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Via Mobileread: Amazon applying for in-book ad patent for kindle.
Oh Amazon. The only reason I buy from them nowadays is the fact that I don't own a Kindle. Why are they so determined to drive me to ditching it for something else?
I mean, realistically, if they started putting ads in books, they would probably still have a sizeable chunk of the market, especially if they used that to lower their ebook prices even more. And I can't imagine that I would go so far as to stop buying ebooks if ad-infested versions were all that was available. However, I can definitely imagine just downloading the non-ad-infested version and rolling on. I don't buy books to read someone else's ad content, no matter how 'targeted' it may be.
Even more annoying is the fact that there exist methods RIGHT NOW in most semi-advanced ebook formats that would allow retailers like Amazon and so forth to cross-sell books by the same author or publisher or whatnot. Why the idea of the back pages promoting this book or that sequel haven't made the jump into current ebooks is beyond me.
Oh Amazon. The only reason I buy from them nowadays is the fact that I don't own a Kindle. Why are they so determined to drive me to ditching it for something else?
I mean, realistically, if they started putting ads in books, they would probably still have a sizeable chunk of the market, especially if they used that to lower their ebook prices even more. And I can't imagine that I would go so far as to stop buying ebooks if ad-infested versions were all that was available. However, I can definitely imagine just downloading the non-ad-infested version and rolling on. I don't buy books to read someone else's ad content, no matter how 'targeted' it may be.
Even more annoying is the fact that there exist methods RIGHT NOW in most semi-advanced ebook formats that would allow retailers like Amazon and so forth to cross-sell books by the same author or publisher or whatnot. Why the idea of the back pages promoting this book or that sequel haven't made the jump into current ebooks is beyond me.
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Right now, the public is too confused about DRM to notice that DRM-free ebooks are more stable and often higher quality, and besides, few ebook stores have them, and those aren't the mainstream publishers. I'm sure BooksOnBoard would love to be able to say, "yeah, our books are a couple of bucks more... but HAVE NO ADS!"
Knowing how lucrative clickthrough ads are on websites, I have some idea how much an ad in an ebook is worth. Full-page ad when you first open the book? Is that worth twenty-five cents per copy of the book sold--especially since Kindlebooks are sold with the concept that only one person will ever read it?
They might be working on more dynamic ads--a page of Whispernet-fed ads that load every time you open the book, and have clickable links in them. But it seems that'd quickly annoy most customers, and they'd actively seek other sources for the books they want to read. (Oh, and in the process, notice the DRM issues that prevent them from buying from most other ebook stores.) Anything less dynamic & invasive isn't worth advertiser's money (advertisers are not going to think 1 purchase=1 reader is an advantage); anything that customers have to notice, will drive them away. At least some of them.
I think Amazon's exploring financing options, which is a good move, and setting itself up to shoot itself in the foot, which is not.
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I'd buy from them!
Er, are they DRM-free? Because if so, that would be even more awesome. I have a Kindle, because I share books with the five other people with Kindles on that same account (or maybe it's just that I just inflict my Star Trek books on them), but I'll go to the extra time and trouble of uploading non-DRM books onto my Kindle.
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The largest no-DRM ebookstore is, I believe, Baen's webscriptions, which is *wonderful* (they truly grasp how ebooks work, and as a result, their ebook sales outmatch their non-US physical sales worldwide), but Baen is a sci-fi only publisher.
Fictionwise has a good selection of non-DRM'd books; they're the ones labeled "multiformat."
And smashwords.com's books aren't DRM'd. And they tend to have free samples, sometimes up to 50% of the book.
Small publishers with an ebook branch tend not to use DRM (because it's expensive, and they don't understand the tech), but they also tend to release everything in PDF.
(Hm, maybe I should put together a post about non-DRM ebookstores?)
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Yes! I would appreciate that a great deal. I love my Kindle, but I don't want to buy everything from Amazon.
I love Baen's webscriptions! I bought a fair number of the Liaden books there, despite having them all in hard copy anyway. My only regret is that there are no other science fiction publishers who work on the same model that they do.
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Preach it. I am all for them exploring new options for how to sell ebooks; I am not interested in subsidizing their low prices with my eyeballs.
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I am seriously puzzled at how the Amazon researchers that filed the patent for this got past this actual, very real consumer roadblock.
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I cannot imagine getting all excited to have an e-reader, and then opening it up to see ads. And really, how soon after they do that? Than someone cracks the program and offers a download that erases the ads from view.
Not everyone is going to be worried about voiding their warranty.
And if it's something only available to newer models, I can see a sudden heavy trade for the older models and people just not buying the new stuff. Amazon is not the only egg in the basket, even if it thinks so.
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