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News & ArtsTuesday, February 23, 2010
Books Snookered By an E-Reader
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Feb 23, 2010 at 3:13 PM
Barnes and Noble has recently begun raising its e-book prices leaving many of its loyal Nookers exasperated. Their sense of betrayal is a theme becoming more and more common in the e-book world as customers are feeling like victims of the classic “bait and switch” tactic: the bait being the purported savings to be found in e-books and the switch being the DRM-laden, increasingly over-priced books they are getting...[a Nook user named] Reading Bum captures the growing sense of frustration that Nook users are feeling as he states:“Think about it. We don’t even own these books. We’re only licensing them. But yet we’re still being charged more than a paper back and in some cases a hardcover. That’s ridiculous and far from fair. I’d rather them withhold the e-book until the paperback comes out, and then charge us a fair price! I’ll wait”
1
I buy all mine from the Dead French Authors Society - all copyright free, all in the original French text with the engravings included.
Not as nifty as those instant books, but they work.
(no, can't remember what the site is, it's a french site)
Not as nifty as those instant books, but they work.
(no, can't remember what the site is, it's a french site)
3
See the EFF for a checklist of things to watch out for so you don't get "snookered." For me, I'll stick with my un-tethered, un-connected Sony reading strictly non-DRM, open-format files!
4
That's not alternative spelling, that's random capitalization. And it's an affectation that makes me want to slap the marketing person who came up with it, nice open-handed slap right across the kisser.
6
I was joking with a co-worker that B&N also featured "used" e-Books for less than new retail.
What's a "used" e-Book?
Are the electrons worn at their orbits?
Are the pixels "just a bit dimmer, but hardly"?
I was joking with a co-worker that B&N also featured "used" e-Books for less than new retail.
What's a "used" e-Book?
Are the electrons worn at their orbits?
Are the pixels "just a bit dimmer, but hardly"?
7
Please note: Will has never read an e-book in any format on any platform.
This is just Nook users catching up with Amazon's problem. As I predicted, the cave-in to Macmillan's demands is raising e-book prices across the board. This is killing e-book sales.
Note that Amazon and B&N WANT to charge less but are not being permitted to. This ought to be restraint of trade; retailers should be allowed to charge whatever the hell they want for their goods. Note also that e-books under the new pricing regimen are MORE than the paperback edition, which is completely absurd; the e-book is a much less valuable item by any standard.
Publishers are killing the e-reader. And most people are taking their side. Great.
This is just Nook users catching up with Amazon's problem. As I predicted, the cave-in to Macmillan's demands is raising e-book prices across the board. This is killing e-book sales.
Note that Amazon and B&N WANT to charge less but are not being permitted to. This ought to be restraint of trade; retailers should be allowed to charge whatever the hell they want for their goods. Note also that e-books under the new pricing regimen are MORE than the paperback edition, which is completely absurd; the e-book is a much less valuable item by any standard.
Publishers are killing the e-reader. And most people are taking their side. Great.
8
Sony for me,
I have been getting books from various sources, including free ones from publishers for three years now. (Back before everyone produced an ereader, publishers would offer older titles for free as ebooks. I got a ton of old Baen titles that way.)
I have been getting books from various sources, including free ones from publishers for three years now. (Back before everyone produced an ereader, publishers would offer older titles for free as ebooks. I got a ton of old Baen titles that way.)
10
It sucks. Prices are all over the board. The 3rd book of a series (just released in the US in hard cover) is now $15 where the 4th book (not yet released in the US) is still 9.99. WTF?
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