The Kindle Swindle or just Good Business?

A couple of years ago, Dave bought me a Kindle. At the time, I was excited but wary as I still like to hold a book, underline things and have an "in home" library of sorts. As time went passed, I realized the value of the Kindle. I love having it for travel and to stick in my purse when I leave the house for a doctor appointment etc… It is easy to flip a switch, pick up where I left off and carry on. Most novels were about $7.99 and worth the instant satisfaction of having them download within seconds of the request. Even now, I especially like the "Kindle Top 100 FREE" books offered. These are usually new writers or cheesy romance novels, but every once in awhile I get a pretty good book. Of course, most of the classics are free as well.

Recently, I have (sort of) figured out how to download kindle books from the library. The caveat is the waitlist. For example, after recently seeing "The Vow" I wanted to read the TRUE story. When I logged on to the library website, I was number 57 in the cue. The problem is I could BE 57 by the time I read that one! I didn't even bother.

When cruising through the Kindle site on Amazon, I have recently seen lots of comments about the prices of the books. Today was no exception! I saw a Jodi Picoult book for $14.99. WHAT? These are best sellers that convert to paperback quickly and you could definitely buy the book cheaper at Cost Co. Isn't the whole purpose of downloading the books to save money?? I guess there is also the idea that you save paper, printing costs, the environment etc… According to WIRED magazine, "tacking an e onto a book requires antipiracy software, digital warehousing, extra legal support, and programmers to adapt each title for Android, I Phone, Kindle, and all of the other formats. That is ON TOP of the regular costs of turning a manuscript into a finished product". Yet I still ask the question, "Why would I download a book for $15?" It has been a slow burn with these devices. What was once $7.99 went up incrementally by about a buck every six months until now. Most books are easily $10 now…many $12.99. I feel like the frog in the boiling water (remember science class?).

Ultimately rising costs were inevitable and part of the Bezos business model. As the population became more comfortable buying digital book readers, they pushed the bookstores into bankruptcy. Borders and many other independent book stores are gone. It has become easier to simply sit at your computer and order a book online delivered in 2 days to your house. That was the intent from the beginning and like it or not, it's working. This is America. Any good business figures out how to push out the competitors. That may not be politically correct, but I challenge you to run a business where everybody wins.

Last winter we gave my mom and dad Kindles for Christmas. Once my mom figured out how to read her bible, she was sold. My dad is another story. Retired guys loan each other books and read those things into oblivion. That is one thing that is hard to do with a Kindle…loan the book to a friend! For now I will have to be more careful about what I download. I may need to suck it up and carry the occasional 5 pound book in my purse while waiting for appointments!

Carry on CoffeeTalk Readers!!

 

Comments

[J. Blakeman]

I love to read a good book and then give it away. For this reason I have never bought a Kindle although I have always been intrigued. Brad has a tablet for work and I downloaded a couple movies and books for a vacation. Firstly, you have to remember to charge the darn thing, then, if you don't watch the entire movie at one sitting it will erase itself within 24 hours and you are screwed. Also, we didn't have access to wifi at the time and used up our entire allowance of data from verizon for an entire month just to download one movie. Needless to say, I don't have the hang of tablets yet, and not sure I want to!

[Jenny Sigsbee]

Wait... what was that about the frog in boiling water?? Ew.

I'm always way behind the curve on things like this (new technology)... I wait for y'all to work out the bugs and then give me the real scoop on whether it's worth it or not. Good observations, Amy! I still like the library. Best tax dollars I ever spent. But why do you have to WAIT to download a book from the library?? Isn't it instantly available to everyone?

[Me]

Jenny...
The boiling frog story is a widespread anecdote describing a frog slowly being boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability of people to react to significant changes that occur gradually. According to contemporary biologists the premise of the story is not literally true; a frog submerged and gradually heated will jump out. However, some 19th-century experiments suggested that the underlying premise is true, provided the heating is sufficiently gradual.Just something I learned about life!

Also...librarys pay for only a certain number of downloads per book...thereby the waiting list! I DO use my kindle but you dont need the "Kindle Fire"...just the basic!

Joanna...not too big on tablets. I have a PC at home and a cell phone with internet...it is just one more thing to carry around. Kindles do not charge for airtime...:)

Thanks for the comments!!