On the verge of abandoning a book... for the first time in my life

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by gmw

I wasn't sure this was ever going to happen, because as ZodWallop observes, it doesn't really seem to be in the sellers' best interests. But Kobo are doing it anyway.

But it is in the seller's best interest if it leads to more sales and positive reviews. For example, I just finished the series by Cy Tidd; first was free and I bought the other 4 and I'm looking forward to the 6th installment. I also enjoyed the following book which is free (again) today and will buy whatever he puts out next.

I agree with what others have said about so much junk being out there. Back to the topic of this thread, my strategy is to be aggressive at stopping when a book doesn't engage me. I've gotten to the point where I can tell rather quickly and I don't feel bad about stopping since there are so many more in the queue.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QH8WY4G

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Then why do Steam and GOG do it? I'm thinking more along the other lines -- people are far more likely to buy on sale. A sale at lesser price is better than no sale.

Originally Posted by hobnail

But it is in the seller's best interest if it leads to more sales and positive reviews...

It could be seen as a case study in monopolies. Amazon has a practical monopoly on ebook sales in the United States. Amazon does not notify customers of price drops on wishlist items.

Steam and GOG are competitors where they also battle with Microsoft and others. They do notify you when items on your wishlist are on sale.

And as mentioned, Amazon had some involvement with ereaderiq and then stopped. So it's not like nobody at Amazon ever thought of it.

eReader IQ loses Amazon funding

A sad tale of Amazon monetization: eReaderIQ and the affiliate program

[darryl]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

It could be seen as a case study in monopolies. Amazon has a practical monopoly on ebook sales in the United States. Amazon does not notify customers of price drops on wishlist items.

Steam and GOG are competitors where they also battle with Microsoft and others. They do notify you when items on your wishlist are on sale.

And as mentioned, Amazon had some involvement with ereaderiq and then stopped. So it's not like nobody at Amazon ever thought of it.

eReader IQ loses Amazon funding

A sad tale of Amazon monetization: eReaderIQ and the affiliate program

I'd call it more a study of what happens when your competition offers products perceived by many as inferior. If a "practical monopoly" means no more than that people choose to buy from you rather than your competitors then Amazon clearly has one. In the conventional use of he term clearly you can choose to buy most books and I think all tradpub books from others. Amazon will keep its so-called "practical monopoly" so long as readers continue to choose to bey from them rather than their competitors.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by darryl

I'd call it more a study of what happens when your competition offers products perceived by many as inferior. If a "practical monopoly" means no more than that people choose to buy from you rather than your competitors then Amazon clearly has one. In the conventional use of he term clearly you can choose to buy most books and I think all tradpub books from others. Amazon will keep its so-called "practical monopoly" so long as readers continue to choose to bey from them rather than their competitors.

And this then explains why Amazon has no interest in telling people when prices on their wishlist have dropped.

Please don't misunderstand me. I do not think it is their duty to do so. Whatever the reasons behind their monopoly on the ebook market, it can be used to explain their behavior vs. Steam and GOG.

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

And this then explains why Amazon has no interest in telling people when prices on their wishlist have dropped.

Please don't misunderstand me. I do not think it is their duty to do so. Whatever the reasons behind their monopoly on the ebook market, it can be used to explain their behavior vs. Steam and GOG.

Goodreads used to let you know when books were on your wishlist on sale on Amazon and it was very useful for many. They one day suddenly discontinued it, which doesn't make much sense, unless you're right and Amazon just wants to advertise some of these e-book sales less.

[darryl]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

And this then explains why Amazon has no interest in telling people when prices on their wishlist have dropped.

Please don't misunderstand me. I do not think it is their duty to do so. Whatever the reasons behind their monopoly on the ebook market, it can be used to explain their behavior vs. Steam and GOG.

Your use of the word monopoly is totally incorrect in this context. I can only speculate on why Amazon doesn't more widely publicize these price reductions. One would think that even if Amazon did have a true monopoly it would publicise these reductions simply because it wold result in more sales regardless of monopoly status. For agency e-books Amazon doesn't even have control of the selling price. A quite remarkable situation to label an Amazon monopoly.

[tomsem]

I think Amazon has developed a good revenue stream from advertising (‘promoted’ products) and they no longer have any incentive to send out price drop notifications just because you added something to a wish list (they’d rather you buy at regular price).

By contrast, the affiliates/associates program perhaps was not as effective, i.e. Amazon had to share revenue with said associate.

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I think Amazon has developed a good revenue stream from advertising (‘promoted’ products) and they no longer have any incentive to send out price drop notifications ...

Businesses are rarely satisfied with having their profits remain the same year after year. That's with respect to the price drops and free ebooks, where they could make more money off the sales of additional books by the same author.

There are so many authors churning out books these days, even printed books, that I think that the temporary free and discounted ebooks are a good device for the authors to promote themselves and get noticed. In any event it certainly works for me as a way to learn about good authors.

[Pajamaman]

Along with their dominance of the ebook market, Amazon long neglected the UI of their ebook devices. Their lack of interest in promoting the best deals on ebooks seem to mirror their apathy toward attracting customers. After all, all their books are stored by Amazon. How else will they access and read them? Buyers are locked into their ecosystem, so why make an effort? True, some will leave, but the vast majority will remain for convenience and a tendency to remain with what they know.

The same reasoning explains their indifference toward technical innovation. Why do potentially wasteful research? Amazon can let your competitors do the innovating, then just copy it once the technology is proven.

This means that Amazon don't have to try that hard. They've done the leg work, now they can sit back.

[Pajamaman]

Originally Posted by darryl

One would think that even if Amazon did have a true monopoly it would publicise these reductions simply because it wold result in more sales regardless of monopoly status. For agency e-books Amazon doesn't even have control of the selling price.

Not necessarily. It is well-known that it is possible to make a higher return by selling fewer units at a higher price. It seems reasonable to suppose that this particularly applies to wish list items.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

Why do potentially wasteful research? Amazon can let your competitors do the innovating, then just copy it once the technology is proven.

The notion that Amazon isn't willing to do (and does) spend vast millions on potentially wasted research is as laughable as it it is false. Maybe not in reader ui technology per se, but then there's only so much money one SHOULD spend on something as simple as "read words, turn page".

[catsknit]

Originally Posted by BenG

I rarely deliberately abandon a book. When it happens it's because the book is less than a page turner at the moment and something new and shiny catches my eye and I put the book aside intending to go back to it. If I wait too long, I realize I would have to start from the beginning which makes me even more likely to put it off. I still think someday I'll return to it.

E-books do make it easier to abandon a book, since you can instantly have another ready to replace it rather than having to go to the library or bookstore to replace it.

I have 2 separate categories on Goodreads for these. Abandoned means I deliberately stopped reading it and it makes sure i will never accidentally pick it up again. Hibernating is for things I was interested in but something shiny caught my eye and I never got back to it but maybe I will one day. that way they aren't still on my Currently Reading status.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

Dropping more has been one of my easier reading goals to accomplish. My stats at the StoryGraph show me with 225 finished books so far this year, 28 DNFs, so 1 out of every 9 I started. I'll probably make raising that ratio one of my 2022 goals. Life really IS too short for any of my leisure/recreation time to be wasted wading through content that does not provide an ROI

That was last year.

So far this year, I've finished 156, and have just marked my 50th DNF at The Storygraph - breathing down the neck of 1 DNF for every 3 finished. It's been liberating to feel no shame about dropping a book, for whatever reason, instead of feeling some sort of obsessive compulsion to finish just because. A sizeable number of this year's DNFs were VERY early purchases in my switch from Kindle to Kobo, covers and synopses that looked and sounded promising but in the end did not deliver. If I crack the ton of DNFs this year, I would consider that a MAJOR achievement in my reading life.

[issybird]

It’s such a great feeling when you decide to abandon a book; the realization that, “It’s not me, it’s the book.” Yesterday I abandoned one of this year’s hot novels, Booth, by Karen Joy Fowler, a popular author. It’s a historical novel about the family of that Booth. Golly, it was tedious and with nothing of insight or interest to say that I could see. And long! After I abandoned it, I took a quick look at the reviews and was delighted (because who doesn’t like confirmation?) to find a stinker in the NYT. The WaPo and the Guardian loved it, however.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by issybird

It’s such a great feeling when you decide to abandon a book; the realization that, “It’s not me, it’s the book.”

(confirmation bias emoji)