Amazon or Kobo?

I'm struggling with reviewer's block. An extremely severe case. My best efforts at writing any new reviews come down to me scribbling "Is good" in crayon over my notes, and I can barely even manage that. So I'm taking a bit of a break, playing with new toys (I just got a Kobo Glo) and buying all the books.

The arrival of the Kobo Glo sparked an idea. I've compared Kobo and Amazon's ebook prices in the past, but that was based on a random sample of ebooks and might not have been all that indicative of general usage, especially since it didn't take Kobo's discount coupons into account. Armed with the list of 78 ebooks I've purchased during the year from Kobo (excluding those not available on both platforms) I've decided to revisit that comparison.

The list of ebooks would be too long to repeat here so I'm just going to post the totals from each retailer and the total of my actual purchases using Kobo's discount coupons. Amazon charges in USD, so prices where converted to ZAR using an exchange rate of R10.41.

Store:	Total
Amazon:	R 10465.59
Kobo (retail)	R 9533.17
Kobo (with coupons)	R 1831.58

While Amazon offered the cheapest prices for 18 of the 78 (23%) titles purchased, they turned out to be the most expensive overall. Based on the retail prices Kobo was still 9.87% cheaper than Amazon, but the most remarkable difference come into play when you take the Kobo discount coupons into account. Over the year I've used lots of discount coupons ranging from 35% to 95% off, and the end result shows what a huge saving their cumulative effect can have. With the coupons taken into account Amazon is 571.57% more expensive than Kobo!

When deciding on which ereader to choose you have to pay attention to the hardware device itself, but a far more important consideration is the actual content store the device is tied to. In South Africa the Kindle is still the first thing people think about when they hear ereaders mentioned, but Kobo is slowly gaining ground.

Personally I prefer Kobo since they charge in Rand, their ereaders are much cheaper than Kindles and, as clearly demonstrated, their coupons offer amazing value for money. You'd be silly not to keep that in mind when you have to decide on which ereader to get.

Viva Kobo, viva! Your discount coupons play havoc with my budget and my Olympus Mons of a TBR-pile, but I love you for it!

Addendum:
This has been written from a South African perspective. Publishers in different regions might not allow for discount coupons to be used on their titles, so the difference the coupons make will vary according to your region and whether your favorite publishers allow them or not.

New Arrivals

Even the best intentions go awry. My iron resolve not to buy more books has succumbed to the unbearable seduction of discount coupons and the lure of shiny new releases.

The two 50% off discount coupons at Kobo were just too good to resist. I started out buying just one. A couple of days later I bought two more. Then I bought some more...

I got:
Jupiter War - Neal Asher
Marauder - Gary Gibson
On the Steel Breeze - Alastair Reynolds
Ancillary Justice - Ann Leckie
Proxima - Stephen Baxter
Doctor Sleep - Stephen King
Promise of Blood - Brian McClellan
Final Days and The Thousand Emperors by Gary Gibson
Wool Omnibus - Hugh Howey
Horror Omnibus - Adam Nevill
Carrion Comfort - Dan Simmons

Yes, I might have gone a tad overboard, but I got them at amazing prices (about the same price as 2 hardcover releases) so I'm not regretting it at all. Maybe just a little. Now I only need time to read all the things!

The Problem With eBooks

After an eternity of waiting the time had finally arrived. 26 September. Release day. The day I can get my hands on Jupiter War, the final installment in a trilogy I started way back in 2011. Since it takes a month for books to reach South Africa after their UK release getting  the ebook version was the obvious choice. What could be more convenient than immediately delivery, that's what ebooks were made for right?

It turns out that since I'm not using a Kindle, but an ePub based reader instead, I'm not actually allowed to buy the ebook. At least I can't find any legitimate store willing to sell it to me. Kobo, my store of choice, doesn't even list Jupiter War nor does any of the other ebook stores I tried (most of which wouldn't sell it to me based on my location in any case*).

I contacted Tor UK, the publisher, and they were looking into the problem. Apparently the ePub files have been released and should be making their way to ebook retailers. Does that mean that Kindle users get preferential treatment? They had the option to pre-order and at the stroke of midnight on release day they had access to the files. Why should ePub users be treated any differently? I doubt my choice of ereader should play a role in the availability of an ebook.

A quick Google search found numerous sites where I could get a pirated copy of Jupiter War with no hassles at all; in the format of my choice.

When it's easier for people to pirate the books you publish instead of being able to buy them legitimately I think your system needs some serious work. I could so easily have download that pirated copy, but I opted not to. I believe that the author and the rest of the people that made that book possible deserve to be compensated for their work. Many other frustrated readers might not be so kind.

Release day has come and gone and I'm still waiting. It doesn't look like I'll be having that marathon reading session of the Owner trilogy this weekend. Luckily there are other books I can keep myself busy with. Alastair Reynolds' On the Steel Breeze was also released on the same day. At least I'm able to buy that one...

Update:
The folks at Tor UK have been excellent in trying to help solve the issue. It seems Kobo is experiencing technical difficulties with the file and they are working to resolve it.

Update II:
I had basically given up hope, but before heading to bed I gave it one more try. This time round Jupiter War was listed as available, and the checkout process managed to complete without any problems. This was one of the most frustrating ebook purchases I've ever experienced and I'm still baffled by the whole thing. I'm just glad that I finally have a copy!

* Note: This is not a problem with geographical restrictions. The book should be available to my region, but some stores don't sell to international users.

Ebook Pricing Revisited

It's been more than two years since I last posted an ebook pricing comparison. A lot has changed since then and I'm glad to report that the ebook market in South Africa has improved considerably. We now have two local online retailers offering ebooks: Kalahari.com and Exclus1ves.co.za. The biggest change has to be the entry of Kobo into the local market. Together with Pick 'n Pay they've introduced their line-up of eink readers to the country at prices that compete favorably with the Kindle (one of the few locally available eink devices) and they've also launched a localised version of their online store offering a huge selection of ebooks for purchase in South African Rand. The user-experience of the Kobo store is similar to that of the Amazon Kindle store with purchases being delivered automatically to your device over Wi-fi.

Geographic restrictions seems to be less of a problem. Most of the ebooks I'm interested in seem to be available and the overall quality of ebooks have also improved considerably (you even get those fancy covers included nowadays!) and some publishers (most notably Tor) have opted to provide their ebooks DRM-free.

In order to compare ebook prices from the various stores I've put together a selection of 15 science fiction and fantasy titles. These include new releases as well as some backlist titles. In all cases prices are noted in South African Rand. For the ebooks from Amazon the price was converted using the current exchange rate of R10.22. EB refers to Exclus1ves.co.za

Title	Kobo	Amazon	EB	Kalahari
The Curve of the Earth	82.79	122.54	110.00	128.95
Wool	78.69	108.74	89.00	104.95
Caliban's War	117.19	122.54	171.00	238.95
The Explorer	103.29	120.29	175.00	180.95
The Sleep Room	55.69	106.19	75.00	91.95
The Twelve	73.59	108.95	244.00	136.95
A Memory of Light	208.79	212.47	244.00	286.95
Shift	134.79	153.40	166.00	197.95
The Daylight War	150.99	167.61	253.00	260.95
A Game of Thrones (1-4)	248.49	204.81	359.00	370.95
Earth Afire	73.59	108.95	98.00	114.95
Nova War	55.89	67.35	73.00	85.95
The Cold Commands	73.59	122.54	98.00	136.95
Gridlinked	55.89	90.24	73.00	85.95
Gemsigns	79.39	103.84	98.00	136.95
TOTALS	1592.65	1920.44	2326.00	2560.25

Aside from one title Kobo consistently had the cheapest prices on offer. For new releases the price difference between Kobo and Amazon seems to be relatively small, but on older titles prices at Amazon were considerably more expensive. Our local retailers can't seem to compete with the international sites. In total they were much more expensive than Kobo and Amazon, but on a few titles Exclus1ves were slightly cheaper than Amazon. Kalahari turned out to be the most expensive option out of all the stores.

Using the prices from Kobo as baseline Kalahari was 60.75% more expensive, Exclus1ves 46,07% and Amazon 20.58%.

The prices don't take any special offers into account. The Kindle store offers daily deals and tend to discount certain books from time to time. However, from my limited experience, it seems most of the daily deals tend to be restricted to the US. They also seem to add an extra $2 charge on some discounted titles to cover the 3G delivery (even if you don't own a 3G Kindle).

Kobo also has special offers and in addition they give out promo codes that reduce their prices even further. These discount codes range from 10% to 85% and, for the most part, seem to be usable on any ebook (unless specifically stated otherwise).

Exclus1ves has a loyalty programme where Fanatics members earn 5% of their purchases back. They also have a discount incentive called Stickers where you can earn discounts of 10% - 25% to use on products of your choice.

When deciding on an ebook reader it's important to compare the prices of the ebooks you are likely to read and see which stores offer the best prices. It definitely pays to shop around!

Using Discount Coupons at Kobobooks

I've been buying ebooks from Kobobooks.com for quite some time and was delighted when they started partnering with Pick 'n Pay to bring their ereaders to South Africa. What makes them great is that they offer a device agnostic store (selling epub format books), have low prices and often have great discount coupons doing the rounds.

Based on some recent conversations on Twitter it seems as if the coupon vouchers are somehow overlooked by most people, which is a pity since they can often make Kobo a far cheaper option than Amazon.

So here's a brief tutorial on how to use coupon codes at the Kobo store. As far as I know this process only works with purchases through desktop browsers and not the Kobo device itself. You can also find a list of active coupon codes and offers at the bottom of the page. I'll try to keep this updated as I find more coupon codes to add.

Step 1:
First you need to set your account to allow you to use coupons. Go to My Account > Account Settings. Under the Checkout for ebook purchases setting make sure that "Show me standard checkout" is checked. Click on "Save" and you should be all set.

Step 2:
Find the books you want to purchase and click on the Buy Now button which will take you to the checkout page. Look for the section titled "Redeem any gift cards or promo codes". If the book is eligible for a discount you'll see a block where you can enter a promo code (the discount coupon). If you don't see the option to enter a promo code you won't be able to use the coupon for that specific title.

Step 3: 
Enter the coupon code in the box provided and click "Apply". The discount should now be active and you can continue with the normal checkout process.

New Checkout
Kobo updated their site recently. Unless you are using an older browser the checkout page will look similar to the image below. Make sure you followed the instructions in step 1 above. To reach the section where you can enter the coupons you'll need to enter your payment details and then press "continue". (You won't be charged at this stage). The page should now look like this:

Enter the coupon in the box provided and click "Apply". If the coupon was successfully applied the discount should show in green. Click on "Buy now" to complete your purchase. Don't forget to ensure the discount was applied, otherwise you might inadvertently be charged full price.

Handy tip:
Kobo doesn't offer a basket, so you can't buy multiple ebooks at once. Each ebook needs to be purchased separately. This can result in lots of credit card transactions which might raise flags at your bank. An easier way is to purchase a Kobo gift voucher for yourself. This will allow you to use store credit to pay for your purchases without having to enter or store your credit card details each time.
[Update:] The Kobo site no longer allows for the sale of gift vouchers, but they are working on bringing that functionality back.

Also note that South African users won't be able to pay via Paypal due to ZAR not being supported as a retail currency for Paypal merchants. You'll be faced with an error message each time (I learned from experience.)

Where do you get discount coupons?
Keep your eye on the newsletters from Kobo, they often contain a single use coupon offering discounts from 20%-35%. Kobo also sometimes partners with certain bargain websites to offer special coupons. A little bit of Googling will often result in a coupon you can use.

Currently active coupons:
Single use per account unless stated otherwise.

Purchase your ebooks at Kobobooks.com using these discount coupons:

20% off
Welcome20
anniversary20
anniversary15
save20bday
birthdaykobo
anniversary16
kobobirthday16

25% off:
25OFFQ4

75% off - OPEN75UP
90% off - DSCVR90BK
[Only valid in selected countries and on certain titles]

Please let me know if this post has been useful and which ebooks you managed to snag with coupons.

HarperCollins vs Libraries

Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the last couple of weeks you would know that HarperCollins wants to restrict libraries to 26 checkouts for ebooks.  That’s about a year of use for popular titles before the ebook goes “poof” and the library has to buy a new copy.  Apparently this is based on  the fact that normal print titles last around 26 checkouts before needing to be replaced (Really?).

I won’t go into the details of why this makes absolutely no sense.  The arguments are many.   What I will say is that it looks like publishers want their bread buttered on both sides.  They want to cripple the rights of ebook ‘owners’ (you only own a license to read the book, so you can’t sell it, donate it or actually do much of anything with it) since it’s not a physical object.  At the same time they want to add all the disadvantages of the printed copy to the ebook – a physical book deteriorates over time so apparently an ebook should act in the same way.

Why on earth would you want to add an artificial restriction to a medium that doesn’t actually wear out with use?

(That was a rhetorical question. Obviously the only logical reason is to increase profits, but heck you figured it out by yourself right… right?).

I love the library.  Every two weeks I go and select my allowance of four titles and leave with a smile on my face.  That’s regardless of the fact that I own loads of books which still need to be read.  My small local library is what got me addicted to reading and I’ve discovered many a new author there which I subsequently added to my own to-buy list.  Their funding is determined by the amount of checkouts they receive, so I do my small part in keeping their numbers up.

Currently ebooks aren’t available from libraries in South Africa, at least not from small town libraries like the one I belong to.  However the day will come when ebooks are going to be offered so the current fight for the rights of libraries in the ebook marketplace is important.

As a matter of interest I checked the books I checked out to see how old they are, what their condition is and how many times they’ve been checked out.  The results are quite interesting.

Paint Your Dragon - 15 years in library with 39 checkouts

Paint your Dragon by Tom Holt (Paperback. 1996 Edition)
39 Checkouts.  Good condition. Slight yellowing of pages. No missing/torn pages.  Spine undamaged Going strong after 15 years of use.

Pawn of Prophecy - 17 years in library with 33 checkouts

Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings (Paperback. 1993 Edition)
33 Checkouts.  Good condition. Slight yellowing of pages. No missing/torn pages.  Spine undamaged.  This is the exact same copy I read while at school about 14 years ago!  Still very readable after 17 years and I’m sure it’s going to last for another decade or so.

Airframe - 14 years in library with 58 checkouts

Airframe by Micheal Chrichton. (Hardcover. 1996 Edition).
58 checkouts.  Very good condition. Slight yellowing on edge of pages. No missing/torn pages.  Great condition after 14 years and still going strong.

Obviously my local library has an extremely small budget so books are only replaced when absolutely necessary and the selection gets rotated between a couple of libraries from nearby towns.  I’m sure that if had the time to look I could find a copies of books that are in circulation for more than 25 years and still being read.

Now if you apply the 26 checkout restriction to these titles.  It would have meant that the library would have had to buy the first two titles twice and the last title three times over.  That would have doubled their expenditure to stock the same three titles.

I hope HarperCollins will come to their senses and that this won't be the start of another Agency 5 debacle.

It would be interesting to see some more stats on the number of checkouts of printed books still in circulation in libraries.  I'm sure most of them will far exceed the artificial 26 limit that HarperCollins views as the benchmark.

Perhaps it's time to go sleuthing in your local library and see what the real situation is like...

The wacky world of ebook pricing

Living in South Africa we tend to be somewhat behind in certain areas, especially when it comes to technology.  As a matter of interest I decided to see how the local ebook pricing compares with international sites.

South Africa currently only has one major online site (Kalahari.net) selling ebooks and the selection they offer tend to be very sparse.  Due to idiotic geographic restrictions most international sites don't allow South African buyers to purchase from them.  It has become increasingly difficult to find sites willing to sell to us people at the tip of deep 'dark' Africa.  The few exceptions are Amazon (for Kindle users), The Book Depository and a handful of others with steadily dwindling selections.

For this comparison I used novels by Neal Asher.  Surprisingly he was one of the very few science-fiction writers whose ebooks were available from the local site and to SA buyers on the other international sites. Local denotes Kalahari.net and  BD denotes the Book Depository.  All prices were converted to US dollars.

Title	Local	BD	Amazon
The Technician (2010)	$33.58	$20.77	$15.77
Orbus (2009)	$28.58	$17.68	$10.90
The Gabble (2008)	$29.12	$18.05	$10.90
Line War (2008)	$29.12	$18.05	$10.90
Shadow of the Scorpion (2008)	$14.88	$9.22	$8.66
Polity Agent(2006)	$12.71	$7.85	$10.90
Brass Man (2005)	$12.71	$7.85	$10.90
Cowl (2004)	$12.71	$7.85	$10.90
The Skinner (2002)	$11.08	$6.87	$9.59
Gridlinked (2001)	$11.08	$6.87	$9.59

It's not a pretty picture.  In all cases the SA site is more expensive than the international sites.  With older releases the local price is about $3 more expensive.  The real shocker comes with newer releases (if you can call 2008 'newer').  Here it seems madness reigns with titles being double the price of international sites.

I don't know why local pricing shows such a large discrepancy.  Could it be due to outright profiteering or are there other factors at play?  I thought agency pricing was a way of 'fixing' the ebook price so there's no competition amongst sellers.  What I do know is that until this mess is cleared up or publishers decide to forego geographic restrictions I'll be sticking to physical books.

At least with the good old printed version you can buy from wherever you want at the best price you can find - discounts on printed books are still allowed.  Best of all - you don't have to suffer from any DRM restrictions.  Once you have paid for your book you are free to lend it to friends, sell it, give it away or donate it to a worthy cause.

Disclaimer:
I love the idea of ebooks, I own an ebook reader (a Cybook Opus) and I have bought many ebooks.  Unfortunately after the 'Agency 5' fiasco it seems that publishers want to make it as difficult as possible for legitimate buyers to throw money at them using 'piracy' as a convenient excuse for all the restrictions. 

The last straw for me was being barred from buying ebooks I wanted due to my location and that ebook prices skyrocketed.  Given the choice between a DRM infested file, limited selections and geographic restrictions I'll take the freedom of buying printed works.

I'll be keeping my eye on the ebook world hoping that some common sense will return within my lifetime.