eBooks Outselling Hardcovers on Amazon

[Hooch Tan]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/07/amazon-more-e-books-than-hardcovers/' target='_blank'>http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010...han-hardcovers/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Now the company has hit a more significant milestone, selling 143 e-books for every 100 hardcover books sold over the course of the second quarter. The rate is accelerating: For the past month, Amazon sold 180 e-books for every 100 hardcovers, and it sold three times as many e-books in the first six months of this year as it did in the first half of 2009."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1279604703.usr20447.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>It was expected, of course, as people become more comfortable in the digital age, that they would start favouring eBooks over the traditional paper format.&nbsp; While it is a milestone, hardcover books is only a stepping stone.&nbsp; I think the announcement would be more dramatic if eBooks were outselling paperbacks, which, to my understanding, tend to sell in much greater quantities.&nbsp; Of course, Kindle eBooks are still generally priced higher than their paperback counterpart, so I imagine that it will be a long time before they reach that milestone, even with the potential benefits that eBooks can offer.&nbsp; I think it also goes to show that while books in general could become a commodity, it demonstrates that lots of people are willing to pony up a fair chunk of change for content that is worthwhile.&nbsp; I am an audiobook fan myself, but when it comes to reading, I find myself just as comfortable with digital over analog.&nbsp; Anyone still in favour of dead trees?</p>

[doogald]

Also remember that these are hardcover sales at Amazon only that they are comparing to. There are zero Kindle book sales outside of amazon.com, but plenty of hardcovers move at other retailers.

Still, it's a remarkable milestone for Amazon, and they also say that sales of Kindles have spiked since the price cut.

[Hooch Tan]

I've seen comments that also say that Amazon's demographic also lends more towards digital media. That and the whole "There's a world beyond Amazon" idea does dampen the announcement a bit more. But it does suggest that eBooks are finally becoming mainstream. I do wonder how many of those are Kindle driven, and how many are driven by the third parties like iPhone, Android, etc.

[leslietroyer]

I just bought the Nook - I plan on reading mostly library books with it, rather than the high price they want for paperbacks. The price will have to come down to ~70% of retail before I jump to reading 100% on the Nook -- I tend to sell them back to used book stores - so the solution has to cover the total lifecycle cost.

So far I've read 2-3 books (maybe a 1000 pages total) so not too much, and find it very easy. Wish it would be slightly faster turning pages.

[Hooch Tan]

So far I've read 2-3 books (maybe a 1000 pages total) so not too much, and find it very easy. Wish it would be slightly faster turning pages.

There seems to be plenty of hype over Pixel Qi displays which may eventually find themselves into the next generation of eBook readers. A large part of me is the cost. Both of the device and the eBooks. With laptops and phones and tablets, I don't think I'll ever lack for a reading device, so why spend an extra $200? And you're right, eBooks do cost a lot more considering that you lose the resale ability.