Comments on: Kindle edition of The Lost Symbol outselling Amazon hardcovers!

By: Tanmoy Sarkar

Tanmoy Sarkar — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 07:56:42 +0000

It’s yet another mystery rockers from Dan Brown called “The Lost Symbol” that will make you experience the thrill of Robert Langdon mystery adventure. Full of actions, application of wisdom and knowledge, fast paced story telling, all the essentials of a successful murder mystery are here in this RightBooks.In collection. Just visit http://www.rightbooks.in/product_details.asp?pid=9780552161237 to have it today.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:37:08 +0000

Here’s a link to Amazon’s FAQ page about their Sales Ranking information:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=525376

And here’s an (albeit somewhat old) article about Amazon’s sales ranking: http://www.webpronews.com/expertarticles/2006/06/15/navigating-the-amazon-sales-ranking

Basically, it’s a proprietary ranking that does not necessarily reflect actual sales. Personally, I wouldn’t take the ordering of these two versions as an accurate account of their true selling rates. **Tinfoil hat on** I would also not put it past Amazon to manipulate this sales ranking data to push the Kindle version, as one of the authors of this blog knows too well. **Tinfoil hat off**

By: Windwalker

Windwalker — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:55:05 +0000

As Aaron pointed out, the comparison here is only between Kindle sales by Amazon and hardcover sales by Amazon, but I would agree with Brad and Paul that this has the potential to have serious influence on the ways in which authors and publishers see ebooks. And, for the record, as of 9 pm EDT the ebook version of The Lost Symbol is back on top, ahead of the paper version and, of course, everything else at Amazon.

By: eal

eal — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:22:48 +0000

interesting to see how very different the mix is for Kindle vs physical books in the various categories.

By: Aaron Pressman

Aaron Pressman — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:14:29 +0000

Steve – slight correction to your thought: this is only about paper and ebook sales on the Amazon platform. It has nothing to do with sales in physical stores, opening times, early adopters etc. I too am rooting for a boost to the ebook market!

By: Paul Story

Paul Story — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:28:10 +0000

This is big news. It probably speaks as much about the almost instantaneous nature of the pipeline as the absolute volume of sales, though. Pre-ordering pushed the dtb version up the ranks but not so for the Kindle edition. Missing such a pressure release valve, pent-up demand for the eBook was assured. Added to that, impulse-purchase would have been strong after the marketing splash of today’s release.

How long will it last? I am not downplaying the significance of the observation, just trying to drill down to get to the root of it. I agree with Brad and hope that it gives eBooks in general a push.

By: Steve Jordan

Steve Jordan — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:27:59 +0000

So, what happened is the early acquirers picked up the Kindle version before the physical stores opened, and once the stores opened, the print consumers outbought them.

Considering a large number of book buyers work day jobs, and won’t get the chance to go to the store first thing in the day, it seems Kindle sales are still but a dent in early sales if they were overtaken so quickly.

Still, Kindle sales could turn out to be highly significant in the long run. The fact that they started out so strongly should make the industry take notice regardless of final figures.

By: Eric Montogmery

Eric Montogmery — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:19:35 +0000

I’d have gotten the Kindle edition except for the fact that my kids gave me a gift card to a book store on the east coast so I used it for this. Either way though this is really good news!

By: Bruce Wilson

Bruce Wilson — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:07:54 +0000

At 1:00 PM EST paper has the lead at Amazon.

By: Brad Vertrees

Brad Vertrees — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:33:18 +0000

If the Kindle version of ‘The Lost Symbol’ outsells hardcovers, I think it will be a game-changer for ebooks overall. This book has been so widely publicized and advertised, having the digital version outsell the print will really shoot ebooks into the mainstream like we’ve never seen before.

I’ll be watching this closely to see how the Kindle does. For once I’m actually rooting for the Kindle because this can have huge implications for all ebooks.

BTW, I bought a hardcover edition of The Last Symbol today. I hope it’s good!