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Amazon Kindle is a Hit: 12% of Book Sales on Amazon, Doubled Since May

Submitted by on July 10, 2008 – 9:32 pm88 Comments

Amidst all of the discussion about the iPhone 3G that hits stores tomorrow, another industry changing gadget is getting overlooked. According to Time Magazine:

“On a title-by-title basis, of the 130,000 titles available on Kindle and in physical form, Kindle sales now make up over 12% of sales for those titles…. At a technology trade conference in May, CEO Jeff Bezos said that Kindle sales accounted for 6% of book titles sold for the Kindle and in print. So Amazon appears to be selling more e-books.”

Those are big numbers. 12% of sales for books that are available in print AND on the Kindle are purchased for the Kindle – which is meaningful because:

- Best-sellers and popular titles are available on the Kindle, whereas the long tail isn’t yet… meaning that the sales volume is significant

- Considering Amazon’s size, 12% of purchases represents real demand and volume

- Amazon’s margin on e-books (I’m assuming) is far greater than with regular books… not considering the associated revenue / value of a Kindle customer vs. a normal Amazon.com user

I had the chance to play with the Kindle over the July 4th weekend and am very impressed. The usability is fantastic. The product feels terrific and the readability really is natural. And considering that I traveled with five different books, the ability to store tens of books on a pencil-thin device is super attractive.

My only complaints are around pricing (still restrictively expensive) and its inability to either surf the web or access blog / rss content free-of-charge. I will buy a Kindle at some point – but will likely wait until the price comes down (it’s already fallen to $359) and the second version comes out… until then, I’ll continue to be part of the 88% who tote around books.

Popularity: 3% [?]

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  • Matt

    I agree 99% with your assessment, but uh, you must use a very thick pencil. The Kindle is more like the size of a medium sized paperback book.

  • http://themarketingspot.blogspot.com Jay Ehret

    Looks like semantics are in play here. 12% of book titles, not 12% of books sold. I wonder if this deliberate attempt to make Kindle sales look spiffier than they really are?

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  • http://jimtreacher.com Jim Treacher

    You can surf the Web free of charge. From the home page, go to Menu in the lower-right corner and click Experimental –> Basic Web. It’s called “experimental” for a reason, but for stuff like Wikipedia and most blogs, it’s fine.

  • http://lloydbudd.com/ Lloyd Budd

    “Amazon’s margin on e-books (I’m assuming) is far greater than with regular books”. I’m pretty sure I’ve read that to keep publishers happy Amazon is currently paying physical book prices, and therefore Amazon is taking a lose while they build out their inventory and customer base.

  • http://amazonkindle.ning.com abhi

    hi – i run an amazon kindle blog theKindle.wordpress.com and viewership has been climbing steadily and I’m actually launching a social network for kindle owners and book lovers.
    We’re in pre-Alpha right now with the Alpha Release on 21st July (we’ll also be moving to a more book friendly url).
    Would appreciate it if you could mention it on your blog.
    More details at http://thekindle.wordpress.com/2008/07/12/social-network-for-kindle-owners-and-book-lovers/ including ‘3 Free Kindles in the first 3 months’ promotion and other information.

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  • http://www.shophola.com shophola

    I'll go to checkout price for kindle book today.

  • http://www.freewaretutor.com freeware

    i love the ideas of the kindle it's just expensive

  • Donna C Carbone

    nice article! nice site. you're in my rss feed now ;-)
    keep it up

  • Donald R Hernandez

    nice article! nice site. you're in my rss feed now ;-)
    keep it up

  • Harry Duplantis

    your site is on my favorites now

  • http://www.topviewsoft.com/flv-to-dvd.html flv to dvd

    I hope the price can come down again.I eagerly to have one by myself

  • http://yellowstoneholiday.com/ West Yellowstone cabin

    Kindle is such a wonderful innovation to be used from in the comforts of your own home to a nifty tent while camping out on a park. It's success is unquestionable yet it still has a wider audience to reach. If only they would lower the price on this trendy, educational, and entertaining gadget then impoverished people from third world countries will get to enjoy it too!

  • http://www.userinsight.com marketing personas

    Kindle gets you access to Amazon's instant wireless bookstore. How compelling is that? Well, Amazon's initial manufacturing run sold out in just five hours, and it took Amazon six months to get it back in stock. Now you can finally buy a Kindle again.

    Almost all books now being published are also available on Kindle. New releases are just $9.99, even when their hardcover versions are $25 or more! Backcatalog pricing varies; paperbacks mostly cost $4 to $7.

    For less than the cost of a paper book, you get an electronic version, with free backup on Amazon, and save trees. And you can access free content, too, without paying anything: Wikipedia, free books ranging from the Baen Science Fiction Free Library to Project Gutenberg, and free and unlimited Internet access.

  • http://www.ptxmarketing.com/online-marketing/seo Search Engine

    Amazon.com’s new Kindle DX, announced three months after the second-generation Kindle debuted, is designed for reading newspapers and textbooks. While the bigger screen will make reading easier, fans of electronic readers have grown accustomed to a smaller format. And the $489, price tag, $130 more than the Kindle 2, may make the new device more of a niche product.

  • http://all-in-all-blog.blogspot.com/ TV Shows

    If only they would lower the price on this trendy, educational, and entertaining gadget then impoverished people from third world countries will get to enjoy it too!

  • http://all-in-all-blog.blogspot.com/ TV Shows

    If only they would lower the price on this trendy, educational, and entertaining gadget then impoverished people from third world countries will get to enjoy it too!

  • http://www.facebook.com/pages/Porters-Steakhouse/107543539352143 steakhouse huntsville al

    Hey! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok. I’m absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward to new posts.

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