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In a recent press release Amazon disclosed that while sales of physical books are still growing, eBooks are now outselling both hardcover and paperback combined by a factor of 2:1.  The Association of American Publishers’ latest data reports that e-book sales grew 193 percent between January and August 2010. Kindle book sales growth during the same period exceeded this rate.  Not surprising then, that the sales of Kindle eBook readers are really taking off.  Amazon has recently slashed the price of their base model to $139.  Keep in mind that their “base” model, while cheaper, is a significant improvement over previous versions being thinner, faster, lighter, brighter, and with double the capacity.  And while I’ve never tried to read one on the beach on a sunny day, Amazon does claim that it’s quite possible.  That, and the fact that there are now hundreds of thousands of titles available for the device ( many of them free ) explains its success.

“It’s still October and we’ve already sold more Kindle devices since launch than we did during the entire fourth quarter of last year–astonishing because the fourth quarter is the busiest time of year on Amazon,” said Steve Kessel, Senior Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “Readers continue to choose Kindle for its all-new electronic ink screen with 50 percent higher contrast, readability in bright sunlight, long battery life of up to one month, light 8.5 ounce form, flexibility to read their books across all major LCD devices and platforms, and low $139 price. It’s clear that this is going to be the biggest holiday for Kindle yet–by far.”

With such a dramatic surge in sales it is quite difficult to claim that the eBook is merely a fad and write the Kindle off as being just a cute toy.  During the past 30 days, Amazon.com customers purchased more Kindle books than print books–hardcover and paperback combined–for top 10, 25, 100, and 1,000 bestselling books.   “This is remarkable”, says Kessel, “when you consider that we’ve been selling hardcover and paperback books for 15 years, and Kindle books for just 36 months.” 

What is the biggest surprise to me is not that yet another new electronic device is successful, but that it shows no signs of cannibalizing the traditional format.  Even though some experts have been declaring that books in print are dead, sales of physical books are not in decline, but are actually growing.  Despite of the rapid growth of the eBook, or even because of the rapid growth of the eBook, sales of print books have never been better. Is it possible that electronic books and printed books can co-exist in peace?  If so, is this Christmas the one when you get your first Kindle?


-John

Related articles

• Kindle sales rocket; ebooks outsell real books 2:1 (slashgear.com)
• Kindle books outselling print 2 to 1 for Amazon’s top 10 bestsellers, and other relatively positive sales figures (engadget.com)
• Physical books will be gone in five years – CNN (tracysbooknook.com)