Kindle eBook Prices

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Sysem

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So I just bought my dad a Kindle for his birthday and I decided to check out a book (just to see how things work etc)

The ebook for Kindle: $16.43
The normal Hardcover: $16.03

Now I know the normal hardcover wont include delivery etc etc, but I thought the whole point was that these ebooks are supposed to be a lot cheaper??

Or could it be this is just a new title? The book is The Affair by Lee Child by the way...

Anyway, still beats the local prices in SA.
 
Sysem said:
So I just bought my dad a Kindle for his birthday and I decided to check out a book (just to see how things work etc)

The ebook for Kindle: $16.43
The normal Hardcover: $16.03

Now I know the normal hardcover wont include delivery etc etc, but I thought the whole point was that these ebooks are supposed to be a lot cheaper??

Or could it be this is just a new title? The book is The Affair by Lee Child by the way...

Anyway, still beats the local prices in SA.
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I think it's cos it's a new title
 
Most kindle e-books are the same or more expensive than their physical counterparts. It's not Amazon, it's the stupid publishers. They want to be greedy. Fortunately there are thousands of free books on Amazon, and other sources on the Internet for books as well.
 
Garyvdh said:
Most kindle e-books are the same or more expensive than their physical counterparts. It's not Amazon, it's the stupid publishers. They want to be greedy. Fortunately there are thousands of free books on Amazon, and other sources on the Internet for books as well.
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+1

The publishers - and not Amazon - set the prices.

So for Lee Child (and other popular authors) expect to pay more.

BTW this [stupidity on the publisher's part] is to be encouraged. At the current rate most publishers will be no more within the next two or three years ... :)
 
I think it also applies to the type of books you buy. I bought a couple of technical books in the kindle section and they were half the price of the tree version. Also hardcovers tend to cost more than softcovers/massmarket, but I see the prices for this books is a bit strange. There is a formula in the background that calculates the prices (i've seen it with books where it goes up or down, but not sure how it works though), so I assume its based on popularity and so on.
 
All the ones I compared the Kindle edition was cheaper. But if you want truly ridiculous you should look at South African eBook prices. Exclusive had one going for R300; Kalahari had the same eBook for R160 ("marked down" from R370 apparently!); that book from Amazon was $9 for the Kindle edition and $12 for the printed version.

Nefertiti said:
I think it also applies to the type of books you buy. I bought a couple of technical books in the kindle section and they were half the price of the tree version.
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And that imported printed technical book is probably half the local price.
 
Unless the publishers lower their prices on EBooks they will follow the record industry.

I have just ordered three books for my wife, who is adamant that she doesn't want a Kindle. Just to check, I googled the books, and downloaded the 3 books plus 10 more by the same author, before I received confirmation of the order from Kalahari. Delivery will be another 15 days.

I also found a download of the Top 100 SciFi books, and a download of 3500 Kindle books.

If EBooks were 50% of real books they would be a proposition, but not at full price.
 
My dad got me a Kindle Touch 3G for Christmas (totally unexpected).

Kindle > book. The book smell and feel of paper is nice and all but it doesn't compare to how easy it is to read on a Kindle. With a book I'm constantly bending it this way, turning that way so I can see a word in the light, etc.

With a Kindle you find a spot, and read. It's NOTHING like reading on a tablet (LCD/AMOLED), the two cannot be compared. A Kindle is way ahead of tablets when reading.

My GF has had a Kindle 3rd gen. for quite a while now (basically the Kindle keyboard). IMHO getting the Touch is worth it over the keyboard.

My 2c for those sceptical about getting one.
 
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Frankly the Kindle books are MILES cheaper than hardcopy books in this country. It's an absolute boon to our family. The biggest difference is in children's books - r20 ish versus r100 for a colour book. They probably are colluding and all the rest of it but we're still saving a fortune.
 
Gnome said:
IMHO getting the Touch is worth it over the keyboard.
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Just be aware if it's important to you that the Kindle Touch has dropped several of the features which were included with the previous-generation Kindle (now called the Kindle Keyboard) which some users find important, e.g. the lifetime free 3G (except now to access Amazon or Wikipedia) and the ability to have books read aloud or to play Audiobooks or music. Given the much lower price of the new Touch however, as a basic few-frills reader it is unsurpassed. If anyone offers you an even cheaper ad-supported Touch, be aware that it is by definition a grey import, as Amazon does not support or sell this device here.
 
Terencek said:
If anyone offers you an even cheaper ad-supported Touch, be aware that it is by definition a grey import, as Amazon does not support or sell this device here.
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You sure about the ad-supported stuff.

Recently got my wife the Keyboard 3G on special at Makro for R1999 and it is ad-supported. Looks legit, 3G works and had ICASA approval sticker on the box?
 
Roman4604 said:
You sure about the ad-supported stuff.

Recently got my wife the Keyboard 3G on special at Makro for R1999 and it is ad-supported. Looks legit, 3G works and had ICASA approval sticker on the box?
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Was not aware of the Keyboard being ad-supported. But the latest generation Kindle 4 and Touch, ad-supported range is only avaiable for sale in the US at the moment.
 
Terencek said:
e.g. the lifetime free 3G (except now to access Amazon or Wikipedia) and the ability to have books read aloud or to play Audiobooks or music.
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It plays MP3s. In fact rooting the Kindle Touch is done with an Mp3. It also does text to speech (is that what you meant with read aloud?). I've tested it. 3g part I haven't tested. I only have used the store.

Terencek said:
Given the much lower price of the new Touch however, as a basic few-frills reader it is unsurpassed. If anyone offers you an even cheaper ad-supported Touch, be aware that it is by definition a grey import, as Amazon does not support or sell this device here.
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Amazon doesn't sell the Touch here. Period.

The Kindle Touch is only available in the US. Ads or not. So it's grey anyway. I got the ads version and it does show ads while I'm in the menu at the bottom 8% of the screen + the screensavers are ads.

I can still do everything on the Amazon site however and I even contacted support to try get rid of the ads and he told me I need a US credit card and US address to pay an extra $40 to get rid of ads. He didn't give 2 sh#ts that I bought it here in SA. To them it is considered roaming.
 
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Shake&Bake said:
Was not aware of the Keyboard being ad-supported. But the latest generation Kindle 4 and Touch, ad-supported range is only avaiable for sale in the US at the moment.
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While looking, only other stock I could find was the Kindle 4 Wifi at IC for R1599 and it was also ad-supported.

Since I know my wife will spend a lot of time searching for her obscure books, though it better spend the extra on the Keyboard 3G as the no keyboard/no touch of the 4 Wifi must be very frustrating. Anyway she doesn't seem perturbed by the ads, if it does become a issue you can pay the $30 to Amazon to un-ad it.
 
Roman4604 said:
While looking, only other stock I could find was the Kindle 4 Wifi at IC for R1599 and it was also ad-supported.

Since I know my wife will spend a lot of time searching for her obscure books, though it better spend the extra on the Keyboard 3G as the no keyboard/no touch of the 4 Wifi must be very frustrating. Anyway she doesn't seem perturbed by the ads, if it does become a issue you can pay the $30 to Amazon to un-ad it.
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Weird - as I know for a fact you can't order it online and that they state on the Amaxon site, that the ad supported version is only for the US.

From Amazon's checkout wrt to the Ad-supported version, just now, as before:
Important Message

Kindle, Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display - includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers cannot be shipped to the selected address. A non-US address was selected for this US-only Kindle. For the best wireless coverage and fastest shipping to South Africa, please visit the non-US Kindle page and choose the country in which this Kindle will be used.
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