Kindle UK frustrations

leaston · 02-04-2011, 03:35 AM

Hi all,

I'm still in love with my Kindle and have used it every day since I was presented with it at Christmas. It's not perfect, but none of it's quirks or minor shortcomings are unbearable by any means. However, I have two very frustrating complaints about the way things work for Kindle owners here in the UK...

The prices of many books here in the UK for the Kindle are higher than their paperback cousins. Unless I'm mistaken, the publishers are the guilty party for setting prices. It's simply a resurrection of the net book agreement and daylight robbery. To add insult to injury, VAT of 20% is levied against ebooks, but not dead tree versions.

Secondly, it's about time Amazon pulled their finger out and enabled UK owners to buy the same games as people in the US. I know this is probably something to do with licensing, but I want to play this Triple Town everyone is talking about!!!!

Ok, moan over. Thank you for listening

Leaston

HarryT · 02-04-2011, 03:38 AM

On the other hand, many e-books in the UK are cheaper than they are in the US, even with VAT. It's not "daylight robbery"; if you think that a particular book is too expensive, read something else. There's a lifetime of reading in the form of entirely free books.

TheKindleWorm · 02-04-2011, 05:03 AM

I agree about the games - they've been out now for a long time in the US and it's about time they were now rolled out to UK owners as well. Please Amazon employees if you are monitoring forums at all!!

As for prices of ebooks - I really enjoy reading free classics and there is a wealth of choice with this right here on mobileread, manybooks.net, feedbooks.com and now as I'm also reading fanfiction too. All free. Glorious.

I do read modern fiction but I won't buy a book until it is a price I'm willing to pay. If that means I never buy it (listen up publishers) so be it. There are plenty of ebooks which are affordable and reasonably priced. I recommend putting ebooks in your wishlist even if they are too expensive because often the price does fluctuate and I've got many books this way. Or use an ebook price tracker online.

A bit off topic. I love with the new ipod/iphone, you can now download books from project gutenberg and the full website (not mobile website) of feedbooks straight into your Kindle iPhone app. So even more choice. Awesome.

TenaciousBadger · 02-04-2011, 01:53 PM

I think UK users have more advantages than the rest of Europe! So there!

Try living in my neck of the woods!

suecsi · 02-04-2011, 03:00 PM

I do wish they'd roll out the Kindle book gifting over here in the UK though .... I have a long wishlist.

leaston · 02-05-2011, 05:38 PM

Thanks for the replies

With the lack of games, I'm sticking with my frustrations. Come on Amazon!!!

However, I'll concede that there are many, many great freebies and low priced Kindle books on the Amazon UK website. My post was prompted by the frustration I felt because I'd looked at half a dozen books with a view to buying them over the last few days and four of them cost more than the dead tree version, sometimes by a large margin too.

The thing is, I'm used to buying many full priced, new books (real ones), but also lots and lots of used books too. I'm happy enough to buy Kindle ebooks that are priced even slightly cheaper than the real thing. But, I'm never going to pay for an ebook that costs more and that has VAT added too. Dick Turpin would have been proud! Is it just down to greedy publishers?

I really need to begin looking at the half full glass, don't I?

HarryT · 02-06-2011, 02:44 AM

It's not really that the ebook costs more, but that the paper book has been discounted and the ebook hasn't. Personally I think that ebooks are "worth more", given that they need no storage space, and will never wear out.

pdurrant · 02-06-2011, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's not really that the ebook costs more, but that the paper book has been discounted and the ebook hasn't.

Amazon has to pay more for ebooks than for paper books, as Amazon get a much larger discount on paper books than ebooks from certain publishers.

So I think that it is reasonable to blame high ebook prices on the publishers.

pdurrant · 02-06-2011, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Personally I think that ebooks are "worth more", given that they need no storage space, and will never wear out.

Until the DRM prevents you accessing them....

HarryT · 02-06-2011, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Until the DRM prevents you accessing them....

But that issue can be, er, resolved...

.

pdurrant · 02-06-2011, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

But that issue can be, er, resolved...

.

But not necessarily legally, as we are constantly reminded. And it might become hard to remove again without notice.

leaston · 02-06-2011, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Amazon has to pay more for ebooks than for paper books, as Amazon get a much larger discount on paper books than ebooks from certain publishers.

So I think that it is reasonable to blame high ebook prices on the publishers.

I know the publishers set the prices and I guess it must be pretty frustrating for Amazon to be stuck with this. It's crazy that the publishers think an ebook should sell for more than a real book. In terms of costs, there's no comparison, so I can't understand how they justify it.

Is there any reason why this happens? I honestly don't get it.

earthpigborn · 02-07-2011, 02:15 AM

^^ I think publishers are just assuming everyone's gonna strip DRM and put it up on P2P networks and charges them accordingly

Seriously though, a paper book takes up space, whether in a bookstore or warehouse while thousands of ebooks can be stored in a regular HD- so there's more incentive for merchants to sell the paper books if only to free up space for new stock. I doubt if this is the main reason why they price them like that but I think it's a factor.

spacemonkey · 02-07-2011, 03:28 AM

The interesting thing on Piracy...

I was reading an article the other day, and music piracy has dropped way out of the top pirated items, mostly now it's movies and tv shows.

The real reason that music piracy has dropped is that there are sensible options to buy it quickly, easily and "cheaply". Ie iTunes, or all you can eat subscription mechanisms like spotify. In a nutshell, the music industry finally realised that changing the model of their business makes it work in a e-commerce world.

Ebooks will eventually get there, they have the good store (amazon) now we just need the sensible pricing to make piracy and conversion not worth the hassle.

The main issue, is there aren't enough punters yet to make the publishers sit up and take notice, but they will get there eventually. Bring on a subscription model, £10/month all you can read off amazon? I'd buy that. Even if it meant I didn't retain any books if I cancelled my subscription.

HarryT · 02-07-2011, 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

But not necessarily legally, as we are constantly reminded. And it might become hard to remove again without notice.

Personally, I always sort it out as soon as I get the book. One never knows what the future will bring.

02-04-2011, 03:35 AM	#1
leaston Addict Posts: 264 Karma: 1135030 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: England Device: Boox Go Color 7, Kobo Forma, Kindle Keyboard	Kindle UK frustrations Hi all, I'm still in love with my Kindle and have used it every day since I was presented with it at Christmas. It's not perfect, but none of it's quirks or minor shortcomings are unbearable by any means. However, I have two very frustrating complaints about the way things work for Kindle owners here in the UK... The prices of many books here in the UK for the Kindle are higher than their paperback cousins. Unless I'm mistaken, the publishers are the guilty party for setting prices. It's simply a resurrection of the net book agreement and daylight robbery. To add insult to injury, VAT of 20% is levied against ebooks, but not dead tree versions. Secondly, it's about time Amazon pulled their finger out and enabled UK owners to buy the same games as people in the US. I know this is probably something to do with licensing, but I want to play this Triple Town everyone is talking about!!!! Ok, moan over. Thank you for listening Leaston

02-07-2011, 02:15 AM	#13
earthpigborn Enthusiast Posts: 30 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Manila, Philippines Device: FBReader on Android	^^ I think publishers are just assuming everyone's gonna strip DRM and put it up on P2P networks and charges them accordingly Seriously though, a paper book takes up space, whether in a bookstore or warehouse while thousands of ebooks can be stored in a regular HD- so there's more incentive for merchants to sell the paper books if only to free up space for new stock. I doubt if this is the main reason why they price them like that but I think it's a factor. Last edited by earthpigborn; 02-07-2011 at 02:18 AM. Reason: apostrophes arrrgh!

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02-04-2011, 03:38 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	On the other hand, many e-books in the UK are cheaper than they are in the US, even with VAT. It's not "daylight robbery"; if you think that a particular book is too expensive, read something else. There's a lifetime of reading in the form of entirely free books.

02-04-2011, 05:03 AM	#3
TheKindleWorm Guru Posts: 860 Karma: 177868 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: East Anglia UK Device: Kindle 3G, iPhone 3G, iPod 4G, PB 360, Sony 600 sold, Kindle 2i sold	I agree about the games - they've been out now for a long time in the US and it's about time they were now rolled out to UK owners as well. Please Amazon employees if you are monitoring forums at all!! As for prices of ebooks - I really enjoy reading free classics and there is a wealth of choice with this right here on mobileread, manybooks.net, feedbooks.com and now as I'm also reading fanfiction too. All free. Glorious. I do read modern fiction but I won't buy a book until it is a price I'm willing to pay. If that means I never buy it (listen up publishers) so be it. There are plenty of ebooks which are affordable and reasonably priced. I recommend putting ebooks in your wishlist even if they are too expensive because often the price does fluctuate and I've got many books this way. Or use an ebook price tracker online. A bit off topic. I love with the new ipod/iphone, you can now download books from project gutenberg and the full website (not mobile website) of feedbooks straight into your Kindle iPhone app. So even more choice. Awesome.

02-04-2011, 01:53 PM	#4
TenaciousBadger Mrawr? Posts: 1,109 Karma: 15039064 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: kindle 3 wifi	I think UK users have more advantages than the rest of Europe! So there! Try living in my neck of the woods!

02-04-2011, 03:00 PM	#5
suecsi Rock Chick Posts: 429 Karma: 4965 Join Date: May 2009 Location: near Heathrow Device: Kindle 2i, Kindle DX, Kindle 3G	I do wish they'd roll out the Kindle book gifting over here in the UK though .... I have a long wishlist.

02-05-2011, 05:38 PM	#6
leaston Addict Posts: 264 Karma: 1135030 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: England Device: Boox Go Color 7, Kobo Forma, Kindle Keyboard	Thanks for the replies With the lack of games, I'm sticking with my frustrations. Come on Amazon!!! However, I'll concede that there are many, many great freebies and low priced Kindle books on the Amazon UK website. My post was prompted by the frustration I felt because I'd looked at half a dozen books with a view to buying them over the last few days and four of them cost more than the dead tree version, sometimes by a large margin too. The thing is, I'm used to buying many full priced, new books (real ones), but also lots and lots of used books too. I'm happy enough to buy Kindle ebooks that are priced even slightly cheaper than the real thing. But, I'm never going to pay for an ebook that costs more and that has VAT added too. Dick Turpin would have been proud! Is it just down to greedy publishers? I really need to begin looking at the half full glass, don't I?

02-06-2011, 02:44 AM	#7
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	It's not really that the ebook costs more, but that the paper book has been discounted and the ebook hasn't. Personally I think that ebooks are "worth more", given that they need no storage space, and will never wear out.

02-07-2011, 03:28 AM	#14
spacemonkey Enthusiast Posts: 47 Karma: 120 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: kindle 3 wifi	The interesting thing on Piracy... I was reading an article the other day, and music piracy has dropped way out of the top pirated items, mostly now it's movies and tv shows. The real reason that music piracy has dropped is that there are sensible options to buy it quickly, easily and "cheaply". Ie iTunes, or all you can eat subscription mechanisms like spotify. In a nutshell, the music industry finally realised that changing the model of their business makes it work in a e-commerce world. Ebooks will eventually get there, they have the good store (amazon) now we just need the sensible pricing to make piracy and conversion not worth the hassle. The main issue, is there aren't enough punters yet to make the publishers sit up and take notice, but they will get there eventually. Bring on a subscription model, £10/month all you can read off amazon? I'd buy that. Even if it meant I didn't retain any books if I cancelled my subscription.

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