Why are people unwilling to vote with their wallets?

[issybird]

It’s a puzzlement to me.

This post will tend to be Kindle-specific, but I think the principle applies across the board, hence posting in General.

There are always some active threads in the Kindle forum deploring how Amazon continues to make it harder and harder to download books and describing ever more torturous work-arounds. Here’s what I don’t get: Why don’t people who are infuriated by this stop buying Kindle books? Yeah, yeah, I know; they can be the only source for certain books. So why not read something else if you can’t make your peace with doing it Amazon’s way? There are a lot of books out there, more than anyone can read in a lifetime and I’d argue every bit as enjoyable. Books are pretty fungible at that. And by buying books elsewhere, you’d be denying Amazon their ill-gotten gains while helping to prop up a business whose practices are more in line with your preferences. Sounds like win/win to me.

And as a rider to this, when you buy Kindle books, you agree that you’re only buying a license which comes with restrictions. So why the outrage? If Amazon’s only trying to enforce the terms of sale?

As I said, I don’t get it. I mostly stopped buying Kindle books when Kobo became always a better value, but I’d buy from them if it were the cheapest/only option for something I wanted to read, but their Kindle sales practices don’t bother me so there’s no moral component. I’d buy, read it on a Kindle and move on.

TL;DR: Why do business with an entity whose practices you deplore? Books are not a life-saving drug.

[rcentros]

I hardly ever buy Kindle books any more (no fiction for at least three years). But when I did buy from Amazon it was mostly non-fiction, and it's pretty hard to replace a specific non-fiction book with something "kind of like it."

[theducks]

I have not bought a Amazon Kindle book since download and transfer went away.
My TBR pile (so high, the bits are falling on the floor ) is actually getting a tiny bit smaller. Thanks Amazon :/

I do feel sorry for the Authors that have to have lost sales because we can no longer convert to another format and stopped buying their titles.

Many years ago, the music industry lost their attempt to stop format shifting.
I ripped my LP's to open reel / cassette. Later to CD. This was legal as long as I possessed the original and did not play both at the same time.

Borland allowed copies, using the phase 'Like a Book' to ban simultaneous uses as the terms.

[MegDreamsofBooks]

Any time I can buy my ebook somewhere other than Amazon, I do. In fact I have a few books that were on my "maybe" list and I purchased them because the author publishing through another site was the tipping point.

But I have a few authors I love who are still Kindle-exclusive. Mostly, I only read those via Kindle Unlimited, which after reflection I decided is worth subscribing because it benefits the authors more than Amazon. Occasionally one of those books will be good enough to buy, or one of my auto-buy authors publishes exclusively via Amazon. I have anecdotally seen some previously exclusive authors leaving KU, which is great, but many others are still locked into agreements or for whatever reason do not want to take the extra steps to publish beyond Amazon.

But overall, I spend a LOT less money on ebooks (and everything else) at Amazon than I used to. My general goal is to buy the books I want, support the authors I like, reduce my Amazon spending, and get my books wherever best meets those requirements.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I hardly ever buy Kindle books any more (no fiction for at least three years). But when I did buy from Amazon it was mostly non-fiction, and it's pretty hard to replace a specific non-fiction book with something "kind of like it."

I buy mostly nonfiction also. It’s the exceedingly rare trad-pubbed nonfiction book that’s published on Amazon only and can’t be bought at Kobo. I can’t remember the last time I ran across one. And if it’s self-pubbed, the reason it’s an Amazon exclusive, then quality is a significant factor and I’d argue that the book could be skipped. Again, do you have to read exactly that book? Aren’t there other books of interest to you that you could read instead? I’ll never be able to read every book I’d like to read and if I were motivated not to do business with Amazon, that’s my answer.

Of course if you have to read exactly that book, then you’d go for it. But I suspect that those purchases are rare.

By the way, I did not employ the phrase “kind of like it” as your use of quotation marks implies.

[Cactus Chef]

I'd run into this all the time on the r/kobo subreddit. It was a perplexing cycle of:

1. I don't like Amazon, and think I want to move to Kobo.
2. I have too many books in my Kindle library already that I haven't read, I must be able to migrate them before moving to Kobo.
3. Jeeze, this DRM removal thingy I've gotta do with Calibre, DeDRM, and Kindle4PC is way too complicated.
4. I am mad at Kobo for being unable to digest my Kindle books. I guess I'm staying with Amazon.

I'd see this again, and again, and again. Even fully understanding the fact that it is Amazon's DRM that prevents them from moving their books, not Kobo's...they would still blame Kobo.

Momentum is a tough thing to break. My uncle called me in a panic when Amazon was doing the D&T removal thing, and so I helped him install an old version of K4PC and get his whole library liberated into Calibre. He was rather angry at the time and figured this would be the final straw before moving elsewhere.

Last time I saw him, he had purchased a new Kindle.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by theducks

I do feel sorry for the Authors that have to have lost sales because we can no longer convert to another format and stopped buying their titles.

No-one is forced to use only Amazon to distribute ebooks.

[ownedbycats]

I don't buy Kindle books anymore. Only other sites. If I see Kindle Unlimited, I immediately give up on it. Was disappointed to see people buying Kindles just to get around DRM. Don't encourage their monopolistic behaviour.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Quoth

No-one is forced to use only Amazon to distribute ebooks.

True. But they made their agreements before OUR buying choices changed.

It would be interesting, to hear about the changes affects (because there are no stats on how many AZW/Mobi were never actually read on a Kindle, but on something else).

[Quoth]

Amazon counts the page turns. But it's true they can't tell if it's read elsewhere. I wonder can they tell if the ebook is copied to PC?

Also do they care about purchases (not KU) that are never read on the Kindle, as is the case for some people that only use the Kindle to download?

I suspect they've better stuff to do with their resources.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by theducks

I have not bought a Amazon Kindle book since download and transfer went away.

Same here. It wouldn't be a big deal if it was limited to things like Kindle Unlimited where there is a license (and reason) to limit it. But if I purchase a book, I should be able to get that book how I want and transfer as desired.

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I don't buy Kindle books anymore. Only other sites. If I see Kindle Unlimited, I immediately give up on it. Was disappointed to see people buying Kindles just to get around DRM. Don't encourage their monopolistic behaviour.

My main complaint about Amazon's DRM is when they have this in the description:

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

(From https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MYZ8X5C)

Then Amazon still adds their DRM and limitations.

[cgsmom]

Well I guess I might as well chime in here. I almost bought a Kobo Libra Colour. I hesitated because I don't like the buttons on one side and having to rotate the reader to change hands (I do that a lot). I also prefer a flush screen. Then Kindle launched the Colorsoft SE. Too expensive, so I waited. After the yellow band issue I was unsure what to do so I waited some more. Supposedly the yellow band issue was corrected and the Colorsoft SE went on sale for $229 US. I took a chance and ordered. I was pleasantly surprised.

Now to books. When D&T went away I stopped buying books from Amazon. Then I noticed that a couple of books on my wish list were on sale at Amazon and not on Kobo or BN (I thought publishers controlled pricing). I decided to try downloading from my Colorsoft into Calibre. It was a lot easier than I thought. So I just kept buying from Amazon.

Does Amazon bug me sometimes? Sure, but it is easier to just buy from them and read on my Colorsoft. If they stop me from downloading into Calibre, I will change my buying.

[pdurrant]

Of the 80 or so books I've bought since the end of March, only one has been from Amazon. The DRM removal is easier from Kobo, and if it's price-matched, it's cheaper. I should have switched years ago.

But I can understand why people are reluctant to move. I was reluctant myself. There's the inertia of past experience to overcome. If you've only ever bought from Amazon, it must be even harder to switch.

[JSWolf]

I don't buy eBooks from Amazon even though I could still download and remove the DRM. It's a lot easier dealing with ePub versions.

[Sirtel]

I still buy an occasional Kindle exclusive, as ways to remove the DRM still exist. If/when they stop existing, I'll stop buying from Amazon.

I've never bought my ebooks solely from Amazon, though.

I've never been a person who lives by principles or votes with their wallet. I'm a pragmatist. So I see no reason not to buy from Amazon as long as DRM can still be removed.