barnes&noble is having a press conference tomorrow... so, in a friendly competitive nod, amazon did a press release today.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle& ID=1486648
without giving specific numbers -- this _is_ amazon, you know -- the announcement was that amazon has already sold more kindle _hardware_ units in the month of october than they moved in the _entire_ fourth quarter of last year, which is a staggering statistic, given that the holiday buying period hasn't even really begun yet... moreover -- again, without any specific numbers -- amazon noted that bestsellers are now selling in greater numbers _electronically_ than in _both_ paperback and hardcover form, _combined_, and that the rate is 2-to-1. again, a staggering and mind-blowing statistic... the hardware sales leap is understandable. given the new low price of the machine, with their proven performance in the marketplace, it's not surprising that amazon would be moving so many units now. they're also reaping the rewards of a high-profile advertising thrust. and given the nice bump in hardware units, perhaps some rise in the sales of kindle-books could be expected, in corresponding fashion... but 2-to-1, against paperback and hardcover _combined!_ killer! a while back, amazon announced that k-books surpassed hardcover. but given that hardcovers run $15-$20, even with amazon discounts, while some k-books weigh in at just $2.99, numbers didn't tell it all. but this is a straight-up comparison of _bestsellers_, which weight heavily toward the corporate publishers, most especially the big6... and 5 of those big6 are charging _agency_ prices for their k-books, a fact which makes this announcement even _more_ darn amazing... what this says -- and the corporate publishers can verify this simply by looking at their own results on their own books -- is that k-books (even at agency prices) are out-selling the paperbooks and hardcovers which the corporate publishers are putting out. their business model -- as per their history and their own mindsets -- is now _overturned_, at least on the flat playing-field that amazon provides them. stunning. how soon will it be before amazon is selling more k-books than the combined number of hardcovers and paperbooks sold by _everyone_? that's the question those corporate publishers must be wondering... -bowerbird