Ever since Amazon launched the Kindle last November, we’ve been wondering about just how successful it’s been. The electronic book initially sold out and supplies have been tight. The Kindle is such a small part of Amazon’s overall business that the company does not break out how many it’s sold. But we found out anyway: 240,000 Kindles have been shipped since November, according to a source close to Amazon with direct knowledge of the numbers.
Doing a little back of the envelope math, that brings total sales of the device so far to between $86 million and $96 million (the price of the device was reduced to $360 from $400 last May). Then add the amounts spent on digital books, newspapers, and blogs purchased to read on the device, and you get a business that has easily brought in above $100 million so far. (Each $25 worth of digital reading material purchased per Kindle, add $6 million in total revenues).
These numbers gel with what Wall Street analysts have been predicting. And if a new Kindle comes out targeted at the textbook/school market, sales could ramp up higher.
Scott Devitt, an analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., predicts that Amazon is on track to sell 500,000 to 750,000 more Kindles over the next four quarters (including this one). He estimates that Kindle owners will buy an additional $120 to $150 worth of books and other content for each device, bringing the total revenues over that time period to somewhere between $225 million and $355 million. Based on that, he values the Kindle as a $1 billion business for Amazon.
Back in May, Citi analyst Mark Mahaney was estimating that total sales of Kindle’s this year would only reach 189,000. That number may have already been surpassed (depending on how many of the 240,000 units Amazon sold before January). His estimate called for 467,000 units to be shipped next year, and 2.2 million in 2010, resulting in total revenues going from $60 million in 2008 to $741 million in 2010. It might be time for him to revise those numbers upward. (Below is his model from May):
Wow..pretty impressive. We would have never have guessed it to be that successful. Will be a great idea for them to target the school market — biiiig $$
These numbers shouldn’t really be surprising to you, there are 100’s of millions of book lovers out there who devour billions of books every year.
Whilst I wasn’t a Kindle sceptical, these numbers come as a pleasant surprise to me, I was think more in the region of 100,000 Kindles in the first year.
I will buy one if it comes down to 100$. I wouldn’t make such investment now since I am not sure how many books I can buy from it.
Amazon could sell the Kindle for $100 if they subscribe you to a content deal, such as for example if you subscribe for 2 years of $20 per month, and that you can use that credit in the Kindle store but that the credit is non cummulable. With such a Kindle Store subscription plan, I am sure that Amazon could sell the Kindle 2 for $100 or perhaps even $1. This would encourage people to buy 2 books or 1 book and some newspapers each year, people get the taste for the Kindle Store and are likely to spend more then their included $20 per month on more Kindle Store content.
There was much talk about this piece of equipment being clunky and unsightly…now we know it has great utility…
It is still clunky and unsightly.
But I do like mine anyway.
The price point is still too high. And when will the Kindle be available to Canadian users?
I have one and I love it !!!
I have two, and I love both of them!
Hubby and I each have one – and we love them.
i’m not surprise about the item, i still like reading a real book on the palm of my hand.
Nat
http://www.workersinc.com
There’s really nothing special about a book. I believe a large part of the reason people are so attached to the “feel” of physical books is because the reading experience is so much better compared to a screen. But the quality of these new ePaper screens negates that. If they can make the device so easy to use that it isn’t a distraction, I think they have a real chance of improving upon the book. (It can be lighter and easier to handle, won’t lose your place, etc.)
Id take Jeff Bezos as President of my company anyday!
Thanks very much for this info.
My first book, Internet Riches, just came out on the Kindle platform and I have been wondering how excited to be about that.
It looks like Amazon may succeed with this ebook platform where so many others have failed.
Good news for us authors who write books for tech folk especially.
That was the clumsiest shill job I’ve seen in a while, Scott Fox, Author of Internet Riches which was recently released on the Kindle platform.
240,000 Kindles- Surprising or Not? [VOTE] http://www.thri...rfail.com/57fed
I would pay $500 for a Kindle with a color screen.
Why? Not that many books have any colour in them.
Given the fact that Amazon has been pushing the Kindle on their home page (what’s that worth anyway?), I find these sales numbers to be pathetic.
I’m not sure I’d say pathetic, though you have a point, being in a prime marketing position for one of the largest eCommerce sites in the world … you’d think it might deliver more sales.
What I’m interested in is how many sold in the November and December time frame. I doubt this is going to be a linear sales curve. I’m guessing high sales in November and December. Then the ’sold out’ wasteland. Then a spike when they were back in stock. Then … are the month over month figures accelerating, flat, decreasing?
It’s nice to have a number, but given Amazon’s track record with data and information you have to wonder.
Wait, they’ve met and exceeded expected sales. You’re saying that number is “pathetic” because their advertising is ubiquitous on their own website? How does that make sense.
Another Kindle hater, bleh
All I want to know is when it is going to come out in the UK!
sent from: fav.or.it [FID944325]
Hopefully the Kindle 2 will be released worldwide for Christmas. It’ll be more compact, have a wacom touch-screen to be used for annotations and come with an unlocked HSDPA sim-card slot and WiFi.
Nice job, Eric! Wish I had your sources… For context, ther were 378,000 iPods shipped in its first year… No way the Kindle could ever match the impact/scale/size of the iPod, but 240K is not bad at all…
News and more on Amazon’s Kindle:
http://www.fiss...m/amazon-kindle
I totally agree. Amazon Kindle has been promoted for many months at the most eye-cachy position on their homepage. Despite the advertisement efforts, the fact that only 240,000 kindles had been sold suggests to me that it has a pathetically low buy-view ratio.
250k is small number.. but i think the number will pick up..
Kindle 2.0 is long way.. Bezos told the same in a interview..
http://www.enga...-launch-paid-v/
All I know is I love mine!
I think the Kindle will end up being like HP’s printers. With printers the money is in the ink. With Kindles, the money is in the books. I’ve spent a lot more than I expected on books (although if I’d thought about it, I’d have realized it).
I’m honestly stunned that Amazon has sold that many. The Kindle is clunky, ugly, and expensive.
Unlike iphone owners, people that buy a Kindle don’t buy it to show off in public. They buy it for the ebooks delivered wirelessly and the paper-quality screen.
I would have thought they would have sold 3x that many by now. With almost zero competition save the Sony reader.
Remember Microsoft sold 1 million Zune’s the first year entering a market with intense competition.
A lot of those Zunes were practically given away at fire sale prices. Still, I agree that 240K is disappointing for Kindle.
the device looks so ugly…. can’t wait for the new version that adds a little color to our lives… the best book i’ve read on kindle so far…. http://www.read...ex.php?RTA=web2
I think that number is way too high. Below, is a counter data point from a “known” source.
From last weeks NY Times Q2 conference call:
“New York Times Co. executives said today during the company’s
second-quarter earnings call that the newspaper has sold a “small amount” of subscriptions on the Kindle.”
http://www.bloo...&refer=home
Doesn’t that only say that the NYT isn’t a big seller? Not the Kindle itself, or books.
Of course the NYT is not a big seller on Kindle. They want to charge for a Kindle subscription, when all of their content is available for free online. I think most kindle subscribers are choosing to wait to read the NYT when they are at a computer.
Never seen one in an airport, on a bus, or in a Starbucks. I guess users are cradling them privately in their bedrooms, away from the public eye.
actually Cavo, you probably have seen one and didn’t register it. I take mine all over but the cover looks like a day planner. Unless you know what to look for you might overlook it entirely.
plus most of the time I carry mine in my purse.
Can’t say I really care how many they have sold. I have had my Kindle since end of April and it is exactly what I want (an electronic book reader).
I would much prefer electronic books (save the paper) and previously used a Dell Axim PDA. The Kindle is soooo much better than my old PDA.
And I can books almost instantly. I am on my 4th book in a series and I didn’t have to wait to buy the books at a store or for them to arrive from Amazon in days.
yes, to me these numbers seem really low, I know its not a fair comparison but Apple sold what, 6 million iPhones that were more expensive?
Whether or not you thought there was alot of buzz at the open, you’ll admit theres none now. So whose to say the rise in numbers continues.
And how many people aren’t buying DRM laced books, but instead using them as free cellular webbrowsers?
It took Apple over three years to sell its first 6M iPods, and it had multiple models.
It took Apple ONLY three years to sell 6M iPods in an almost non-existing MP3 market, selling at first to Mac users (5% of personal computers owners ! )
a) they aren’t that good as webbrowsers, merely adequate
b) i’ve bought way more drm’d books than I EVER thought I would. For one thing the drm doesn’t really affect me (I never want to read on my computer when I can read on my kindle and I don’t have a huge circle of people among whom I share my books, its mostly just me and the hun). For another, the kindle makes it UNFORTUNATELY easy to buy a book. I mean sure I COULD go home and search the web for a free download, or I could flick on the wireless and have a new book in my hands in seconds. I’m lazy and I can afford it, so the wireless usually wins.
c) the market for READERS is a little smaller than the market for people who listen to music and there’s no need to upgrade the kindle. The memory is upgradeable via online storage and SD cards and you don’t usually need to store ALL your books on the device because unlike music it takes hours to enjoy each file, not 3 minutes. Also, color of the kindle itself doesn’t matter because most people carry it in a case. And battery life is excellent. Apple sold a LOT of upgraded devices based on storage size, battery life, and so on. Its not that 6 million people bought an ipod, its that 1.5 million people bought 4 ipods each. That math is innacurate but you get the idea.
For sales to take off they need to improve the hardware. There are e-ink displays that have white backgrounds, not gray, so they are easier to read. They have multiple colors (maybe not full color yet) but more than black and white. Also, they need to ditch the keyboard and put it on the screen, like the iphone. How much typing do you do on an e-book anyways?
I think the Kindle could sell millions of units. Hopefully the next version of the device is a real improvement over version 1.0.
uh, the black on grey was a design decision. Less eyestrain. White would not be an improvement by those parameters.
I’ve enjoyed my Kindle so much that I just bought one for my Mom. It’s not perfect, but it’s great for reading books and that’s all I need it for.
I just wish more titles were available. New stuff seems to be available, but not too many older books.
Just look at that thing. I mean that thing looks like state of the art 1982 technology. Just put it on the shelf next to your Mattel electronic football and your Casio calculator watch.
I love my casio calculator watch!
Wouldn’t it just be smarter for Amazon to make eBook software for the current glut of devices out there like the MacBook Air? Marketing such a device that will be dated so quickly seems very eco-unfriendly to me. I played with one device and the screen resolution wasn’t that great and the hardware interface was anti-intuitive. With the exception of companies like Nintendo and Apple it’s very hard for most companies to get software and hardware right.
You need to check out an e-paper screen. E-paper is revolutionary and has nothing to do with the ridiculously expensive bloatware that is a Macbook air.
I don’t follow Mark’s odd rate of growth assumptions:
about 100% growth in 2009 sales, doubling to 200% in 2010. Everybody knows about the Kindle – it might have a boost at Christmas but I don’t see sales growing in this exponential fashion…
Now I know why Amazon doesn’t want to talk much about it. They sold more Harry Potters than that in a single day.
The real story is how Amazon faked the number one seller lists to show this big old newton wannabe on the number one seller lists since it was released.
How much did MS pay to have zune placed on the best seller list?
I’ll take my Apple tablet when it comes.
I have a Kindle. Yes, it is expensive. If it costs too much for you, don’t buy and please don’t whine about the cost. It will get cheaper, just like every other piece of electronics does, in time. Early adopters will pay premium prices. Then Dynex will make a 49 dollar version…
For me, the Kindle is the iPod of books. I can carry a mobile, instantly expandable library in an immersive, simple format. I have access to a tremendous number of FREE books thanks to Gutenberg, Feedbooks, etc…
this is a 1.0 device. It does have quirks. But I find myself reading much more than I usually do, and that is no mean feat! It is a great way to read and does not strain my eyes like a computer monitor.
And when Kindle 2 comes out, I will be on the preorder list, and I’ll pass this device on to my sister…
It’d be nice if Gutenberg, feedbooks and Google books was available on the Kindle using the wirless internet connection. Amazon could charge a reasonable bandwidth fee such as $1 or a few dollars per Gygabyte and then let people download free books and free blogs with that bandwidth.
Feedbooks.com and manybooks.net have download guides (books that you initially download and place in Kindle) with links for all their books. And you can download any book by accessing the link from your Kindle.
And its free – no charge courtesy of Amazon.
Do you mean that you can access all the books from feedbooks.com and manybooks.net directly on the Kindle without having to use a computer or the Kindle browser? Do they have a user-friendly wireless access to all those free books?
Yes, I’ve downloaded many books from manybooks and feedbooks to my kindle and I’ve never even connected the USB cable between my kindle and computer. You can download these download guides from the websites by navigating to them using the Kindle experimental internet browser. After they have downloaded to your kindle (which takes a minute or so) clicking on any of the links in the guides while the wireless is on downloads the free book for you immediately and adds it to your homepage instantly. It’s very painless. That’s been one of the biggest things I didn’t realize the Kindle would do for me — give me instant, painless access to all those out of copyright, out of print books.
TrendsSpotting covered the Kindle phenomena by following the buzz it generated (a small volume insignificant buzz).
We presented a qualitative research by inquiring e-readers potential users about Kindle. We found little (or none) enthusiasm and no involvement in the brand.
(we did find many Kindle “protectors” most likely working for the brand – trying to make contradicting arguments)..
Our insights were that Kindle is a failure (iPhone did set a new standard for everyday gadgets), but it still in Amazon’s ability to present a better promising product.
Thanks Erick, Finally we have the numbers to back our theory.
“Amazon Kindle Buzz – Was that a Hype?” http://www.tren...com/blog/?p=367
Anyone that actually used a Kindle thinks it’s awesome. What should Amazon care about Apple fanboys criticizing a product that has nothing to do with Apple products.
Let Apple release an epaper based product before comparing things that have nothing to do with each other.
You are making studies, but have you even seen and tried a Kindle or any other epaper based product?
My own experience creating a new weekly podcast about the Kindle is that the brand loyalty is pretty strong among people actually using it. What interests me is how the device is changing the way I read, and what I read. As an alternative to the backlit screens that dominate my day (MacBook Air, iPhone), the Kindle’s e-ink soothes my mind and and eyes and invites me to read slowly, in a more focused and receptive mode. I’m interviewing a Kindle user in each episode, asking “What’s on Your Kindle” and other questions. I like how the device gives me a new and fun way to enter into conversations about literature and reading.
Kindle will kill of book publishing industry due to piracy. I read Harry Potter 7 complete on my PC. I love Harry Potter books
More here:
I read the complete Harry Potter 7 book on PC one day before its release. More here http://iamprite...shes-flame.html
They need to change the name. It means nothing. It evokes no emotions. It’s obscure. And I just don’t like it. The only name worse than kindle would have to be cuil. But I digress….
I don’t think the kindle or any other book substitute will ever take off.
There is just something about holding an actual book in your hands that no electronic device can compare to.
If you already have a kindle and you want a gnarly case for it, check this site out.
i’ve had one since winter and absolutely love it. far better experience than i would have ever imagined. i now can’t live without it.
this one’s a winner.
I have a Kindle AND I have an iPhone. You cannot read books on an iPhone. Indeed, the moment you access the iPhone, the goal is to get whatever you’re doing done as fast as possible in order to put it back in StandBy to save the battery.
While the Kindle has flaws, what it does is transmit the books, (much cheaper than the paper versions) instantly to the device, at no charge for the wireless service. That’s major. Here’s why: you don’t have to pay tax or shipping for the book, nor do you wait for it for days or weeks. You have it instantly.
If you’re an avid reader like me, the Kindle will also pay for itself by the time you’ve bought your 30th book… that’s about a year for the typical heavy reader. Bestsellers for ten bucks… instantly? Hell yeah! Loving it.
The only problem is the digital Ink screen is kinda gray, not white like the screen you’re reading. A drawback, but not a deal breaker.
Despite its flaws, the Kindle really IS the iPod for Books. Its installed base will be just as large, and this really does change everything, just as Amazon hoped.
Someone asked how to get Feedbooks on the Kindle. Here you go:
The Kindle Download Guide is the easiest way to download public domain and creative commons books from Feedbooks. It could be described as having an on-demand library on your Kindle.
Step 1: The guide is a simple file that you need to add on your Kindle. The URL for this file is http://www.feed...com/kindleguide
Open the browser on your Kindle and open that URL
OR download that file and send it to your Kindle using the USB cable
OR download that file and send it to your Kindle using your e-mail: [user]@kindle.com
Step 2: Find yourself something to read. You could:
Flip through the guide, you’ll find books in alphabetical order, then authors in alphabetical order and finally lists (There’s a table of contents for all this, you can access this any time you want through the Kindle user interface).
Type a keyword using the search feature of your Kindle. Works very well as soon as the guide is fully indexed (you’ll have to wait for a few seconds after downloading the guide for your Kindle to fully index this file).
I’ve bought a Kindle a few weeks ago and I love it. It’s an amazing little gadget.
i love it
my site :
http://www.uptofly.com
I’m no ‘book reader’. I only read non-fiction materials. Since buying this Kindle I took a look at my Amazon purchases. They’re up 300% since before the Kindle. I now read the WSJ every day instead of two or three times a day (cough banner ads). And since Amazon makes purchases so easy by storing credit card info, I’m now buying all my MP3’s from them and have ditched Itunes. If Bezos can fully tap the university marketplace this device could be as ground breaking as the Ipod. This would be a great tool for stock analysis for the investment crowd, one Bezos knows well from his pre-Amazon days.
Btw, if I had a dime for every person that knocks this device but has never even held it in their hand I would be nearly as rich as Bezos.
Kindle is a great platform. I recently came across a personalized book series from Changeisstrange.com and I am trying to get them on the platform since these books are both entertaining and help kids, especially mine, with dealing with change like first day at school or a new sister or brother. Does anyone have an kindle biz dev contacts?
Amazon is actively encouraging new authors to self-publish in the Kindle format. They have something called Digital Text Platform which allows you to upload the book and convert it into the right format. You should check it out if you are interested.
http://dtp.amaz...n.com/mn/signin
I wrote and published 9 short stories and 6 novels on Amazon.com. I was hoping they would be avaible to anyone with a computer or internet devise could order and download but it turned out only Kindle owners can order or even peek at the first few pages. Well at least the paper versions of 5 of the novels will be out soon.
Great info on the sales activity of Amazon’s Kindle — and excellent info in general — it was just what I needed. I just wanted to let you know I quoted some of your article info in my Kindle Squidoo and Hub Pages. I cited you and placed a link to your article. Looking forward to your Kindle sales info update. Thanks!