Ebook Price Question

susiestar

Roll With It
husband just got a kindle. He has been saving up swagbucks to get amazon gift cards (approx 450 swagbucks for a $5 amazon gc) to get one. I have enough to pay for about 1/3 of one and if I spend much time each week I can get $5 every week or ten days, so was thinking about it.

I think ebooks are great, but I have noticed that some of the prices seem just NUTS. For my birthday in Sept husband and the kids got the latest JD Robb Eve Dallas book, New York to Dallas, for me. The kindle price was $14.99. most of the books I look at are more expensive in ebook format than in new format. Is this the latest trend? The ebook price was more than the price at either of the two stores in my town that sold the book in the first month. While there are new book discounts the first month, they usually are not cheaper than the amazon price.

Is this a way for the publishers to gouge for more money? Part of me thinks that with free prime shipping from either amazon mom or amazon student (husband qualifies for student right now, so we would get 1 yr for free and 4 yrs for half price as soon as amazon mom is expired), I might just continue to buy used books and skip the ereader. I can always put them on an sd card in my phone. Not a big screen but enough that it would give me something to read in line or a dr office.

Or is my perception of the pricing of ebooks just out of line? I know there are a lot of free/cheap ones, but the main reason I want an ereader is to load new books.

please let me know if I am off base on this. I am a super tightwad about so many things that sometimes I get carried away and end up cutting of my nose to spite my face. I just don't want to invest in another piece of tech if it is just going to be something I can't afford to put books on.

thanks!
 

skeeter

New Member
I get most of mine for free. I don't have a Kindle - have a Sony. Our local library is part of the state wide ebook project, so I can "borrow" from there. There are a ton of sites (smashwords is one) that have free books. Also, google now has a bookstore with a lot of latest release books - I haven't priced them because I'm content to read just about anything so go for the cheap and free.
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
Most newer books on the barnes & noble website for my Nook go for between $9-$12, maybe more on certain books. There are websites that offer books at lower prices, but you have to search. More of those sites are popping up everyday.

I am going to look into the lending program at our library as well, because that sounds like an awesome deal. The downside for me is that with all my schoolwork, I rarely can finish reading a book within the two week lending period.

I like Amazon, but sometimes you can find better deals elsewhere. I've downloaded books from other sites without any problems. Good luck, I agree that the pricing for an ebook seems a bit steep at times, but when you compare the cost of buying a newly released hard cover at $30 to $14, it's a deal because it stays in your kindle library forever plus you can lend it to friends as well!
 

keista

New Member
I think ebook prices are crazy! (I have the same opinion of etuition) It should be cheaper, MUCH cheaper, but it's not, and that's the way it is.

I saw a segment on the news yesterday about renting text books. New would be $200, used $100, rented $50, and a rental of an etext $116 CRAZY!

Yes, there are slightly cheaper options out there, but have to hunt.
 

muttmeister

Well-Known Member
I read a lot of classics so I get a lot of my Kindle books free or in the 99 cent to $2 range but the new ones are still much cheaper than I have to pay for a real book around here. And libraries are now lending Kindle books (for awhile most didn't) so that is another option.
 

LittleDudesMom

Well-Known Member
I also got my B&N Nook primarily for new releases and I do find the ebook price on B&N considerably lower than the hardcover retail store price. And I do take advantage of all the B&N specials like free fridays and such to get free books. This time of the year they offer a bunch of the "Halloween" related classics for free as well - I've really built my classics collection with the B&N specials.

And with a Nook, as Jo mentioned, you can lend and borrow with other uses.

Sharon
 
H

HaoZi

Guest
There are plenty of free good books out there. He can also go to Smashwords.com and look for free ones, then download them in whichever form he wants. Try feedbooks.com, too.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I didnt get a Kindle and it was for one of those very reasons...plus several others. I also wanted color and the ability to use it as a weak web browser if needed. I seem to have one of the rarer ones on here but I think one or two other members also have mine - the Pandigital. I like it. It uses all of the formats but comes attached to Barnes and Noble.

I did not know that about Google and will check into that. I am going to have to get a library card too...lol. I wonder if you have to actually go into the library for ebooks? Would seem like something you could do online.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
I know that many classics are free or cheap because lots are in the public domain, meaning they are old enough that no one owns the rights to them. NOT all, by any means, but a lot of them. FYI if you like the old time radio shows like the Shadow or whatever, lots of sites have those for free also. Many are great for kids to listen to at night, at least my kids liked them.

It seems that B&N has more deals, which I didn't know. With actual books I can sell them when I don't want them, and get them used after a while. If I buy an ebook, why can I not sell my copy? in my opinion a used ebook store might be a real cash cow and $$ saver. While people will fuss about royalties for authors, they don't get them on used books now, artists and movie stars and companies that make cds and dvds don't get them when those are sold used.

I guess I am still struggling to decide if this is a technology step I want to take, or that would be worthwhile for me to take. Part of me really likes the feel of the pages as I read.

Janet, I had wondered about some of the products like the pandigital. A lot of the reviewers gripe because it isn't an ipad or similar product, but what do they expect from something that costs so much less than an ipad? While I am frugal, I do not expect a $100 or less product to work like a $600 one, at least not a piece of tech equipment. I am intriged by the new Amazon Fire though.

I think I will start tracking prices of what I want to read and see where they start and end up as they are released and after they are not new anymore or are released in paperback. I can always hijack husband's kindle if I really have a need to use it, lol.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I love my pandiigital and I dont have the newer one. I have the one that was released last xmas. I dont see the need for the newer one if I have a laptop. Actually you can download ereader software onto any laptop so if you are going to drag a laptop with you why buy an ereader? That would be like getting a Kindle and an Ipad...lol. However I dont take my laptop to doctors appts so I take my ereader.
 
H

HaoZi

Guest
There are lots of free e-reader programs for computers, including Kindle and Nook ones. Then you can get whichever e-books do catch your fancy. While I love the feel and smell of an actual book myself, for travel I like having my Kindle better than hauling a stack of books. I have the Kindle 2, which does have a weak browser and 3G, so I don't need it connected to a wifi anywhere. The new Kindle Fire (?) with touch screen and color looks cool.
 

Kathy813

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I have a Kindle 2 and I love it. I have the 3G version so I can download a book anywhere I am. The new releases are expensive so I hardly every buy one. However, Amazon has lots of free (or very cheap) books by new authors that I read. Some have been great and some have been so-so.

Amazon has also just started letting you download books from the library. However, I have found that the newest releases are not the ones you can get from the library. I don't know if that is just Kindle or all the e-book readers.

I also got the lighted Kindle cover from Amazon and it makes it feel more like a book (although a very light one) and it was great on an overnight flight from Hawaii last summer. I could read without bothering people around me.

If I bought one now, I would get the touch screen Kindle that just came out. I'm not sure I would like a color version though. I have heard they are hard on the eyes. I also read my Kindle books on my Ipad but I find that it strains my eyes more than it does when I use my Kindle.

I'm an avid reader so I love having access to new books anytime I want. I also love Amazon. The newest Kindle is only $79. I paid $179 for mine just last December.

I'd say it is worth it!
 

Nancy

Well-Known Member
We can now download library books on our kindle, it's free! Also husband gets a lot of books for $.99.

Nancy
 
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