Amazon Kindle competitor EReader slashes ebook prices

22 Replies
Send to Kindle

I’ve been pretty tough in the past on the high prices at Amazon Kindle competitors eReader.com and Fictionwise.com, the twin pillars of Steve and Scott Pendergrast’s ebook empire. The Pendergrasts sold the company to Barnes & Noble back in March and now things seem to be changing in a hurry. The other day they announced new, cheaper prices across the board at their eReader.com site:

# All new titles are $9.95 or less for the first week after release at eReader.com.
# After one week, all new titles are set to the publisher list price but will not exceed $12.95.
# No title is priced over $12.95.
# All titles on the New York Times best seller list at eReader are $9.95. The New York Times best seller list at eReader is updated every week.
# All titles receive 15% eReader Rewards.

This actually could be better than Amazon’s previously unmatched Kindle ebook pricing. I had hoped eReader’s move would generate some pressure on Amazon to reverse the trend of prices creeping higher for Kindle books. But on a closer examination, it looks like the competition might not be generating any pressure on Amazon at all. Well, at least no more pressure than a 4 cent discount creates.

That’s because I had trouble finding any of the best-seller type books Amazon is currently selling for more than $9.99 in the EReader store. Brad Thor’s Apostle: A Thriller costs $14.57 as a Kindle book but it’s not among the seven Brad Thor ebooks offered by eReader.com. Breaking Dawn, the most recent volume of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series, is $11.38 as a Kindle book and $12.95 at eReader.com. Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich, which came out on June 23, is $15.37 in the Kindle store but not available from eReader.com.

And amongst the back catalog books, my admitedly cursory survey found Kindle still offering much better prices. Twilight, the first book in Meyers’ vampire series and available as  a paperback for $6.59 from Amazon, is $6.59 at the Kindle store but a whopping $10.99 from eReader.com. And, p.s., can I just say again how it is really annoying and customer unfriendly that Amazon has stopped showing the prices of other editions and formats on Kindle book pages.

Of course, there’s no way to compare comprehensively the selection and pricing policies across the two sites. Please feel free to post counter-examples in the comments. I also dropped a line to the Pendergrasts to see if they wanted to respond.

Prior coverage:

As feared, Kindle prices appear to be rising (6/22/2009)

Apple gives stage to overpriced ebook developer Scrollmotion (6/9/2009)

Fictionwise improving its e-reader and web site for iPhones and iPods (8/27/2008)

  • Pingback: eReader price drop not affecting Amazon | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

  • Michael Harris

    I don’t know if this will create pressure or not, but realistically, you have to give it some time.

    First, it would be a bit of a panic move for a large company to instantly cut price without thinking things through. Secondly, a price cut like this would only have indirect and long term effects on Amazon.

    In the immediate time frame, Amazon’s sales are directly related to those who already have Kindles. For your average buyer, this locks them into the Kindle/Amazon store and slight price changes will not change their behavior.

    We’d have to look to Kindle/iPhone users and to future purchasers of Kindles to imagine an impact on purchasing. Furthermore, it is not an instant cause and effect relationship. I wouldn’t expect sales of Kindles to instantly dry up when the price change is announced. Arguably, many Kindle buyers do not know that ereader exists.

    So, if we are going to see any pricing adjustment, I’d say give it one to three months.

    This comment was originally posted on TeleRead

  • http://gravitationalpull.net/wp/ Aaron Pressman

    Excellent points, Michael. I will say that for iPhone/iPod Touch users, there’s very little friction in buying from one app or the other for ebooks. I’m just as happy to read a book in ereader as the Kindle app.

    I guess I was surprised that I couldn’t find any eReader prices undercutting the ebooks Amazon is selling for $14 or $15. Seems like would be a good way at least for eReader to boost sales.

    This comment was originally posted on TeleRead

  • HeavyG

    It will take more than just time. It will take market share. In order to exert any competitive influence on Amazon eReader will have to draw tens of thousands of flies to their “honey”.

    I doubt that will happen. To the vast majority of book buyers eReader is an unknown.

    This comment was originally posted on TeleRead

  • http://gravitationalpull.net/wp/ Aaron Pressman

    @HeavyG Hasn’t eReader been one of the top downloads in the book category of the iPhone app store since it appeared? Agreed it’s far behind Kindle, either way.

    This comment was originally posted on TeleRead

  • HeavyG

    Has the number of downloads translated into you know…sales?

    App download numbers are VERY misleading. Just like a piece of shareware back in the day that would be downloaded a million times but sold only a thousand registrations. Did folks actually use it or just check it out and delete it. Or in the case of eReader how many buy books as opposed to just reading public domain stuff?

    Will B&N devote the resources to make eReader as commonly known as Kindle? Beats me.

    BTW – here’s a title where eReader undercuts the Kindle price ($9.95 vs. $14.82):

    http://www.ereader.com/servlet/mw?t=book&bi=90162&si=59

    vs.

    http://www.amazon.com/Executive-Warfare-Battles-Promoted-ebook/dp/B001CC7REW/ref=ed_oe_k

    This comment was originally posted on TeleRead

  • http://gravitationalpull.net/wp/ ampressman

    Interesting update – commenter HeavyG over at the Teleread blog has found at least one counter example. It's a case where a book came out for Kindle (and in hardcover) a year ago but it's just hitting the eReader store now and thus appears to fall under the promise that all “new titles” will be priced at $9.95 or less for the first week.

    Executive Warfare: 10 Rules of Engagement for Winning Your War for Success by David D'Alessandro is $9.95 at eReader.com and $14.82 at the Kindle store. Amazon also offers the book in hardcover for $18.21 down from the cover list price of $24.95.

  • alex s.

    The problem is not Amazon but the collusion between publishers and selfish consumers themselves. I have tirelessly fought with other 9.99> boy-cotters in order to lower the asking price that publishers are trying to force on consumers for their content. We have accomplished a lot and are eternally grateful for all the support that we have received, but are facing an adversary that is completely impossible to overcome, our fellow Kindlers.These people, I will refer to as the individual choicers, in that they fail to realize the concept that “divided we fall.” So until consumers learn to demand as a bloc that most works be priced = or <9.99 I wouldn’t expect any change on pricing for content.

    This comment was originally posted on TeleRead

  • http://gravitationalpull.net/wp/ Aaron Pressman

    Thanks for the counter-pricing example. It gives a clue as to where eReader might cut in — this is not a new book (it was out in hardcover and in the Kindle store a year ago) but it appears to be new at eReader (June 29, 2009 publishing date).

    That hopefully means the promise that all “new titles” will be priced at $9.95 or less for the first week applies to old books being newly released for eReader.

    This comment was originally posted on TeleRead

  • Alessandro

    Hi, just to say that appreciate very much your comment on Chris Andreson's blog
    “The sad problem at the root of many journalists' confusion, including Gladwell's apparently, is that they thought all the revenue and profits rolling in to newspaper coffers in past decades reflected the value of their work when in fact much of it represented the value of the hard-to-match production and distribution chain that could pump out relatively cheap classified ads and Sunday supplements and blanket them all over town. The Internet, as it often does, disintermediated that distribution chain and much of the revenue and profits migrated elsewhere.”

    The main reason why journalist don't understand this, is that the large part of them is not so good that somebody would like to pay to read their article and | or there are others that are at the same level that are writing for free.

    As I read somewhere, the problem could be a Superstar economy in journalism, as in Cinema. Just a few very well paid professionist.

  • tindonet

    nice info.
    keep update.

  • Pingback: Barnes & Noble eBook Store Great News For Consumers | Gravitational Pull

  • Katheryn99

    Hello Guyz I added this post to my article site. You can view this here.

    Have a nice day
    james kails
    ______________________________________________
    easy candy recipe | poly wood furniture | pet strollers

  • PutmanRomero276

    Hello Mate, I would like to know more on this when is the next post comming

    Have a nice day
    harsel gibs
    ______________________________________________
    Provo Homes for Sale | cheap accommodation bangkok | electronic medical record systems

  • LantzNavarre6767767

    Hello Guyz I added this post to my article site. You can view this here.

    regards
    james kails
    ______________________________________________
    RV carports | maui lodging | Denver home mortgage

  • Pingback: Most popular and favorite posts of the year here | Gravitational Pull

  • http://www.gucci-outlet-store.com/ gucci

    Well , the view of the passage is totally correct ,your details is really reasonable and you guy give us valuable informative post, I totally agree the standpoint of upstairs. I often surfing on this forum when I m free and I find there are so much good information we can learn in this forum! http://www.oneor-more.com/

  • http://www.chaneloutletstores.com chanel outlet

    Thanks your share! My here also has a good website to be possible to go to have a look
    http://www.Like-Acer.com

  • Oogonbr

    are we to lazy to go to a book store