Introduce a new section of Ebook Friendly – Ebook Price Checks. We will be frequently sharing simple comparisons of prices of the same title in different ebookstores.
The first book in the series is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
This weekend The Hunger Games movie will hit cinemas around the world, and it’s good to reach for the book it’s based on.
It’s been recently announced that Suzanne Collins is the top-selling author of all time on the Amazon Kindle. Since last January we analyze Top 100 Kindle books, and the books from The Hunger Games trilogy were always included in the monthly lists. It’s the second bestselling Kindle book of 2011.
As you’ll see below, the price may play an important role in the Kindle Store success. The book is priced twice as cheaper as in Kobo. Such price was being kept in Kindle Store for a long time.
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Ebook Price Check: The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
Prices collected on 21.03.2012 from relevant ebookstores.
Amazon Kindle StoreQuick links to most popular sections of Kindle Store. |
$ 5.00 |
Barnes & Noble Nook StoreQuick links to most popular sections of Nook Store. |
$ 8.49 |
Kobo StoreQuick links to most popular sections of Kobo Store. |
$ 10.09 |
The Hunger Games
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
Acclaimed writer Suzanne Collins, author of the New York Times bestselling The Underland Chronicles, delivers equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in this searing novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present.
For a quick check of your favorite title’s price you can use great ebook price comparison tools: Inkmesh or Luzme.
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So I take it this publisher isn’t part of the “agency pricing” system? I also note on Amazon that it’s free if you have a Prime account. I didn’t know they were doing that. I’ve been trying to talk my wife into a Kobo, but I can tell she’s been eyeing the Kindle. I’m starting think I’m on the wrong side of this debate.
@Preston: There isn’t a right or wrong side, despite what the format evangelists want people to believe.
What there is, is a tighter or looser fit to a specific person’s needs or preferences. Kindles and Kobos are both good enough reader gadgets but they both come with different feature sets and are aimed at different customer bases. For example, most Kindle models (except the entry level) support Audible audiobooks which is an important feature for some, Kobo, on the other hand, supports generic ADEPT epub DRM which is important to others.
“Right” and “wrong” in this context only has meaning in terms of what best meets your personal needs. If you find a device/ecosystem that meets your needs and you feel comfortable committing to it for the (relatively) long haul, then that is what is right for you, regardless of what everybody else may or not think. No need to worry about peer pressure. 😉
And this is simply a snapshot in time. The Hunger was $4.69 when I bought it from Barnes & Noble.
B&N was giving this title away with the purchase of a Nook recently, and they are probably trying to take advantage of the increased demand surrounding the release of the movie. These are both likely to drive the price up.
But Amazon is consistently cheaper when they can be. When a publisher lowers the price on their own web site and forgets to tell the retail stores about it, Amazon detects this and corrects their pricing. B&N is not nearly as pro-active about watching the other guys, and they have no interest in listening to customer complaints about pricing discrepancies.