Amazon Match

[Richardya]

I don't want to toot my own horn, but. I have been screaming for them to do this for two years. Say good bye to Barnes & Nobles. They will add Audible to this service soon.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/29/50...

[Dustin]

I was wondering when this would come out. They said "MatchBook: Coming October" so of course it's out just before November.

Apparently most of my favorite books came from BN or Used bookstores because I went through my purchases and found that beyond bargain books, which probably don't count, I hadn't actually purchased many new books off Amazon.

(Just checked and I'm eligible for....nothing.)

And with they're free shipping increase, I'm thinking of getting a $25 BN Membership.

It is a neat little chain they've set up. Buy a paper book, get the ebook for cheap. Buy the ebook and get the audiobook for cheap.

[Serendi]

No matches here, either. True, I didn't use Amazon all that often for physical books, but NO matches? Huh.

[Mpauli]

Great feature, but -of course- US only for now...as always.
Here in Germany it isn't even possible to gift Kindle titles, something that is implemented since ages in the US. Hopefully Matchbook will arrive here as well.

[Dustin]

I will complement Neil Gaiman (or his publisher), who seems to have a large majority of his books available this way.

You can get American Gods or Stardust paper book/ebook/audiobook for about $10 altogether.

Sanderson's Warbreaker as well. Though Mistborn come closer to $20 each.

Anyone else considering abusing this as they buy Christmas presents this year? A paper book for him, an ebook more me. :}

[A.L.]

I have mine on for 99c but I may drop it to free next time I am tinkering something. It's annoying that an author can't alter price etc. without dumping the book into draft and having to republish.

I might have look into it further when it propagates to the other stores.

Now what I would like to see is buy one get another by this author free/reduced. That would be very useful, both as an author and reader.

[Dara]

I have two book available. American Gods and The Man in the High Castle.

[Rob, Roberator]

I can choose from Wool and New Spring. LOL.

Of all the books I've bought, that's it huh?

Pass for now.

[Micah]

Looks like the only one I have available is The Reagan Diaries which I actually bought as a gift for somebody. I'm sure it will expand ever further as amazon brings more publishers kicking and screaming into the future.

[John (Nevets)]

Those are 2 good ones Dara.

I only have one but it is Anathem so I'm grabbing it, Lot easier to lug around the bits on that one when I reread it.

[Rob]

A book of Flannery O'Connor criticism, a Daniel handler novel, and Sheldon vanauken's terrible memoir about his creepy romance and then his friendship with cs Lewis.

This is extremely underwhelming.

[Rik]

No matches for me.

[Richardya]

To me; "More books will be added to the program every day" means eventually every book will be available in this manner.

I'm hoping for packages, "Print plus digital plus audible" "Print plus digital" "Digital plus audible" and "Print plus audible."

My guess is that they are currently applying metrics, on the books in the program, to see if this increases sales or if people are buying both formats and selling one which would decrease sales to Amazon.

There was a thread awhile ago about pirating a digital copy if you bought the print

I hope it works. It's more money for authors and publishers and a better and fairer service for customers. I think this will be the knockout punch to B&N.

PS My matches:
Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime
The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security

[Rob]

If BN starts including digital codes with new books (or if publishers just started doing this for new releases in book stores in general) it would take a lot wind out of amazons sails (pun WHOLEHEARTEDLY INTENDED)

[Richardya]

I think their worry is people selling the paper version and they lose sales. People are all pirates deep down.

[Aildiin]

11 matches so far. 3 of them being graphic novel that already included free digital copies( not on Amazon though, on marvel/comixology), the rest are books I bought between 1999 and 2001.

[Will]

I've been hoping for this for 2 years as well, but I was pushing for free copies for a while.

I had 12 matches. The Emperor's Soul is the only free one on my list

[Daniel]

I kind of want it to go the other way. I've got lots of kindle books I'd love to have a physical copy of for a cheap price.

[Aaron]

Apparently Cat's Cradle is my only match (at $2.99). I forgot I had purchased that back in 2006 for my now long dormant book club.

[terpkristin]

I had 20 matches, though Anansi Boys and American Gods both showed up twice on my list. The sad/odd thing is that I actually routinely buy multiple copies of a book so I can read it no matter where I am. However, most of my physical copies come from a local B&N where it's more of an impulse thing.

[Kevin]

Will wrote: "I've been hoping for this for 2 years as well, but I was pushing for free copies for a while.

I had 12 matches. The Emperor's Soul is the only free one on my list"

You could get that one for free from Sanderson himself if you sent a photo of you holding the actual book. Same goes for Legion.

[Clyde]

Eight matches for me. Picked up The System of the World.

[Rich]

I'm not an ebook or audiobook user, so I'm wondering why anyone would need both? Do people read a book and then listen, or vice versa? Just curious.

[Rob]

I don't own copies of both ebook and audio for anything I own, but I would very much like to, because I do quite a bit of driving, but I wouldn't want to restrict a certain book to "only when driving" time. I'd like to be able to wake up, read a chapter over cereal, listen to another on the long drive to work, then read through another two or three during the inevitably student-less office hours.

[Jason (jasonb)]

'I got a rock.' -- Charlie Brown

Yup that is how I feel about Amazon Match. But honestly I haven't purchased too many books through them so I'm not surprised.

[Aaron]

Rich wrote: "I'm wondering why anyone would need both? Do people read a book and then listen, or vice versa? Just curious."

I haven't tried this, but my brother had/has pretty sever dyslexia, so he frequently used RFBD to follow along in the text while he listened. Some folks could take advantage of this, and others might just like the flexibility of switching formats to whatever is most convenient. Some books I like to have on my book shelf, but with limited space its often more convenient to have the eBook version.

[Sophie]

Only one match free for me. But it worked out well, since it was a book I purchased as a gift, and therefore didn't have a copy myself. Now I have one for a cheaper price. Not a bad system. Of course, had I owned the book myself, I wouldn't have paid anything for the digital copy. I'm hoping they take the trend more toward having the matched books be free.

[kvon]

Well, that answers the question about books that other people gifted to me. I have no matches. But then, I'm in the amazon=evil camp.