Amazon Kindle Sales Much Lower Than Expected
Kindle Sales Starting to Dwindle
Remember the Amazon Kindle? It was that device that would allow users to download ebooks to a portable reader that displayed text on LCD paper. The technology seemed great right? So why have sales been so poor?
Sources have been reporting lately that the estimates originally published by analysts about Kindle sales have been “highly optimistic” at best. Amazon is currently not reporting the actual number of Kindles sold but it is becoming more apparent everyday that the device is not living up to sales expectations for the company.
With such a great idea for a portable ebook reader, it makes one wonder why sales have been so poor. I think one major factor comes into play here, and that is price.
To start with the unit itself is $359. That’s WAY too much for something people are going to use to read books. Think about the audience you are trying to reach here. Sure, some book collectors might spend way too much money on their hobby, but most people who read a lot are well acquainted with a service we common folks refer to as the public library.
At this “Library” you can get a card that actually lets you borrow books for free. You don’t need any fancy device to read these books because they come in a self contained media format.
The next problem is the price and selection of the ebooks for the Kindle. If you go on Amazon and search for Kindle ebooks you find a bunch of crappy titles about the “Kindle” itself which you can purchase for about twenty five cents to a dollar.
Why do authors think so many people want to read about their Kindle? Sure there are other books like Huck Finn, War and Peace, etc. These are all books that you can get for free online anyway, which you should be able to read on your Kindle if you could transfer standard ebooks to the unit for free, which you can’t do.
Amazon does however offer a service that allows you to email ebooks you would like to put on the device and for a small fee they will convert them for you and email them back.
In all fairness they do have some other interesting titles that you might find in a book store but these are all priced just a few dollars less that what it would cost to buy the paperback copy, after you make the initial $359 dollar investment.
I think the biggest thing Amazon over looked here, is the lack of freedom associated with the device. Do I think it’s a great piece of technology? Sure, it’s very innovative. But the people who are really into their books, love them because of the freedom and escape they provide from the modern day world and the rules it imposes on them.
Why impose more rules on people with steep prices, and limitations of how people can use items they have spent their hard earned money on.
I think Amazon overlooked the fact that the Kindle is nothing like an iPod, which is the comparison they have made in their sales pitches and projected numbers. An iPod gives users access to “music” a universally loved form of expression and media.
While books are also a powerful form of expression it’s just not as convenient to pickup your Kindle and go outside for a jog, or to mow your lawn. The other factor is the iPod doesn’t make it difficult for users to put “any” music they have onto the device, and not just songs that have been purchased through iTunes.
I stand by the idea that a lot people who enjoy reading love it for the sheer simplicity it affords them as a hobby. These people are not gamers, or high school students that are looking for the latest and greatest cell phone / mp3 player / digital camera. These people are my sixty year old parents who want nothing more than to sit in the back yard with a glass of tea, and a good old paper back.
Until Amazon can fix the price point, and the associations of the branding for the Kindle, they are going to have a lot of trouble connecting with these people who stand to make or break their sales.
For more information on the declining Kindle sales check out the register article located here.
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