for what is, essentially, just a data file?

binaryhermit · 10-02-2020, 09:02 PM

I suspect that most books from probably the last 20 years or more existed in a digital format at some point in the production process.

That said, if one paperback page is still equal to about 2 in the KENPC, you're looking at a 300 page paperback getting somewhere around $2.40 for a full KU readthrough. Or a $2.99 sale with 70% royalties is something like $2.10.

so a buck or two per sale is significant potentially.

And a lot of the ebook pricing BS is the big publishing houses trying to prop up print sales by doing stupid stuff with eBook pricing.

EDIT: That said, I suspect most books from the last 20 years or longer existed in a fully edited if not laid out digital form at some point.

pdurrant · 10-03-2020, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tazling

Anyway, I find the pricing of ebooks about as comprehensible as the pricing of airline tickets :-) does someone else find it logical? And if so, can you explain the rules of the game that result in such divergent prices for what is, essentially, just a data file?

Whatever the market will bear. Personally, I just add books to my wish list and wait for them to go on special offer. My average cost for purchased ebooks so far this year is £1.79, and last year was £1.49.

(There are several sites that will keep a wish list for you and send you an email when the price drops below your target price. I mainly use http://uk.ereaderiq.com/ which is Amazon only, but there's also http://luzme.com/ which tracks multiple stores, and probably others I don't know about.)

GlenBarrington · 10-03-2020, 10:44 AM

For those who dislike Kindle readers but love the idea of KU, there is always the option of using a tablet and the Kindle software. The tablet versions, at least the Android versions, add better graphics and the ability to display couble columns in landscape mode. While the look and feel is similar to the Kindle readers, is it not an exact duplicate.

Tazling · 10-05-2020, 01:58 AM

@pdurrant thanks for the clue about ereaderiq, but as it turns out for some reason, they no longer monitor amazon.ca...

I'll try the other site you mentioned.

...

Nope, that one is a bust also. It says it imports wishlists from Amazon among other sources, but when I tried importing my wishlist it failed -- whether importing from the URL of my wishlist page, or from a text scrape of the page pasted into luzme's form.

piperclassique · 10-09-2020, 01:17 AM

Getting back to KU....
If you share books with your household, be aware that whilst you can share bought books with another account you can't do this with Kindle unlimited books. My way of getting round this is to lend my husband my spare Kindle on my account if there is something he wants to read on KU. At least, it was until he sat on it and broke the screen. Need to turn sync off if you are both reading the same book.

basschick · 10-09-2020, 04:46 AM

kindle unlimited is definitely worth it for me, and there are a lot more titles that interest me than there were when it launched.

there are lots of interesting cookbooks for blenders, instant pot, etc, and there are lots of fantasy novels. i just read "the wizard's butler" on KU, and often read titles i wouldn't have tried that i ended up enjoying.

i also got my new paperwhite for half price because i'm a KU member, which was pretty cool as i was going to get it anyway

10-05-2020, 01:58 AM	#96
Tazling Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2020 Device: iPad, Marvin	out of luck in Canuckistan... @pdurrant thanks for the clue about ereaderiq, but as it turns out for some reason, they no longer monitor amazon.ca... I'll try the other site you mentioned. ... Nope, that one is a bust also. It says it imports wishlists from Amazon among other sources, but when I tried importing my wishlist it failed -- whether importing from the URL of my wishlist page, or from a text scrape of the page pasted into luzme's form. Last edited by Tazling; 10-05-2020 at 02:06 AM.

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10-02-2020, 08:21 PM	#92
Tazling Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2020 Device: iPad, Marvin	I haven't been into ebooks for all that long, so I'm more or less a n00b. Tried the early "book readers" like Hanlin way back when, underwhelmed; don't care for the Kindle reader very much (prefer Marvin)... Kindle UL is a nice idea but I just don't like the reader and resent being shackled to it... but over the last year or so I've got quite fond of Marvin esp for evening reading (at lowest brightness in Night Mode). So Marvin has become a close 2nd choice to a Real Book. And when I'm travelling light, it's nice to be able to bring a whole library with me :-) So, I'm becoming habituated to ebooks and no longer consider them weird or meh. But... anyone but me find the pricing of epub books (Kindle and otherwise) absolutely bewildering? I mean, in the real world of bookstores, a trade paperback has an average price, a mass market pb has an average price, a hardback has an average price... so you know pretty much what to expect based on the format you're buying. But in the world of Kindle books, one book (by comparable authors) might sell for $2.99 and another for $12.99 or more. Is it just "what the market will bear"? It seems a little odd to me because I think of ebooks as inherently lower in value than paper books. For a start, they contain no paper! And there's not the great publishing gamble of a print run, the risk of remainders. They are utterly safe for publishers to offer, and the cost of producing a million copies is approximately the same as one copy. So... How are these prices set? I have to confess I find it hard to justify spending more on an ebook than I would pay for the same book in paper form, used, from Abebooks... given that paper books are, on balance, nicer... and still work even when the power's out for several days! I can see that for OOP books for which no camera ready layout file exists, there's an investment in scanning, converting and proofing an extant copy -- not a trivial undertaking -- but surely, spread over X thousand sales, that's only a buck or two? Anyway, I find the pricing of ebooks about as comprehensible as the pricing of airline tickets :-) does someone else find it logical? And if so, can you explain the rules of the game that result in such divergent prices for what is, essentially, just a data file?

10-02-2020, 09:02 PM	#93
binaryhermit Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,696 Karma: 20469902 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Lockport, IL Device: Kindle PW4, Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition	I suspect that most books from probably the last 20 years or more existed in a digital format at some point in the production process. That said, if one paperback page is still equal to about 2 in the KENPC, you're looking at a 300 page paperback getting somewhere around $2.40 for a full KU readthrough. Or a $2.99 sale with 70% royalties is something like $2.10. so a buck or two per sale is significant potentially. And a lot of the ebook pricing BS is the big publishing houses trying to prop up print sales by doing stupid stuff with eBook pricing. EDIT: That said, I suspect most books from the last 20 years or longer existed in a fully edited if not laid out digital form at some point.

10-03-2020, 10:44 AM	#95
GlenBarrington Cheese Whiz Posts: 1,986 Karma: 11677147 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Springfield, Illinois Device: Kindle PW, Samsung Tab A 10.1(2019), Pixel 6a.	For those who dislike Kindle readers but love the idea of KU, there is always the option of using a tablet and the Kindle software. The tablet versions, at least the Android versions, add better graphics and the ability to display couble columns in landscape mode. While the look and feel is similar to the Kindle readers, is it not an exact duplicate.

10-09-2020, 01:17 AM	#97
piperclassique A garbling groftpot Posts: 974 Karma: 9234667 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: France Device: Oasis, Voyage, Kobo mini, Samsung tablet, phones, whatever.	Getting back to KU.... If you share books with your household, be aware that whilst you can share bought books with another account you can't do this with Kindle unlimited books. My way of getting round this is to lend my husband my spare Kindle on my account if there is something he wants to read on KU. At least, it was until he sat on it and broke the screen. Need to turn sync off if you are both reading the same book.

10-09-2020, 04:46 AM	#98
basschick Wizard Posts: 1,096 Karma: 4695691 Join Date: May 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	kindle unlimited is definitely worth it for me, and there are a lot more titles that interest me than there were when it launched. there are lots of interesting cookbooks for blenders, instant pot, etc, and there are lots of fantasy novels. i just read "the wizard's butler" on KU, and often read titles i wouldn't have tried that i ended up enjoying. i also got my new paperwhite for half price because i'm a KU member, which was pretty cool as i was going to get it anyway

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