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The Kitchen Table

Kindle books more $$$ than hardbacks

13 years ago

I just got an Amazon email with books on sale.

Interesting that the hard covers were LESS expensive

than the Kindle books.... hmmmmmmmmm I thought

the Kindle books were supposed to be less expensive.

And the ones that were less, were only a dollar to

3 less expensive.

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Comments (16)

casey_nfld
13 years ago
One of the reasons I'll never have a Kindle. I buy used books at sales and go to the library a lot. I rarely buy books, I used to but realized it was a waste of money since I usually only read books once.
Mystical Manns
13 years ago
The Kindle books I've purchased have been in the vicinity of $8 cheaper than the hardback ... but so far I've only paid that kind of money for brand new releases. As time goes on, the hardbacks do drop in cost ... I haven't had my Kindle long enough to see if that happens with their e-books.
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Thanks, Raven. I got the free one and bought the other 2 for $.99 each. I really like books that are a series, because sometimes I like the characters in a book and am sorry when I have finished it.
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Well, Snooks, it seems that you and I have differing interpretations as to the meaning of "ending," To me, a "series of books" means that there are anywhere from 2-50 (or more!) books, written by the same author, with the same main character, and some secondary characters that appear in more than one of the books. HOWEVER, the main storyline/plot of each book in the series can stand on its own. If you read more books in the series, you may find out that the main character finally marries, gets a dog, has kids, etc., but those details do not hold hostage the main storyline/plot of any single book in the series. Michael Connolly's Harry Bosch books are a good example. Harry Bosch is a homicide detective in Los Angeles. Each book is about one murder that gets solved. Through the series of books (which, by the way, are excellent and some of my favorite books), Harry has different partners, different girlfriends, etc., but each murder mystery stands on its own. Yes, when you're done reading one you want/hope there's another because they're so damn good, but if there's not another one, it doesn't detract from the story of the one you've just read and you aren't missing anything by not reading the next book if there is one. The Lincoln Lawyer, also by Michael Connolly (and made into a movie starring Matthew McConaughey), and its subsequent books tie in from time to time because Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch are half brothers. But when one character appears in a book that is part of the other character's series, there is enough explanation of "back story" that you don't need to have read the other book(s). A serial, on the other hand, is different. For those, you do need to keep going to the next, then the next, then the next, etc., until the main storyline/plot comes to a conclusion. Television shows (soap operas, Survivor, and Murder in the First - especially the first season of MITF) are like that, and comics are like that, but I personally am not aware of books that are like that. I'm not saying there aren't any, but I am not aware of them, and they certainly aren't the norm. I read close to 350 books a year, so if serial books were common, I'd be more aware of them. Then, of course, there are books that were originally written with the author not having any particular intention to write a follow-up. Oh, the author may certainly be thinking that s/he would like to become a serious, wealthy author of many books, but when writing his/her first book, there was no thought to a sequel to that particular story. Or maybe the author is planning another book, but doesn't mention it publicly. (When you read a synopsis of the storyline to determine whether or not you might be interested, there is no mention of the book being the first in a series.) The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan is an example. I bought this book in Kindle format in July 2011 (it had been published in May 2011) for $0.99. Great book. Even after I was done reading it, there was no mention of a second book. Then, in August 2014, Ms. Chan published a follow-up book entitled The Mill River Redemption. Did I have to buy it to find out the ending to the first book? No, of course not -- the first book was done, and the second book has a totally different storyline. But, I did buy the second book (for $5.99) because I had so enjoyed the first. A year later, another Mill River book was published -- The Promise of Home: A Mill River Novel, also $5.99 in Kindle format. I bought it because I had thoroughly enjoyed the first two and knew I'd also enjoy the third. But, let's take the Mill River books as example of what Pawprint is talking about. Let's say that in July of 2011 when I got the original book, The Mill River Recluse, I downloaded it to my Kindle, but didn't get around to reading it for quite a while because, like Pawprint, I have more than 2,000 Kindle books. So, I finally decide it's time to read The Mill River Recluse -- and it's January of 2015. When I get done reading the book, I discover that there is a second book, entitled The Mill River Redemption. Was there trickery involved? Of course not. But you would say that there was. I very much prefer to be me.
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Sheesh, I don’t know the ins and outs of the financial end of OverDrive, but I suspect money may be the answer to your question. I have cards to 2 different libraries. Their offerings from OverDrive overlap but are not identical. From the OverDrive FAQs: OverDrive offers several different lending models for digital content. Titles available under the Simultaneous Use model can be borrowed simultaneously by an unlimited number of users. Many OverDrive titles are available under the One Copy/One User lending model. This means that if your digital library only has one copy of a title, then only one user can borrow that specific title at a time, just as if it were a physical book. The more copies you own, the more copies can be borrowed simultaneously. Some publishers offer other lending models that let you rent titles for a certain period of time or number of circulations, or pay only when titles circulate.
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pammyfay
13 years ago
I don't have a Kindle (or any e-book reader; I've shifted pretty strongly to the library, since it's convenient and basically "pre-paid" -- via taxes!). But whenever I see posts from someone considering buying one, I frequently check Amazon's prices on some of the books on my to-be-read list just to see what Amazon's charging. I've found that sometimes the hardbacks are cheaper, sometimes the Kindle versions are cheaper. I guess it's just the negotiations with the publisher.
heather_on
13 years ago
I watch carefully for when the kindle ebooks come out. Often they are free for a very limited time.
bigfoot_liz
13 years ago
got myself a kindle last week and have only bought a few books so far, none more than $10 and most on the best seller lists. my DH took it over basically and has 50 books on it all free (old sci-fi), he will not spend $$ on it right now lol. i'm guessing book sellers are sitting on excessive overstocks of books & trying to dump them and get further into ebooks that take up no space, rent or payroll & benefits. my dh is really into it now because he can lay in bed reading w/ it. it weighs less than a book, does not give off weird lighting like his laptop that contributes to his insomnia, plus he can not go surf the net while he can't sleep either. he's basically taken it over and i'm shopping for an iPad now ;-) ~ liz
roseluver
13 years ago
I love my Kindle!!! I have purchased very few books and I found they were cheaper than paperbacks or hardcovers. I guess that would depend on what books you were interested in. I have about 75 books on mine and all but 5 were free ebooks. I had to stop reading because my hands hurt. I can read my Kindle for hours pain free. I'm in the country and it was to far into town to go to the library. Each of us are different and there is something to please most everyone of us.
sushipup1
13 years ago
I get used paperbacks, too. Often the 1-cent ones plus 3.99 shipping at the used book stores thru Amazon. $4. I can find books cheaper at the library sales, but I get what I want (follow one author, for example) from Amazon. Who buys hardbacks anymore anyway? I get maybe one hardback a year, something that I can't wait for, but usually I show very good impulse control.
momrox4
13 years ago
That is probably my only complaint about my Kindle.
chessey24
13 years ago
I have only free ones on my Kindle at this time. This site
looks for new free books on Amazon and sends you an e-mail. The free ones are eclectic bunch -but do include classics.

freekindlebooks@ereaderiq.com
nanny98
13 years ago
Because my hands are unable to hold hard cover books for any period of time, I usually buy paperbacks...at Costco. Then, when traveling, almost all of the RV parks have a swap library where I can swap and often find different authors to try. Also at club rallys people trade books. It will be interesting to see what the future looks like when the iPad/Kindle/etc really start to impact the market. I also have an iPad. I probably read 2-3 new books a month. Nanny
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
13 years ago
On my Pandigital Novel tablet/ereader I have a library full of free ebooks that I find at many online sites since it uses the epub format I can also use the library system to check out their ebooks just like regular library books but I can do it from home. One of my fave online free sites is feedbooks they have a lot of great books and they do offer them in kindle format as well. I also get a lot of free ones at Barnes and Noble. Since it uses the epub format it is much more versatile as to sources.
PandigitalÃ¯Â¿Â½ Novel
lynn_d
13 years ago
I never wanted one but my boss gifted me one ... so far I love it! I have a few books on it and a few subscriptions.
williamsburgjane
13 years ago
Most all of my books I have on Kindle cost me from 0.00 to $4.00 or 5.00 dollars. I have a few that were higher but not that many. Most of the kindle books I do have to pay for are cheaper than the book in hardback or paperback. I guess it depends on what you like to read. My hubby did give me an Amazon gift card as one of my gifts for Christmas and I will be using it soon. :o)
Lindsey_CA
13 years ago
Yes, it's true that there are some hardback books that cost less than the Kindle e-versions. But that would be true for hardbacks vs Nook e-versions, too. The price for the e-versions are set by the publishers.

I'm guessing, as was mentioned above, that publishers are trying to unload storehouses full of hardback books, now that e-versions are so popular. The cost to the publisher for producing an e-version is about 50 cents, and for printed hardcopy (whether hardbound or paperback) is several dollars per book.
socks
13 years ago
Here are some Kindle bestsellers for $5.

Here is a link that might be useful: $5 bestsellers Kindle
jennmonkey
13 years ago
I got one for Christmas...would haven never bought myself one because I like the feel and smell of actual books...but I really like it so far.

I'm waiting till payday to buy any books on there, but I got several free ones (books that are now public domain so mostly old stuff), and got some free games on there too.

When I looked around, some were more expensive than buying the actual book, and some were cheaper. Just depends.

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