E-book store price comparison / BooksOnBoard a good deal

Alexander Turcic · 08-05-2007, 07:15 AM

While the world continues to wonder why most e-books still sell at Hardcover prices, the good folks over at Dear Author spent some time comparing the prices of various online e-book stores. Some of the interesting observations they made:

Fictionwise Buywise doesn't make sense if you buy less than 27 e-books (@ $6.00 per book) a year.
BooksOnBoard sells e-books at comparatively lower prices
Simon & Schuster sells Simon & Schuster e-books at a 35 precent discount

Link: Price Comparison: Which E book Retailer Has the Best Prices

Related: Downloaded books cost how much?

Mitchll · 08-05-2007, 09:30 AM

Interestingly enough, Simon & Shuster's prices seem to be less than econnect, although not in Sony format.

lee1234 · 08-06-2007, 05:49 AM

Does anyone know which ebook store website has the most books and the widest selection of books?

wallcraft · 08-06-2007, 09:36 AM

In this table, Fictionwise and MobiPocket are always the most expensive (i.e. always charge the list price). However, Fictionwise has various ways to save if you buy lots of books from them.

I still think MobiPocket is the single best DRMed format (i.e. if you don't want to break the DRM then go with MobiPocket), but it does also seem to be the most expensive of the widely used formats. On the other hand the bestsellers page on Books on Board has two titles with big discounts for the MobiPocket format only.

JSWolf · 08-06-2007, 10:15 AM

A book I was looking at on ebooks.com is about $2 less at Books on Board. So I'll be purchasing it at BoB later this week.

da_jane · 08-06-2007, 11:29 AM

I separated Fictionwise from the Buywise Club prices because you have to pay to be a member of buywise and get the additional discount.

Some of the commenters found that if you buy Micropay in large amounts ($200) you get a little better pricing from Fictionwise.

I noticed at Books on Board, that the Mobipocket prices were slightly higher - like 10 cents or more.

One other thing is that I don't understand why more publishers aren't following the Simon &Schuster model by greatly discounting the prices and driving traffic directly to their site.

JSWolf · 08-06-2007, 12:29 PM

I do buy my Start Trek ebooks from Simon and Schuster. Nobody else is as cheap.

Alexander Turcic · 08-07-2007, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

A book I was looking at on ebooks.com is about $2 less at Books on Board. So I'll be purchasing it at BoB later this week.

Ditto. I was going to buy a book through eBooks.com only to discover it $1-2 cheaper @ BOB.

cherdman · 08-15-2007, 05:51 PM

Don't forget http://paperbackdigital.com/

You will find the best prices on Mobipocket content here (I love BooksOnBoard as well though).

rlauzon · 08-16-2007, 12:34 PM

Hmmm... Except for Fictionwise, none of these sites SELL eBooks. All they sell are restrictive licenses allowing you to read an eBook - usually for the same price (if not more) than the paper version of the book.

Not a very good deal.

HarryT · 08-16-2007, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlauzon

Hmmm... Except for Fictionwise, none of these sites SELL eBooks. All they sell are restrictive licenses allowing you to read an eBook - usually for the same price (if not more) than the paper version of the book.

By your argument, book shops don't SELL paper books either - they just grant you a restrictive licence to read them. You're certainly not buying any rights to the "contents" of the book; you can't re-publish it yourself, or anything like that.

My word - how terribly restrictive. Doesn't sound like a very good deal to me!

rlauzon · 08-16-2007, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

By your argument, book shops don't SELL paper books either - they just grant you a restrictive licence to read them.

That's untrue.

Legally speaking, I own the pBook and can dispose of it as I wish. The only restriction on me is that I cannot REPRODUCE the pBook.

HarryT · 08-17-2007, 02:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlauzon

That's untrue.

Legally speaking, I own the pBook and can dispose of it as I wish. The only restriction on me is that I cannot REPRODUCE the pBook.

You own the physical book - the paper, the glue, the ink, etc. You do not own the "intellectual property" that the book contains.

Exactly the same is true of an eBook. You own the file that you download. You do not own the intellectual property that the file contains.

It's no different at all.

rlauzon · 08-17-2007, 03:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

You own the physical book - the paper, the glue, the ink, etc. You do not own the "intellectual property" that the book contains.

Exactly the same is true of an eBook. You own the file that you download. You do not own the intellectual property that the file contains.

It's no different at all.

Then please show me where I can re-sell my used DRMed eBooks.

HarryT · 08-17-2007, 04:05 AM

It's up to the publisher to determine if they wish to provide a mechanism to transfer the licence to somebody else or not. Doesn't affect the principle that with both paper books and eBooks you're just "buying" the medium, not the contents.

08-05-2007, 07:15 AM	#1
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	E-book store price comparison / BooksOnBoard a good deal While the world continues to wonder why most e-books still sell at Hardcover prices, the good folks over at Dear Author spent some time comparing the prices of various online e-book stores. Some of the interesting observations they made: Fictionwise Buywise doesn't make sense if you buy less than 27 e-books (@ $6.00 per book) a year. BooksOnBoard sells e-books at comparatively lower prices Simon & Schuster sells Simon & Schuster e-books at a 35 precent discount Link: Price Comparison: Which E book Retailer Has the Best Prices Related: Downloaded books cost how much?

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08-05-2007, 09:30 AM	#2
Mitchll Cave Dweller Posts: 220 Karma: 1986 Join Date: Oct 2006 Device: Ipad Sony reader prs-505 prs-900	Interestingly enough, Simon & Shuster's prices seem to be less than econnect, although not in Sony format.

08-06-2007, 05:49 AM	#3
lee1234 Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 55 Join Date: May 2006 Device: Sony Reader, Nokia E61	Does anyone know which ebook store website has the most books and the widest selection of books?

08-06-2007, 09:36 AM	#4
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	In this table, Fictionwise and MobiPocket are always the most expensive (i.e. always charge the list price). However, Fictionwise has various ways to save if you buy lots of books from them. I still think MobiPocket is the single best DRMed format (i.e. if you don't want to break the DRM then go with MobiPocket), but it does also seem to be the most expensive of the widely used formats. On the other hand the bestsellers page on Books on Board has two titles with big discounts for the MobiPocket format only.

08-06-2007, 10:15 AM	#5
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,897 Karma: 128597114 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	A book I was looking at on ebooks.com is about $2 less at Books on Board. So I'll be purchasing it at BoB later this week.

08-06-2007, 11:29 AM	#6
da_jane Evangelist Posts: 405 Karma: 692 Join Date: Sep 2006 Device: Samsung Galaxy Note 3 \| Kindle Paperwhite \| iPad Mini	I separated Fictionwise from the Buywise Club prices because you have to pay to be a member of buywise and get the additional discount. Some of the commenters found that if you buy Micropay in large amounts ($200) you get a little better pricing from Fictionwise. I noticed at Books on Board, that the Mobipocket prices were slightly higher - like 10 cents or more. One other thing is that I don't understand why more publishers aren't following the Simon &Schuster model by greatly discounting the prices and driving traffic directly to their site.

08-06-2007, 12:29 PM	#7
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,897 Karma: 128597114 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I do buy my Start Trek ebooks from Simon and Schuster. Nobody else is as cheap.

08-15-2007, 05:51 PM	#9
cherdman Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: T-E-X-A-S Device: Dell Axim X51v	Don't forget http://paperbackdigital.com/ You will find the best prices on Mobipocket content here (I love BooksOnBoard as well though).

08-16-2007, 12:34 PM	#10
rlauzon Wizard Posts: 1,018 Karma: 67827 Join Date: Jan 2005 Device: PocketBook Era	Hmmm... Except for Fictionwise, none of these sites SELL eBooks. All they sell are restrictive licenses allowing you to read an eBook - usually for the same price (if not more) than the paper version of the book. Not a very good deal.

08-17-2007, 04:05 AM	#15
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	It's up to the publisher to determine if they wish to provide a mechanism to transfer the licence to somebody else or not. Doesn't affect the principle that with both paper books and eBooks you're just "buying" the medium, not the contents.

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