Germany: eBooks not yet a mass market product

Zatakawa · 03-18-2011, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Nuremberg, March 18, 2011 – eBooks are already bestsellers in some countries. The major online retailer Amazon recently reported that it sold more eBooks than paperbacks in the USA last year. However, electronic books continue to be a niche product in Germany. According to calculations carried out by GfK Panel Services, eBooks only achieved a 0.5% share of overall book sales in Germany in 2010, registering a total sales volume of EUR 21 million. At present, only 35% of German publishers offer eBooks, although many intend to follow suit before long.

More at gfk.com

rogue_librarian · 03-18-2011, 08:43 AM

The German Booksellers' Association has been trying very hard to keep down ebooks as much as possible. They are routinely priced at the same level as hardcover books, but released at a later date... they'd just wish for the whole thing to go away.

wyndslash · 03-18-2011, 08:47 AM

unfortunately, ebooks aren't going away anytime soon. i love that it provides me a wide selection of books without the extra physical delivery charge (whispernet still charges me $2 though). besides, it's kind of childish of them. it's better to just confront it head on and make laws that are beneficial for both sides.

rogue_librarian · 03-18-2011, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wyndslash

unfortunately, ebooks aren't going away anytime soon.

We know that. They're only slowly and grudgingly beginning to acknowledge the fact.

murraypaul · 03-18-2011, 09:48 AM

Slightly surprising, I was in Germany (Munich) a few times last year and there were large iPad adverts on all of the station platforms, almost all showing it being used as an ereader, so I figured it must be a selling point there.

DixieGal · 03-18-2011, 10:11 AM

I wonder if it only seems like Germans are not buying ebooks because they are downloading them from stores outside the country? I saw dozens reading in the Berlin airport. I saw them reading in every coffee shop. In fact, i would not hesitate to say that i saw more "in the wild" in Germany than i have seen here at home.

Hellmark · 03-18-2011, 10:24 AM

If I can buy the same book for cheaper, at a site based out of the country, why wouldn't I? It isn't like you're buying low grade, bootleg copy.

Kali Yuga · 03-18-2011, 10:35 AM

Who offers a compelling platform (device plus store) for the Germans?

By the way, I'd assume that "compelling" includes ebooks that are actually in German.

Freeshadow · 03-18-2011, 10:45 AM

addition: ebooks are pricebound the same way as pbooks but do not profit from the lower VAT pbooks do. (AFAIR)

Billi · 03-18-2011, 11:58 AM

Maybe we descendants of Gutenberg need a little more time to say goodbye to "real" books.

Freeshadow · 03-18-2011, 12:50 PM

or need a blind guy to anounce its "Time to say Goodbye" (again)

GA Russell · 03-18-2011, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

Who offers a compelling platform (device plus store) for the Germans?

By the way, I'd assume that "compelling" includes ebooks that are actually in German.

A year ago that was supposed to be the txtr.

I have wondered whatever happened to them because I never see the txtr mentioned here.

fjtorres · 03-19-2011, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GA Russell

A year ago that was supposed to be the txtr.

I have wondered whatever happened to them because I never see the txtr mentioned here.

They're still around but apparently they haven't gotten much traction off their cloud-based business model and the iOS app got kinda blown out of the water by Bluefire. Their Android app is only available on Google's market (so much for tapping into the Android tablet explosion

) and not highly regarded either.
Last I heard (a few weeks back) they were retrenching.

I wouldn't hold my breath.

As for, a compelling german ebookstore, whoever is out there had better hurry. Both Kobo and Amazon are headed there; it's a toss-up who gets there first.

Bald Eagle · 03-19-2011, 09:04 AM

I bought my PRS-505 the first week it was officially sold here in Germany and got the PRS-650 last october but I have yet to buy a single e-book from a german bookstore. I get most of my books from Baen - so much easier to handle without DRM

CommonReader · 03-19-2011, 09:13 AM

There are shops like buecher.de with a reasonable selection of ebooks. Obviously they can only sell what the publishers are providing. Some publishers seem to be moving slowly into the right direction. Haruki Murakami's new novel 1Q84 (apparently not published in English yet) was a big seller in Germany last year and it was available as an ebook right from the start for a cheaper price than the HC (still a hefty 26.99 € instead of 32 € for the HC, though).
Ebook readers (mostly Sonys) are increasingly available at bookshops and consumer electronics shops.
The publishers really do have to decide on the strategy they want to pursue as there is a very substantial selection of German ebooks available in the darknet.

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03-18-2011, 08:43 AM	#2
rogue_librarian Guru Posts: 973 Karma: 4269175 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Europe Device: Pocketbook Basic 613	The German Booksellers' Association has been trying very hard to keep down ebooks as much as possible. They are routinely priced at the same level as hardcover books, but released at a later date... they'd just wish for the whole thing to go away.

03-18-2011, 08:47 AM	#3
wyndslash Wizard Posts: 2,951 Karma: 3000001 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Kindle 3 wifi, Kindle Fire	unfortunately, ebooks aren't going away anytime soon. i love that it provides me a wide selection of books without the extra physical delivery charge (whispernet still charges me $2 though). besides, it's kind of childish of them. it's better to just confront it head on and make laws that are beneficial for both sides.

03-18-2011, 09:48 AM	#5
murraypaul Interested Bystander Posts: 3,725 Karma: 19728152 Join Date: Jun 2008 Device: Note 4, Kobo One	Slightly surprising, I was in Germany (Munich) a few times last year and there were large iPad adverts on all of the station platforms, almost all showing it being used as an ereader, so I figured it must be a selling point there.

03-18-2011, 10:11 AM	#6
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	I wonder if it only seems like Germans are not buying ebooks because they are downloading them from stores outside the country? I saw dozens reading in the Berlin airport. I saw them reading in every coffee shop. In fact, i would not hesitate to say that i saw more "in the wild" in Germany than i have seen here at home.

03-18-2011, 10:24 AM	#7
Hellmark Wizard Posts: 2,549 Karma: 3799999 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: O'Fallon, Missouri, USA Device: Nokia N800, PRS-505, Nook STR Glowlight, Kindle 3	If I can buy the same book for cheaper, at a site based out of the country, why wouldn't I? It isn't like you're buying low grade, bootleg copy.

03-18-2011, 10:35 AM	#8
Kali Yuga Professional Contrarian Posts: 2,045 Karma: 3289631 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 4 No Touchie	Who offers a compelling platform (device plus store) for the Germans? By the way, I'd assume that "compelling" includes ebooks that are actually in German.

03-18-2011, 10:45 AM	#9
Freeshadow temp. out of service Posts: 2,792 Karma: 24285242 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Duisburg (DE) Device: PB 623	addition: ebooks are pricebound the same way as pbooks but do not profit from the lower VAT pbooks do. (AFAIR)

03-18-2011, 11:58 AM	#10
Billi Wizard Posts: 3,388 Karma: 14190103 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Berlin Device: Cybook, iRex, PB, Onyx	Maybe we descendants of Gutenberg need a little more time to say goodbye to "real" books.

03-18-2011, 12:50 PM	#11
Freeshadow temp. out of service Posts: 2,792 Karma: 24285242 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Duisburg (DE) Device: PB 623	or need a blind guy to anounce its "Time to say Goodbye" (again)

03-19-2011, 09:04 AM	#14
Bald Eagle Connoisseur Posts: 79 Karma: 777105 Join Date: May 2009 Device: Kobo Aura H2O, Kobo Aura One, Kobo Forma	I bought my PRS-505 the first week it was officially sold here in Germany and got the PRS-650 last october but I have yet to buy a single e-book from a german bookstore. I get most of my books from Baen - so much easier to handle without DRM

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03-19-2011, 09:13 AM	#15
CommonReader Fanatic Posts: 528 Karma: 2530000 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Sony PRS-T3, PRS-650, Vaio Tap 11, iPad Mini	There are shops like buecher.de with a reasonable selection of ebooks. Obviously they can only sell what the publishers are providing. Some publishers seem to be moving slowly into the right direction. Haruki Murakami's new novel 1Q84 (apparently not published in English yet) was a big seller in Germany last year and it was available as an ebook right from the start for a cheaper price than the HC (still a hefty 26.99 € instead of 32 € for the HC, though). Ebook readers (mostly Sonys) are increasingly available at bookshops and consumer electronics shops. The publishers really do have to decide on the strategy they want to pursue as there is a very substantial selection of German ebooks available in the darknet.