Re: A quick test of the Kindle store

--- In [email protected], yahoogroups2006@... wrote:
>
> I'm trying this as I write this, with no idea of how it will come out. I'm playing by my own 
rules, which are: I'm going to think of books I've either already purchased or have or are 
seriously considered purchasing, FIRST. Then I'll see whether they're available and if the 
price is the promised $9.99. In other words, finding out what percentage of the stuff I 
want is available... as opposed to asking whether a collection of (supposedly) eighty 
thousand titles might have something that I want.
> 
> #1. Moshe Milevsky, "The Calculus of Retirement Income." It's there, but it costs $36, 
same as the hard-cover edition. Strike one.
> 
> #2. Barbara Kingsolver, "Prodigal Summer." Available for $8.76. Good!
> 
> #3. Nicholas Taleb, "The Black Swan." Available, for $9.99. Good!
> 
> #4. Roger G. Ibbotson et. al, "Lifetime Financial Advice: Human Capital, Asset Allocation, 
and Insurance." "Your search " ibbotson" did not match any products in: Kindle Store," 
"Your search "lifetime financial advice" did not match any products in: Kindle Store." Strike 
two.
> 
> #5. Arnaldur Indridason, "SIlence of the Grave." "Your search "Arnaldur Indridason" did 
not match any products in: Kindle Store." Strike three, but let's keep on going for a while, 
particularly since they did have Kingsolver.
> 
> #6. Bill Geist, "Way Off the Road: Discovering the Peculiar Charms of Small Town 
America." $9.99. Good!
> 
> Let's try a few Oprah's Book Club selections:
> 
> #7. Alan Paton, "Cry, the Beloved Country." $5.95. Good!
> 
> #8. Jeffrey Eugenides, "Middlesex." $9.00. Good!
> 
> Last time I tried that a few years ago, only 6 of Oprah's 44 were available in any format, 
and no more than three in any single format, IIRC. When I have time I should see how 
many of Oprah's titles are available for the Kindle.
> 
> #9. Atul Gawande's new book, don't know the title... "Better" by Atul Gawande, $9.99. 
Good! (But they don't seem to have "Complications," his earlier book).
> 
> Let's try a public domain classic...
> 
> #10. Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner, "The Gilded Age," $2.39. Good! 
> 
> I'm impressed. Yeah, I know what I've said about DRM, and heaven only knows what the 
native format is, but at least it meets what I think is necessary for success: good title 
availability, and pricing which, while I wouldn't quite consider it to be "good" or "fair," is at 
least not exorbitant. 
> 
> (To be fair, I haven't given Sony's eBookstore the same test).
> 
> This thing could succeed. At least it's not predestined for failure. I'm not going to ask 
my wife to buy one for me, at least not for a year or so, but she's currently flying every 
couple of weeks or so and if she asks _me_ to get her one I'll probably cave on the DRM 
issue.
> 
> No Harry Potter, but that was to be expected. (Nine books _about_ Harry Potter, 
including a parody, and a book entitled If Harry Potter Ran General Electric by Tom 
Morris...)
>
Thanks for reporting these results, Daniel!  No question that publishers' backlist titles are 
scarce in the Kindle store--I've seen a complaint that there's only one John Grisham novel, 
for example.  However, I don't think Amazon is exaggerating when it says it has the most 
titles of any online ebookstore, and the pricing of current bestsellers is indeed $9.99, as 
you've confirmed (reports are that's break-even for Amazon to draw customers and that 
where they expect to make money is other titles). 





------------------------------------------------------
Post a message:   ebook-community [[at]] *
Unsubscribe:      ebook-community-unsubscribe [[at]] *
Switch to digest: ebook-community-digest [[at]] *
Switch to normal: ebook-community-normal [[at]] *
Put mail on hold: ebook-community-nomail [[at]] *
Administrator:    ebook-community-owner [[at]] *

(* == yahoogroups.com)
------------------------------------------------------- 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebook-community/

<*> Your email settings:
    Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebook-community/join
    (Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
    mailto:[email protected] 
    mailto:ebook-community-fullfeatured-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw@public.gmane.org

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    ebook-community-unsubscribe-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw@public.gmane.org

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/