Digital Home Thoughts: eBooks Outsell Print Books at Amazon

"In July 2010, Amazon announced that sales of electronic books for its Kindle e-book reader surpassed sales of hardcover books on the site. Six months later, sales of Kindle books surpassed that of paperbacks. Now, customers are downloading Kindle books more than hardcovers and paperbacks combined."

The writing was on the wall. As technology improved and eReaders such as the Kindle offered at least an adequate reading experience, the draw of eBooks would mean that they would eventually outsell paper books. The ease of purchasing, the ability to carry libraries of books with you and the plethora of devices you can read your eBooks on certainly has its advantages. Of course, there is the classic argument that there is nothing quite like read a paper-bound book, and that is something I can appreciate. But in this digital age, it looks like the paper format will eventually become a niche market. Unfortunately, I see that means that paperbacks and especially hardcovers will likely increase in price as publishers print smaller numbers.