Comments on: Top 10 Kindle vs. Sony vs. Fictionwise

By: Court

Court — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:00:28 +0000

I would just note that the The Naked Gospel is currently free on the Kindle, likely causing its current popularity.

By: Mia Amato

Mia Amato — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:15:11 +0000

You are looking at three basically different market segments. Kindle is mainstream or “free” because its audience base skews older and is very price-sensitive.
Sony’s audience is heavily male and more tech-savvy (these are the same guys now on their second or third big screen tv). The Fictionwise audience skews slightly younger than the other two; another factor is that Fictionwise “rebates” selected titles as high a 100%, and quite a few of the top ranking titles are those that are free currently or in recent past.

So to riff on what Martin says above, you’re looking at three very distinct “bookshops” that have, over the years, cultivated a specific clientele, and sell to that audience.

– Mia Amato

By: Martin

Martin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:47:33 +0000

… which seems to confirm the argument that the sort of books that people buy as e-books are the sort of books they would buy in a bookshop even if they were shrink-wrapped.

By: ficbot

ficbot — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:24:40 +0000

Interesting. The Amazon list seems the most ‘mainstream’ of the three. The Sony list is dominated by mystery and suspense, and the Fictionwise list is overwhelmingly romance…

By: Greg M.

Greg M. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:18:42 +0000

8 out of 10 on the Amazon list are currently listed as free. Only The Lost Symbol and A Touch of Dead are books customers have to buy. Of course, offers change, and the books might not always be free.