Amazon MatchBook makes a big push for print book buyers to go digital

Amazon MatchBook, which lets customers who've previously bought the print edition of a book from Amazon score a digital copy on the cheap, is now open for business. Months in the making, the new service is a bold plan by Amazon to convert the world's stacks and stacks of books into digital form. At prices that range from free to $2.99 per book (the latter is by far the most common price point), even consumers with very large libraries won't have to spend a fortune to get copies of their old books in Kindle format. Part of the beauty of MatchBook is how seamlessly it integrates with the Amazon experience and customers' shopping history. By visiting the MatchBook home page (see the link above), it just takes one click for MatchBook to scour your entire Amazon purchase history, dating back to 1995, to turn up all the titles available for the discount. On the sellers' side, publishers have to opt in to have their books made available for the program, and about 75,000 titles are available for conversion to date. Many bigger publishers are playing it safe for the moment, with HarperCollins the largest mainstream book company in the mix. Harper reportedly has over 9,000 books enrolled in MatchBook, though its focus is heavily geared toward older titles instead of new releases. That, of course, makes sense: Publishers looking to skim a little more profit off of the bestsellers of 1998 aren't going to do it by marking down hardcover copies of those dusty old titles in 2013. To... Continue reading at 'PC World'

[ PC World | 2013-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #big push #kindle format #dating back #makes sense

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Book Workers to Hold Day of Solidarity with Amazon Workers

Book business workers at a number of bookstores, publishers, and literary publicity firms have declared a Book Workers Day of Solidarity on March 26 in support of Amazon workers organizing to form a union in Bessemer, Ala. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Unit Sales of Print Books Soared 36.5% Last Week

Though unit sales began softening a bit at this time last year because of the early impact of the pandemic, the spike in sales last week was mainly due to the continued demand for print books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Backlist Drives Print Book Unit Gains Higher Through February

Driven by strong backlist sales, unit sales of print books rose 26% last week over the week ended February 29, 2020, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. It was the largest week-over-week gain compared to 2020 so far this year, helping unit sales finish the first two months of 2021 with a... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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A Digital Jerusalem International Book Forum Opens for 2021 Registration

The Jerusalem forum has announced digital programming elements for May, with an eye to a physical event in 2022. The post A Digital Jerusalem International Book Forum Opens for 2021 Registration appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-03-02 01:16:29 UTC ]
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Virtually Together: The Rise of Digital Book Festivals

In the face of COVID-19, many book festivals have moved online. Here's what's worked, what hasn't, and what the future might hold for them. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-02-26 11:38:02 UTC ]
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20 Biography Books For Kids To Help Them Dream Big

A collection of the best biography books for kids to help them learn about history’s most fascinating people and dream a bit bigger, including Turning Pages: My Life Story by Sonya Sotomayor, illustrated by Lulu Delacre. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-02-26 11:34:00 UTC ]
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Amazon E-book Case Sprawls, Lawyers Propose Consolidation

Lawyers for a potential class of e-book consumers have asked a federal judge to consolidate four cases alleging an e-book price-fixing conspiracy among Amazon and the Big Five publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-15 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Literati Gets Big Money for Book Boxes

The Austin, Tex.–based book box subscription service has pulled in more than $50 million recently. Here's what's happening. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
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New Releases Spark Another Big Book Sales Week

Unit sales of print books jumped 25.7% last week over the first week in February 2020 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Kristin Hannah's 'The Four Winds' was the top-selling title in the week, selling more than 115,000 copies. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Big Publishing Pushes Out Trump’s Last Fan

Top editors at Hachette have told employees that they’ve learned the lessons of the Capitol siege of Jan. 6: no hate speech, no incitement to violence, no false narratives. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-02-07 22:15:06 UTC ]
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Big Five named as defendants in US e-book price-fixing suit

US publishing's Big Five–Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster–have now been named as defendants in an amended class suit originally brought against Amazon alone for anti-competitive behaviour in relation to e-books in the US.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-07 12:47:23 UTC ]
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Small Acts, Big Impact: 2021 Environmental Books for Young Readers

We spoke with authors and editors of forthcoming biographies about the importance of narrative nonfiction to educate and empower kids and teens about environmental issues. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-05 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of Print Books End January on High Note

Unit sales of print book rose 19.5% in the week ended January 30, 2021, over the comparable week in 2020 at outlets that report to BookScan. For the month of January, print unit sales were 21.3% higher than January 2020. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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David Duchovny wants to be taken seriously as a novelist. His new book makes a good case.

“Truly Like Lightning” is an irreverent and ambitious tale that shows off the “X-Files” actor’s literary chops. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-02-01 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Lammy and Lewis make Parliamentary Book Awards shortlist

Books by David Lammy, Helen Lewis and The Secret Barrister have made the 2020 Parliamentary Book Awards shortlist. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-30 14:08:04 UTC ]
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The Suddenly Digital Taipei International Book Exhibition: Interview with Robert Lin

Losing its physical fair to a COVID-19 outbreak within days of opening, Taiwan's biggest book fair extends its online run—by four months. The post The Suddenly Digital Taipei International Book Exhibition: Interview with Robert Lin appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-01-29 18:42:29 UTC ]
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ACE makes £152,000 grant for library e-books and audio

Arts Council England (ACE) is awarding £152,000 to help public libraries buy e-books and digital audio products after demand soared during the pandemic. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-21 11:35:36 UTC ]
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Tapas Sees Big Gains for Digital Comics

Digital comics delivered via mobile devices are attracting impressive traffic and generating revenue for artists and publishers. Tapas, a small U.S.-based mobile comics startup, reported impressive recent growth, and announced plans to partner with traditional print publishers like Scholastic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-01-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Class suit filed against Amazon for e-book price fixing in US

Amazon is being sued for anti-competitive behaviour in the United States by the same law firm that successfully sued Apple and five major publishers for colluding to fix e-book prices in 2011. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-17 12:13:54 UTC ]
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Book Biz Saw Little M&A in 2020, with Some Big Exceptions

Economic uncertainty limited merger and acquisition activity in the book business last year, but there were still a number of significant transactions, including Penguin Random House's planned purchase of Simon & Schuster Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-01-15 05:00:00 UTC ]
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