One of our favorite bookstores, Powell’s Books, has turned out not to be our favorite eBook store. In fairness we should mentioned that Powell’s has a marvelous reputation as a place to go for good quality used books, right on the shelf next to “new” books that have yet to be purchased and carted home.
When it comes being an eBook store, however, it appears there is less to be desired. eBooks are difficult to find, and the only clear way to search for them is by book format. Although this may seem intuitive to some, it makes finding eBooks of a particular subject or topic area a might bit difficult. Add to that fairly high digital eBook pricing and it isn’t difficult to see that Powell’s is likely not a mainstream eBook reader favorite.
This site doesn’t rank very high for appeal or ease of use. Searching for eBooks alone is cumbersome and in many cases just simply impossible. While it is nice to have electronic versions mixed in with all other versions of a particular title, being able to search for eBooks only is very important feature as this new media becomes more prevalent. The advanced search functionality does allow one to search a title by electronic version alone, but this doesn’t allow for an easy way to simply browse, for example, all eBooks under the category of historic fiction.
Pricing for eBook options on the Powell’s site is higher than other eBook Stores, at around 85% of the cost of hardback versions of the same title.* Some digital titles were actually priced higher than their hardback counterparts. While there may be a very good reason for this pricing differential, it is difficult to see how an electronic book would cost more than a printed one without any additional features or printing and copying privileges.
*Percentage is generated by calculating average cost of electronic and new hardback versions of the same titles, choosing 10 titles randomly, using the same titles across sites when possible.
eBook formats are typical for both PC, Mac and electronic device users, though formats are limited to Adobe Digital Editions. While this software covers a huge selection of applications, it is not as useable on smartphones and may not even be available for many PDAs.
The site provides a section for audio books in addition to its other online offerings. As with the eBook selections they are mixed in with other formats in search results. Unlike the eBook section, however, the audio books are categories into several subject areas and easily sorted with one click to the appropriate subject.
Help and support is limited for digital readers. Help content for eBooks is limited to hardware and software troubleshooting, format comparisons, a glossary of eBook terms and Powell’s Books Terms and Conditions page.
Basically the Powell’s Books eBooks store was a bit of a disappointment for this eBook reader. Lack of a large selection, coupled with difficulty navigating and higher than average pricing, and it would be safe to say many users might opt to go somewhere else.
