OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
So I’ve just moved from Australia to England and it's fascinating to me how different ebook and Kindle sales are here, on the other side of the world, albeit in a similar culture. In the video I explain the different reasons to buy ebooks in Australia vs UK, and there is text below.
Here it is a very different matter. For a start, there is VAT on ebooks and not on print books. I am astounded at this and just can’t understand it. This means that ebooks can be more expensive than their print counterparts. In fact, you can usually buy 3 books for the price of 2, or get amazing deals in Waterstones etc that mean ebooks are not worth it on price.
So Amazon are selling on other factors. There are posters on the London underground, in the weekend papers – they are everywhere. The Kindle is sold at Tesco, a large supermarket, similar to Walmart. So what are these factors that potentially deal with the price issue?
- Speed and choice. Think of a book and start reading it in 60 seconds. This is indeed a marvel and I often take the Kindle to bookshops, browse and then buy on the Kindle. Super-duper.
- Weight. This is the going on holiday, oversize luggage question. Travelling in Europe is very cheap with base costs very low and then heavy charges for luggage. If you want to read 6 books on holiday, that’s a lot of excess luggage. The Kindle solves that problem.
- Space. Londoners don’t have much living space, and the UK is a densely populated country. If you have thousands of books, that is a lot of living space taken up, but the Kindle solves that problem.
They also mention the 3G wireless with no contract and the long battery life, now nearly a month.
I would add sampling which adds a lot to my life, and the fact I can switch between books as I travel. I am now commuting 45 mins each way on the London Underground and with a loaded up Kindle, I am never without something to escape into. Yes, I am still a die-hard Kindle fan!
How are ebooks and devices being marketed in your country? Why have you bought one – or why haven't you?
View Comments (14)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1 2 Next »Great post, Joanna. It's a fascinating subject, especially for those of us who transport entire households regularly. I started buying mobipockeet ebooks (the precursor to Amazon Kindle) in 2008 to read on my computer and PDA because we were living in Japan and a)there was little choice of fiction in English and b) what choice there was, was more expensive than even in Australia. I continued buying eBooks upon our assignment to Sydney 18mths ago for exactly the reason you state - the prices here are ridiculous (we noticed that even before we left the country but after Amazon it stood out even more!)
Nevertheless, I only just bought myself a Kindle (I've had mine for a week now) because I did object to the Apple-style hardware tied to DRM that was associated with it, so I have been using an Android tablet with the apps on it for all the readers, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Borders etc... I found, though, that most of my books are Kindle, anyway (those that aren't are the old mobipocket for which Amazon refuses to make an Android app, or give the Kindle a P.I.D GRRR) and my android tablet has less battery life and is twice the weight of a Kindle 3 AND the integration of Audible audiobooks on the Kindle 3 is simply magnificent, so pushed me over the edge. Now I have it, I want to read almost everything on it - except research books which sometimes need to be spread out, open on top of each other (though, I suppose I could just open one on each machine that has a Kindle app!)
We are moving to Thailand in about 7 weeks, where print books are insanely cheap and the selection is pretty wide, so it will be interesting to see if my habits change - I'll be sure to let you know.
Print books are definitely cheaper here in UK and I have bought a few - but you're right, Asia has a lot of cheap versions, very small too if I remember rightly :) But space is still a premium right?
Fab post Joanna, very interesting.
I must admit I love browsing in Waterstones and I still prefer holding a real book in my hands.
I can see the arguments for both. As an author, I'd like to be read in either formats, whatever is best for the reader. I think kindles are great, don't get me wrong.
That said, e-books have an even longer way to go on the continent.
Hope life back in the Uk is treating you well.
Best wishes, Elle
Well, I live in Ghana, West Africa, so all of the above arguments work for me! Add to them the fact that there are only a handful of book stores here that are extremely expensive. There are also no libraries, so finding books for my daughter is a real mission.
We are a two kindle family. What's been interesting to see is the impact on my husband's reading. While I will happily spend an hour in a book store, he has no patience for it. He'll happily spend five minutes looking at a list of Amazon recommendations and choose and start reading on the spot. He also takes it with him when he travels. So it's meant a huge increase in the amount he reads.
As a writer, I released first on e-book and will be going to print in a couple of weeks. It has been really interesting to see how many people have asked for a print copy.
I would add that here in the UK people are particularly up for cheap deals - all the 99p ebooks, etc. London is saturated with advertising for Kindle but further away, up in Yorkshire and all points North, you might see the odd advert but they're not really bothering to push it so much there and owning one is (I would say) much more the exception than the norm.
This suggests to me that they're aiming for the commuting market, and with good reason - it's very well-adapted for travel. I use mine on the train and tube and am reading much more because of it (though mostly indie stuff).
However, this also means that they're not educating people on all the features that are really valuable to older people, ie the fontsize, light weight, accessibility of lit in the home etc., which seems a pity, so it's mostly people who like gadgets and have the spare money to buy one easily.
Do you notice a difference in the marketing strategies of books between here and Australia?
Regards:
JAC
I live on a small island off Canada's west coast. Though the population is under one thousand we have both a book store and a library--with an impressive collection of classics and best sellers. Additionally, most residents are retired. So you can imagine ebooks and ereaders are new to us.
I haven't seen any advertising for either--only occassionally on American (meaning from the United States) TV.
In January, 2011 my thriller--The Sweater Curse--was released as an ebook. For this and many more reasons, I would like to see ereading gain in popularity.
I live in Jamaica and the Kindle has made it easy and a lot cheaper for me to buy books. The only tiny downside is that I notice I pay two dollars more than whatever the going price is for the ebooks. I think I have to pay for the wireless download each time. Other than that, I'm enjoying the Kindle experience.
I have seen the same thing (extra $2) on books too. It's odd, because in Ghana (where I am) there's no wireless download, I have to transfer everything to my computer.
I live in Australia and I cannot understand why I must pay $US23 for an ebook from Kobo.com whereas if I lived in the US I only pay $US8. This is how you can overcome the problem: Use proXPN Basic to change to a US IP address. Go to Borders borders.com and select your ebook. You are then transferred to the Kobo site to finalise the transaction. The first time you log in you have to enter a physical address and phone number to match the IP address location (eg Miami FL). Pay using a Borders US gift card number. Install Kobo desktop software and then connect Kobo reader to download ebook. All done!
I found the kindle versions were pretty cheap when I was in Australia - at least they don't have VAT like they do in England!
I have been reading ebooks for many years now and I love them at least as much as I love paper books. I injured my hand several years ago and I have a hard time holding paper books for a long time. I went from reading multiple books a week to maybe one every few months. Then I found ebooks. I went from reading them on my computer to my blackberry to finally reading on a tablet with several different apps for ebooks. Now I am back to being a compulsive reader again.
I live in the US and ebooks are very cheap here. Kindle and Nook hit us with a media blitz a few years back and never stopped. The low prices at Kindle allow me to try ebooks from new authors that I wouldn't have spent $24 on before. If I don't like the book, no harm done. But I have read some really good fiction for $.99 and told others about the good ones so they buy them too.
By the way, I just finished this great book by the owner of this blog. I highly recommend it.
Thanks Carla - I'm glad you enjoyed Pentecost!
I also believe 99c is a good price for people to try something new out - a must have product for new authors, and perhaps something everyone must have in order to get an audience for other books.
Here in America, I have fallen in love with books on audio (mp3) through Audible.com.
Hi
I am an MBA grad studying at Indian School of Business, and I am putting up a paper for the reading market in India. Have not been able to find a lot of statistics on the the e-books vs. print market. Has there been any research done on the publishing market here in India?
Can you please give me a brief idea on this?
Regards
Nitish