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Kindle e-books now out-selling paperbacks
Last year we saw e-books outsell their hardback counterparts, but another arguably more important milestone has just been passed: e-books now outsell all paperback books on Amazon. Now for every 100 paperbacks Amazon sells, 115 e-books are sold, making e-books the most popular book format available. That number excludes the free and out of copyright e-books that Amazon distributes too, otherwise the ratio would be even higher.With over 810,000 e-books available from Amazon's Kindle store alone, it looks like the days of the paper book are numbered. Whether you like it or not, e-books are here to stay, and paper will eventually go away.
Comments
7
Subscribe to commentsEric J.Jan 28th 2011 9:33AM
Based on the wording, I have to believe that Kindle books "sold" includes books with a price of $0.00. Certainly Amazon treats these like sales from the end-user perspective - you get the same "Your recent Amazon Order" email.
Rick LudwigJan 28th 2011 9:40AM
@Eric J.
No - Amazon specifically mentions that Free ebooks are NOT included in the counting.
Samuel GibbsJan 28th 2011 10:32AM
@Eric J. 'That number excludes the free and out of copyright e-books that Amazon distributes too, otherwise the ratio would be even higher.'
No it does not include any free books distributed through the store.
Rick LudwigJan 28th 2011 9:38AM
That's fecious reasoning. You're not considering:
1) The numbers are US only.
2) Amazon is only ONE retailer - Amazon is big, but they're hardly the whole book industry. To get a proper picture you have to look at ALL eBook sales and ALL Paperback sales. Amazon is doing well with the Kindle because they push it, they advertise it, and everybody talks about it. Also, the numbers don't include Amazon's partners (i.e. other companies selling under Amazon's website - sometimes when you buy a book it's actually being sold by, say, Mom and Pop's Bookshop - those sales aren't included by Amazon, yet they were bought under the Amazon flag....).
3) You COMPLETELY discount the fact that paper book sales are still strong.
4) Not all paper books are actually counted in Amazon's numbers (i.e. Childrens books, coffee table books, etc.)
5) The Kindle's only been out a couple years - it's still novel (no pun intended)
6) I know many people who bought one, read one or two books on it, and now it's collecting dust.
7) How about the rest of the world?
8) Don't forget to add in the used book trade...
I'm not saying eBook isn't the future, it's just WAY too early to call the "death of paper" based solely on an Amazon Financial call (which, of course, is designed to get investors to buy into what they're selling - and more eBook says means more investment in Kindle hardware which is where Amazon really makes their book money).
JoshJan 28th 2011 11:55AM
@Rick Ludwig
A few things:
1) While I agree it is too early to make this call, Amazon IS the largest book seller in the US (may be the world, but I am not 100% sure). It far outsells competitors B&N and Borders in the US, so eBook sales passing paperback (and hardcover last summer) should be a signal of the current trend, just as was iTunes finally surpassing Walmart in 2009-ish as the largest music seller.
2) eBooks are already sending the vultures for their first victim: Borders. Borders is in serious jeopardy and was just extended a lifeline of credit that should allow them to make it through the end of the year. If they had not been given that line of credit, they would have had to claim bankruptcy before the end of the quarter and some analysts were expecting them to close shop completely by the end of the year.
3) Amazon is selling the Kindle at a loss. Yes, Amazon loses money on each Kindle they sell, so this line -- "and more eBook says means more investment in Kindle hardware which is where Amazon really makes their book money" -- is completely incorrect. The Kindle 2 was sold for $350 and raw materials alone were estimated at $290-ish. That did not include engineering, labor, shipping, and other miscellaneous costs. I can't find any links that supports the same statement for the Kindle 3 (current gen), but I do remember an Engadget article that said they were losing money on the new Kindle by trying to undercut the Nook. Make no mistake - Amazon's gold mine IS the eBooks they sell for their Kindle.
That said, I've had a Kindle 3 for two months now and it is the single best gadget I own and Amazon has become my sole bookstore since I was got my Kindle.
SilverWaveJan 29th 2011 2:16AM
I use it on mu Android HTC Desire very nice.
Very convenient.
dcJan 29th 2011 6:28PM
I used to buy Kindle books until they started costing more than real books...