I’ve purchased most of my books at Fictionwise. I’ve long thought that its Buywise club was a smart purchasing decision. After all, I buy alot of ebooks and it just seemed to make sense. I sat down with my laptop, an Excel spreadsheet, and Ned and learned that I really haven’t been spending my money wisely after all.
The Buywise Club at Fictionwise. Is it worth it?
I buy alot of books at Fictionwise but recently I’ve wondered whether I am getting the most bang for my buck. In other words, should I be shopping around? I’ve been a Buywise Club member for as long as I can recall. To be a member of the Buywise Club, you have to pay an annual fee of $29.95.
I had Ned do the math for me and you have to buy 27 books in order to break even with the club membership. (That’s 27 books at $6.00 per book with one free $6.00 book).
If you buy more than 27 books, being in the club makes sense. If you buy less than 27 ebooks a year, Fictionwise Buywise club doesn’t work for you.
- 28 books x $6.00 = $168.00 (purchase without club benefits)
- 27 books x $5.10 (15% discount) + $29.95 + 1 free book = $167.65 (purchase with club benefits).
For every book above 27 books you paid for (because you get 1 free), you would be saving .15 per dollar spent. In our example, you would save $.90 for every $6.00 book. If you bought 99 books (because you get 1 free with the club membership), you would save $65.15.
How does All Romance eBooks compare to Fictionwise’s Buywise Club?
All Romance eBooks has a deal where you get 1 book free for every ten purchases. There is no cost to the book club and the “free book” is a perk that every purchaser gets. How does that compare to Fictionwise’s Buywise Club?
If you buy more than 60 books, Fictionwise’s Buywise Club is a better bargain for you.
- Fictionwise: 60 books x $5.10 (15% discount) + $29.95 + 1 book free = $335.95
- All Romance eBooks: 56 books x $6.00 + 5 books free = $336
Are the Cheapest Prices with the Bookclubs?
We’ve determined that if you buy more than 60 books a year, then Fictionwise’s Buywise Club is a better deal than All Romance eBooks. Now, we turn to whether it is better to buy at Fictionwise than anywhere else on the internet. After all, price comparison is just a click of the keypad away from you. The results will surprise you.
| HC | Kensgtn | S&S | Hqn | Dell | Smhn | |
| eReader | $7.19 | N/A | $5.39 | $5.67 | $6.29 | N/A |
| Fictionwise | $7.99 | $9.00 | $5.99 | $6.30 | N/A | $5.50 |
| Buywise Club | $6.79 | $7.65 | $5.09 | $5.36 | N/A | $4.68 |
| All Rom Ebooks | N/A | $9.00 | N/A | $6.30 | N/A | $5.50 |
| Diesel | $7.80 | $7.61 | $5.08 | $5.34 | $5.50 | |
| MobiPocket | $7.99 | $9.00 | $5.99 | $6.30 | $6.99 | $5.50 |
| Powells | $6.79 | $7.65 | $5.09 | $5.36 | N/A | |
| eBooks.com | $7.19 | N/A | $5.99 | $5.04 | N/A | |
| BonBoard* | $6.23 | $7.02 | $4.67 | $4.91 | $5.45 | $4.95 |
| Publisers Site | $6.71 | $9.00 | $4.08 | $5.67 | N/A | $5.50 |
As can be seen by the table above, the prices are lowest at Books on Board except for Simon & Schuster books. Simon & Schuster sells all its ebooks at 35% off the retail price and thus it is always cheaper to buy from the publisher website for Pocket, Pocket Star, etc. book. This really doesn’t make sense for publishers, in my opinion, since it could drive traffic and business to their own bookstores by selling at the 35% off rate like Simon & Schuster.
Books on Board, while it has great prices, has an unwieldy purchasing system which requires you to wait for an email with a verification code. You paste the verification code into your account center. That said, if you don’t mind the extra hassle, Books on Board is the place to shop right now.
Fictionwise’s Buywise club doesn’t make much sense (this is what I would use on a regular basis) because you can get the cheap prices from Powells, Diesel or Books on Board. Sadly, even with the micropay, the Buywise Club doesn’t make financial sense. At this point I can’t see renewing my Buywise Subscription. I’ll be shopping at Books on Board, even with its unwieldy purchasing system because not only does it have the lowest prices, but it also has the books on time where as Fictionwise is always selling the books a week late.
*Mobipocket format is slightly more expensive most of the time.
I’d like to make my book dollars stretch, but seriously they have the worst, worst web design for a store ever. I just went over again. (you convinced me in pursuit of frugality to give them another try.) Took me a bit to find out how to access the back list and not just the new releases. Clicking Romance won’t get you there. Just to the new releases. Best I could find was you have to click browse all categories on the left, and then select romance ebooks. That takes you to a list of ebooks. I was a little annoyed because I wasted a lot of time on the new release page looking for a next button or something I missed. The list I got to was nice. I went to the bottom of the page. Looked for next page button. *throwing up hands* NONE! *sigh* Turns out I have to scroll back up to the top to go to the next page. At that point I was done, because while I don’t know how many clicks it would take to me to get to book information (could have been one more or a lot more) I do know what’s waiting for me at the shopping cart and well, no. I can’t do it.
Of course, it didn’t help that I’m coffeeless this morning as the DH forgot to buy cream last night. *sigh* But still, no click to the next page at the bottom of a long scroll? That’s just torture!
Jane, this is possibly one of the most useful blog entries ever written. By anyone ever in the history of the Intertubes.
I’m with Ms. McCarty on the web design of Books on Board- yeesh. To me at least, it is worth spending some extra time (and knowing that I’ll have to at first) in order to save money, since I am currently a poor student (again!). Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Great post. I’d already done a bit of sleuthing on my own and come up with roughly the same answer as you. BoB may be unwieldy, but when trying to stretch a dollar the most, it’s the way to go.
Actually, I liked the design better than Fictionwise. At least it’s easier on the eyes.
I guess it comes down to two things. Do you have more time than money? If so BoB makes sense.
And if the design is the only issue… do they have a customer service email? Seems like good info for them to have.
Very interesting! I’ve been curious about costs for awhile now. Like you I’ve primarily used Fictionwise, despite my annoyance that they are tardy in posting their books for sale. I’m not wild about navigating BoB when I’m so used to Fictionwise, but perhaps it’s worth a try.
I have to wonder, though, if the micropay rebates, especially with the new releases, begin to make Fictionwise a better bargain. I’ve taken advantage of several of the 50-100% rebates, for example. Also, they have a feature that I haven’ t seen discussed much, but I think those ebook romance readers who buy through Fictionwise should take advantage of. That is the recommend a friend feature whereby a friend buys a book already on the other members shelf using a coupon that “friend” emails to them. At that point both parties receive a 10% credit, on top of whatever rebates are already attached to the book(s). So if there were a place we could pool our book inventory, we could browse and see if anything on another shelf interested us, we’d contact that person, get the coupon, order the book, and both would receive the 10% credit. This can be done multiple times for the same book, as far as I can see. Hmm, I’ve been thinking about this for awhile now. Is anyone else interested? I may make a post in the ebook forum here in case someone would like to take advantage of this feature.
Anyway, I’ve digressed! I really appreciate the analysis you’ve done and will branch out a little more in my buying habits. I’m sure that will thrill my husband. LOL
I don’t find the validation system at BoB any more unwieldy than the processing time at Simonsays.com, although I’ve basically abandoned paying with Paypal and go for a credit card at BoB, which makes things faster, IMO. Also, I find that if you look for books through the search mechanism, it’s easier. Fictionwise is definitely the easiest for me. And I don’t think you can beat the 100% micropay credit books for sheer genius in getting me to buy something I may not have bought but will go for because of the micropay dollars and the *idea* of a free book (even though I realize it’s an illusion). I’ve bough some from eHarlequin, but what I don’t like about them is that you can’t get ereader books on their site, even though I can buy ereader versions of their books everywhere else — and on BoB, they’re significantly cheaper than on the eHarlequin site, making that a double bonus for me. The several books I’ve bought from Harper Collins were pretty easy and reasonable, too, although again there’s the ereader availability problem.
As for drinking coffee without cream, when I get desperate, I use ice cream, even though I’m not crazy about the sugar thing in my coffee. In a pinch, though, it works (as does canned whipped cream or evaporated milk).
robin sez:
This is what I was thinking of… the micropay. Why do you say it is an illusion? I have never used it but the way I understand it – you buy for a book on a CC and than are given that amount back in credits to use at fictionwise.
So if you were going to buy Lady Beware and than went back (however long it takes for the micropay) and purchased Secret Diaries… wouldn’t you be getting two books for the price of one? Really with some credit left over.
Or is there a catch to it somewhere? Heck even if you were thinking of getting Lady Beware, it seems like a good deal. If that is indeed how it works. I can see it getting out of control with oh it is ‘free’ why not thinking. But if you have a set book spending amount it seems nifty.
Of course price difference might play into it and make BoB a better deal. Anyhoo I just wondered because I thought about paying some micropay credits last time I was there but didn’t. Maybe that was a good thing…
Oh, it’s not an illusion that you get two books. But most often, the first book in the chain is one I probably wouldn’t have purchased at full price, or on that day, or even at all, given my TBR pile. So I make an impulse buy on that day, and put those micropay dollars in my account for another day, and Fictionwise has gotten real money from me and the knowledge that I’m going to be coming back for more. And every time I come back, they can tempt me with another 100% micropay rebate book, and the possibility of another impulse buy. And inevitably, I spend more than I anticipated, because even if I’m paying for other books with those micropay dollars, I’m generally buying more than I intended anyway, because by the time I spend those micropay dollars I forget there was a real full price credit card purchase before, and I feel like I have more money to spend. So in a sense, I see the 100% micropay rebate books as loss leaders and myself the ideal consumer for that strategy. I’m not complaining, because I don’t need much encouragement to spend money on books — I’m just saying that the “free” books aren’t really free in the long run, at least not for me.
Hmm – I decided to calculate how much money I was losing by using Fictionwise instead of Books on Board. I went back over my last $200 in purchases. I choose this amount because setting up $200 in micropay gives me a 15% bonus or $30 which pays the buywise club membership AND gives me a $10 certificate to compensate for any lost interest (generous indeed). With Fictionwise, I saved about $2 (now I don’t feel so stupid). However, the best bang for my buck is to use Fictionwise to buy new releases and to use Books on Board for older books – using this strategy, I would have saved an appreciable amount. I’m not willing to find the cheapest source for each and every book but looking at 2 different vendors (Bob for older releases and Fictionwise for new releases) will save me money.
Thanks for the analysis, Jane. It’s very helpful. I’m a diehard Fictionwise customer but you’ve given me a lot to consider.
I went over to Books on Board for the first time to nab Twilight, and I was sold on the prices. Yes, it’s a little clunky, but if you know what you’re looking for (and I almost always shop with a purpose rather than browsing), it’s pretty easy.
I’m a bit of a number cruncher, so I had to see how this worked for me.
Individually, each book (but one – and I might have mistyped it) was at least 0.25-1.00 less at BoB than Fictionwise (and that’s at the Buywise price). But I also take advantage of Fictionwise’s Micropay rebates. So for books purchased so far in 2007, I’ve actually saved 20% at Fictionwise vs. the BoB prices (and that doesn’t even include the two dozen books I couldn’t find on the BoB site).
I’ll agree with Robin that there are probably books in the Fictionwise set that I just wouldn’t have bought without the lure of the Micropay rebates, but that’s often turned out very well for me. And I’m so much more willing to try a new-to-me author for cheap or free than at even a “reasonable sale price”.
One other thing – for those of us who are compulsive book-buyers and purchase the “multi-format” books over at Fictionwise, I still prefer being able to redownload in different formats. I’ve downloaded most of them in the eBookwise format these days, but I’m sure the day will come when that reader dies or I upgrade. So I could redownload it as a PDF or LIT or PRC next time. *I frickin’ love that!* And I wouldn’t want to start buying those books in DRM’d versions, just for a slightly lower price.
One other, other thing: currently I buy DRM’d (mainstream NY publishers) books at 3 sites: SimonSays (you’re right, absolutely best price, unless Fictionwise has it “free”), eReader (often gets them before Fictionwise and sometimes I’m impatient), and Fictionwise.
And I have invariable managed occasionally to buy the same book from more than one site! I really don’t want to add another one to the mix (to use it for “older releases” for example, as LinM suggested). I’m just too busy or forgetful and don’t want to juggle another source at this time.
If I was an occasional and mostly NY ebook purchaser, I think I’d switch to BoB. But it’s not the right choice for my profligate ebooks spending right now :grin:
Okay, I don’t feel like such a spendthrift now. I always buy micropay in advance, so I always get the $10-15 kick back, plus the club discount, micropay discount, plus the buy one get one free thing. I did a quick check, and it looks like I’m breaking even if not doing better with Fictionwise and my buying habits, which admittedly are trained to maximize Fictionwise’s selling patterns. So I guess I’m not overpaying for my convenience. Phew!
This is interesting. I’m going to have to sic Ned on it to see where I would save the most money. I didn’t count on the Micropay rebate since that is kind of “funny money” meaning that isn’t a true savings but a discount toward a future book. plus, you can feed your micropay account and get the new book savings without paying the buywise membership.
I have decided on being pro-BoB is good cuz they are in Austin. :)
What? We Texans are like that… lol. Emailing with one of the owners over the weekend I think they have a lot of nifty plans in the works and seem to be VERY VERY customer friendly.
Downside ALL their books are secure. As a computer stupid person who spent over 2 hours trying to open a book on Sunday and never getting it open – not that I would have read it cuz I would have hated it me think. But I think ‘my’ issues with DRM are just that… mine. My computer is older than dirt, slow and I have the memory of err I don’t have one. I will try again to figure out what the fuck my window’s live log on is today.
NOTE: it wasn’t a book bought from BoB – otherwise I could have gotten customer support right then and their by very helpful people. On a Sunday!
Saying that… I do think fictionwise can be a good? deal or better deal. And go back to what I said up top…. it comes down to what do you have more of – Time or Money?
And to add on to that I would say just where would you rate your OCD. If you can play it. If you can wait for a book, wait for a sale, wait for a coupon, wishlist your wants and keep to your ‘budget’. You can make Fictionwise work for you. And this is for the hardcore ebook buyer, the person who can drop at least 200 up front.
That person isn’t me. But I dont’ know if I can make BoB work for me either or if I want to let someone know just how computer stupid I can be. Other than Jane, oh and all of you. Either way I do plan to register at BoB, buy something and try and download it. If I can anyone can.
But GAD look at their FAQ (which has nifty helpful info on how to search and get around the site) when you add DRM and secure shit to the mix it really really really makes everything sooooooooooo much harder.
I understand the why of it but I don’t see ebooks ever becoming THE choice for the everyday person until that secure shit is worked out.
Miki – I have to confess that I probably won’t switch to BoB for older books but it would save me money.
Jane: I didn't count on the Micropay rebate since that is kind of “funny money� meaning that isn't a true savings but a discount toward a future book.
I looked at the funny money for this week. I want 10 books newly released on Fictionwise (Lian Hearn, Judith Ivory, Stephanie Meyer, Jennifer Crusie, Scott Lynch, Susan Carroll, …) Usually I only have one or two books on my want list so this week is abnormal (which is a good thing).
Let’s say I have $100 to spend. I can buy them from BoB for $94.65 leaving me $5.35 to spend on another book next week.
Or I can put $100 in a micropay account on FW which gives me $110 dollars to spend on books. The books I want will cost $102.64 but will give a micropay rebate of $27.18 leaving me with $34.54 to spend on books next week.
Gee, $5.35 in my pocket or $34.54 in funny money? I’m already making a list.
Hey, Jane!
Did you look at Fictionwise this week! They’re offering “pre-orders” for book due to come out Tuesday or Thursday! So you don’t have to wait that extra week and drool over the books at eReader. :wink:
Miki
I just saw this myself, Miki! Isn’t that great news? I was already a die hard Fictionwise user. Like others, I’ve used the micropay rebates to try things I might otherwise have passed on. So despite Jane’s analysis I wasn’t too tempted to switch, other than that nagging release delay. But if FW is doing away with the delay I think I’ll just stay where I am.
Phyl
Oh, and one other thing. Have you noticed the promotion to accompany the Hugo awards? Wouldn’t a similar promotion based on the RITAs be nice?
Phyl
WOW! I didn’t realize there were so many other ebook resellers! I really like Fictionwise and have saved a buttload of money buying from there, particularly when I’ve taken advantage of some of their featured specials. I also find their reader ratings very helpful when buying a book “on spec”. But I never realized that they delayed the release of new ebooks!
I’ll take a look at BoB (egads, I snicker every time I see that acronym!), but if it’s navigation proves as frustrating to me as it does to some of you, then I’ll stick with Fictionwise because I think finding and buying books already takes enough time away from my actual READING of them. Fictionwise even saves me time with the downloads through their bulk download feature- no more multiple clicks for each book!
Hi Folks
My first post here, and I have somewhat been following the posts.
Comparing different eBook Stores, and costs. I was wondering if you had happened by http://www.TheEbookStore.ca, and if you could comment on its look and the selection.
The only new releases are the eBooks we publish.
I hope I'm not spamming this site, only looking for your opinion.
Bradley
Nice blog
Shopping comparison sites are excellent if you are the lowest price – or the second lowest
prices and the cheaper site looks very bad or not faithful.
The idea is to select and choose your argue, list where you will win the price wars.
Remember that the shopping sites are made for shoppers, not “selling sites� made for
sellers. if want more information can get here price comparison
This is fantastic information. Thank you ladies!!!!!!!!!
My fictionwise membership is due, so this is interesting. However, fictionwise has multiformat for a lot of things. Nothing like that at the others? Also lots of short stories.
Also I notice this on the fictionwise club membership – if you renew for one year before it expires, you get $5 micropay rebate, 2 years you get 10, and 5 17.49.
Prices are 29.95,54.95 and 124.95 respectively.
So I suppose once you are in and if you stay in, the throw you basically an extra $5 book, on top of the freebie you get for the membership, as well.
Hi,
I’m Steve Pendergrast, one of the founders of Fictionwise.com, and I think you’re not calculating the full benefits of the Buywise club here. You are only including the 15% discount which is applied after all other discounts or sale prices. You’re not including the other benefits.
Just to look at one of those benefits, consider the “large transaction rebate”. You get a 10% rebate on any credit or paypal transaction over $100.
In your example, you concluded that it would take 27 books at $6 a pop to break even, including one free $6 book, and that’s because buywise membership costs $30 (in round numbers).
But, you do far better than break even if you do things slightly differently.
Let’s say you purchase 15 books plus the buywise membership as your very first transaction. That will be $90 for the books and $29.95 for the Buywise membership. However, the Buywise membership starts to apply in the very same transaction you purchase the club membership. So you will save 15% on the book part of this very first transaction, a savings of $13.50. You have now paid for nearly half the buywise membership.
Since your transaction is still over $100, you now get a $10.20 rebate which is enough to buy another book with some left over. And you get a coupon good for one free book up to $10 value.
So right there, you have value of over $20, which combined with the prior $13.50 savings more than covers the cost of the buywise membership! Even if you do use your free book coupon for a $6 book instead of a $10 book, you have gotten $16.20 + $13.50 = $29.70 in value for your $29.95 Buywise club membership in this single transaction.
As you can see from this example, it only took 15 books, not 27, to recoup the buywise membership, due to the large transaction rebate which you did not consider.
And large transaction rebates are even higher for larger transactions, 15% for transactions over $200.
Note that many people start their membership by buying a few books plus maybe $50 to $100 in micropay plus the buywise membership in a single transaction, then spend the micropay over time. This way they get the large transaction rebate money on both the micropay, the books, and the buywise membership itself, then can decide on the other titles later.
It’s true that the buywise club is meant for people who are bulk purchasers. We have many members who purchase literally hundreds of books per year, and it’s a huge savings for them.
But the savings do kick in well before 27 books even for a one year membership.
Multiyear memberships are even more cost effective since they offer one free book per year of membership, and multiyear memberships are cheaper per year.
I wanted to remind folks that the Free Download in the Buy-10-Get-One-Free program doesn’t have to be equivilent to the average cost of the 10 books purchased. Download codes can be used for any book in our bookstore. I realize that there’s a lot of variability and that you were trying to find some way to help readers think about the economics of the various buying options. But I thought I’d show you this example of a comparison between All Romance eBooks and BOB
Rode Hard, Put Up Wet BOB: $4.35 ARe: $5.50
Ready or Not BOB: $2.77 ARe: $3.50
View to a Kill BOB: $2.77 ARe: $3.50
Anticipation BOB: $2.77 ARe: $3.50
Daisy Dooly Does Divorce BOB: $7.89 ARe: $9.99
It’s Been Awhile BOB: $4.04 ARe: $5.11
The Enchanted Inn BOB: $2.77 ARe: $3.50
Incognito BOB:$5.66 ARe: $7.16
Twin Temptations BOB: $4.84 ARe: $6.13
Let’s Talk About Love Baby BOB: $4.79 ARe: $6.13
____________________________________________________
Total for 10: BOB: $42.65 ARe: $54.02
Stephanie Laurens Rogues’ Reform Bundle BOB: $14.18 ARe: FREE
____________________________________________________
Total for 11: BOB: $56.83 ARe: $54.02
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[...] included Powells in our romance ebookstore pricing comparison and they came out [...]
Geez… how did I miss this column – I read Dear Author all the time!
I've bought books from Fictionwise, Books on Board, etc. but have found that Diesel has been getting most of my e-book bucks these days. I like their books bundles (up to six books selected by author, theme, etc. at a discount price), and I like their reward point system. I'm also liking the no club thing at Diesel. Thrifty (read beyond cheap) consumer that I am, it is against my religion to pay extra cash to get a good deal.
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