Amazon to Charge $$$ to view content???

thothguard51 · Sep 27, 2010

MODs, not sure where to place this, but if this is in the wrong forum, please feel free to relocate...

According to the Daily Finance, Amazon has applied for a new patent on their look inside this book feature in which they are going to charge book buyers to preview contents of a book before they decide to buy...

Here's the link...

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/c...19647266/?icid=main|main|dl5|sec3_lnk2|173464

According to Amazon, there are book surfers (customers), who will get as much of the book for free as possible and then not buy the book. They claim both the publisher and Amazon lose money on these customers.

I can not believe these type of customers are the majority. So I claim bullshit. Can you imagine a clothing store charging customers to try on a pair of pants or dress before you buy, or a car dealer charging for a test drive?

When I go into a book store or library searching for a new author, part of that experience is reading excerpts to see if I like the story and the authors style. I don't think I could name any book I have ever purchased that I did not read an excerpt first, even in non-fiction.

If Amazon goes this route, they won't be hurting the big name selling authors because their audience already knows their style. Instead, Amazon is going to hurt the mid-lister and mostly, the self published authors. Hell, they might even hurt their own Kindle sales with this type of business model.

As more and more authors turn to self publishing, I think the average reader is going to demand free previews. After all, if you buy enough poorly written books, your going to get gun-shy of all new authors. Its already happening with the deluge of PoD and Self Published books.

Am I missing something here?

ANinfinity · Sep 27, 2010

According to Amazon, there are book surfers (customers), who will get as much of the book for free as possible and then not buy the book. They claim both the publisher and Amazon lose money on these customers.
============================

The funny thing is that those are the people who won't buy the book anyway, much less pay to read an excerpt. Maybe they should have thought of that one. lol

(Those people that read as much as possible and then DON'T buy I mean.)

brainstorm77 · Sep 27, 2010

And this will never fly. Who the heck is going to pay for a preview of a book?

thothguard51 · Sep 27, 2010

You know, Publisher are not going to accept this. So is this Amazon's attempt at getting an extra buck out of publisher by tying free previews into the packages?

ChaosTitan · Sep 27, 2010

Well, there is a potential upside to this. Maybe it will get people off their computers and make them go back into bookstores to do their browsing....

Shadow_Ferret · Sep 27, 2010

Wow. That would be like a bookstore charging you to browse!

rugcat · Sep 27, 2010

ChaosTitan said:
Well, there is a potential upside to this. Maybe it will get people off their computers and make them go back into bookstores to do their browsing....

I think it's a great idea. It might even annoy enough people to make a difference to bookstores.

But I don't believe they will do this, not for a second.

brainstorm77 · Sep 27, 2010

ChaosTitan said:
Well, there is a potential upside to this. Maybe it will get people off their computers and make them go back into bookstores to do their browsing....

It's very easy to say this but where I live now, there isn't any bookstore. The only thing I have is a Walmart about 45 mins away. And they hardly carry a large selection.

Torgo · Sep 27, 2010

ANinfinity said:
According to Amazon, there are book surfers (customers), who will get as much of the book for free as possible and then not buy the book. They claim both the publisher and Amazon lose money on these customers.

Don't believe it for a second. Who's using amazon to read 10% of a book at a time?

Shadow_Ferret said:
Wow. That would be like a bookstore charging you to browse!

Amazon claim they ought to get paid for the browse function because it's an expensive technical system to implement. I say it's expensive to implement a large permanent high-street structure filled with books and heating and stuff, so I think your comparison is apt.

cbenoi1 · Sep 27, 2010

I'm sure the competitors smack grins oily enough to fill a tanker. What was this saying again? Don't bug the enemy while he's making a stupid mistake?

-cb

caromora · Sep 27, 2010

Talk about a bad idea. If it's really such a problem, why not just limit the search inside feature? If there's only front and back matter and the first chapter, that's all people can read. Problem solved.

I never buy from Amazon anymore anyway, because it's an unethical company. Maybe this will compel book buyers to spend their money elsewhere.

Hallen · Sep 27, 2010

Don't let the opinion of a blogger, or several bloggers as in this case, blind your logic. Sure, Amazon could charge for the look inside feature. They DO NOT need a patent to do that. Second, would it hurt their overall business? Duh, yes it would. So why would they do it? Do you think they'll do it just be mean because they are the 800lb gorilla in the corner?

The patent was filed in 2004 and just because it was granted does not mean they ever intend to use it. You'd be amazed at the stuff companies patent. It's a protective measure as well as a way to give a company an exclusive on some product or feature. Sometime, things get patented just so somebody else can't patent it.

Don't worry about this. It isn't going to happen.

Sevvy · Sep 27, 2010

caromora said:
Talk about a bad idea. If it's really such a problem, why not just limit the search inside feature? If there's only front and back matter and the first chapter, that's all people can read. Problem solved.

On most books, that is all you can see, if even that much. Usually they have a few random pages from inside and then the table of contents. If Amazon.com started charging for that, I'd stop shopping there, since I use that function when I'm looking at non-fiction books to see if they cover topics I'm interested in.

Amazon seems to be trying to flex their muscles a lot when it comes to book publishers lately. Remember when they took down the listings for Macmillan? This won't fly with the customers either, no one is going to pay for a preview.

Williebee · Sep 27, 2010

I don't think the preview function is what this about.

From the linked story: "...envisions a system in which consumers "pay different amounts to view portions of content from the electronic form of a wor," ranging from mere words to phrases to individual chapters.

My take? This is a technology process patent to enable online book rental.

You pay me a fee and I'll let you read the book online. I'll even keep your place for you.

AlexPiper · Sep 27, 2010

My cynical side notes that Amazon has promised to maintain the 'send free sample to my Kindle' feature of Kindle books, where the first chapter or two can be downloaded for free to preview. This suggests that if they kill the 'look inside' preview of the print books, but keep the free sample feature for Kindle books, it encourages people to browse on the Kindle rather than the website.

Of course, there was a whole lot of sturm-und-drang when Amazon first introduced the Search Inside feature, as I recall. People howling that Amazon was just giving the books away, that this was Wrong and Stealing From the Publisher, or that putting the content up that way qualified as e-publishing and could put authors in breach of their contract. And then, as now, I think the overreaction is ridiculous.

Sure, people might find a way to get Amazon's 'search inside' to return most of the book... just like there are people who will sit down in a bookstore and read an entire book. But in both cases, they're outliers; in general, if someone wants to read a book for free and doesn't care how they do it, they're going to go search torrent sites and find a pirated copy. What Amazon does isn't going to affect them either way.

Jamesaritchie · Sep 27, 2010

Get as much of the book as possible? What is that, about a chapter at most? I don't buy any of this. Amazon can't be this stupid.

Grrarrgh · Sep 27, 2010

I don't understand. I've used the look-inside feature a few times to check out a new book or a new author, but it's just the first chapter or few pages, isn't it? Then maybe a few random pages? The entire book isn't there to be read, is it?

heza · Sep 27, 2010

There's nothing more satisfying than a good, 3-page read. Honestly. I mean, do you need to know what happens next? That's just 300 something pages of nonsense. The rest of the book is filler, really. And I get to add, like, 40 books a day to my list. (Dude, I am so well read.)

I have never bought a book I didn't get to read the first page of. And I will never pay to read the first pages of 20 odd books it turns out I hate. I am not the only one, I'm sure.

Amazon isn't going to do this. It would be a terrible business model. Though, Williebee's idea that they are positioning themselves to rent books is interesting and seems more likely...

The library should have patented book renting.

gothicangel · Sep 27, 2010

I would rather pay a small fee to read chapter one of the book, than pay the full price and realise I've wasted £7.99. And that happens a lot.

My only local bookshop is Waterstone's and it only seems to be stocked with bestsellers. I'm not really fussed about a title being a bestseller, just good. I scroll through a online indies to find most of my purchases these days.

Rhoda Nightingale · Sep 27, 2010

Really, Amazon?

Readers everywhere: Libraries are your friends. They let you read the entire book without paying for it. Many times, if you want to.

Soccer Mom · Sep 27, 2010

Williebee said:
I don't think the preview function is what this about.

From the linked story: "...envisions a system in which consumers "pay different amounts to view portions of content from the electronic form of a wor," ranging from mere words to phrases to individual chapters.

My take? This is a technology process patent to enable online book rental.

You pay me a fee and I'll let you read the book online. I'll even keep your place for you.

This.

Remember, this is from bloggers speculating based on a six year old application. This is NOT something Amazon has said they are doing.

And being able to purchase partial content is not the same thing as doing away with their free look inside or free chapter function.

The sky is not falling.

I truly don't believe Amazon is going to do away with the free preview. Not when publishers put up the first couple chapters free on their own websites and allow authors to do the same.

Ken · Sep 27, 2010

... profits must be down if they're considering something this grasping.

leahzero · Sep 27, 2010

Isn't this a potential legal landmine for Amazon? The money they're charging you to read the work isn't going to the publisher or the author. Someone could, theoretically, pay to "preview" the entire book, and the publisher/author would never see a dime.

I can also see this driving e-book piracy. Make it too difficult/expensive for people to evaluate what they're considering for purchase, and they'll turn to an easier or less expensive means. It won't send people to bookstores--it'll send them to torrent sites.

Dumb move.

Ken · Sep 27, 2010

leahzero said:
Isn't this a potential legal landmine for Amazon? The money they're charging you to read the work isn't going to the publisher or the author. Someone could, theoretically, pay to "preview" the entire book, and the publisher/author would never see a dime.

... good point.

WriteMinded · Sep 27, 2010

I buy a lot of books from Amazon and I always give them a "look inside" first. I just assumed previewing was limited. It never occurred to me that I could read a whole book. And now that you've told me it's possible, I can honestly say the idea appeals to me not at all. What appeals to me even less, is paying to preview. I will not do that. Ever. I have my principles and I'm sticking to them.

I can preview for free on Barnes and Noble's site, and it's a mere forty minute drive to their store, where I can browse, preview, and read all I want.

Amazon to Charge $$$ to view content???

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