def.Tran·sum·er·ism [kuhn-soo-muh-riz-uhm] n.Transumers are consumers who would rather rent or pay for managed access to items/information rather than own them. (see TrendSpotting) BookSwim is proud to be a transumerist; a rental and product sharing advocate on the forefront of a revolution to transumerism.
BookSwim offers book rentals for all types of books, including textbooks. The books are rented in a similar arrangement as movie rentals from Netflix.
From their Web site, the company states: “BookSwim is the first online book rental library service lending you paperbacks, hardcovers and now college textbooks Netflix®-style directly to your house, without the need to purchase! We stock all the latest bestsellers, new releases, and classics! Read your books as long as you want - no late fees! Even choose to purchase and keep the books you love! We are now also your gateway for textbook rental.”
The ways BookSwim is similar to Netflix is the books can be returned postage paid and kept for as long as the reader wants. The number of books that can be rented each month varies from one to five, depending on the plan. There is also an unlimited plan available that doesn’t limit the number of books that can be rented each month.
Referrals are encouraged at BookSwim. The BookSwim member who refers a friend gets a $10 BookSwim credit. The friend gets 50 percent off the price of creating a new account.
Bookworms can read as many books as they like for free just by joining the local library. But nabbing the latest best seller could take a while.
Amber Lawson reads between 15 and 20 books per month and joined Bookswim.com after realizing she was spending $125. every month in new and used book stores.
Now she’s down to $30 per month using BookSwim.com. “You can get as many books as you want for one set price and they send me all the books I want,” she said. Prices at bookswim.com start at 9.95 per month. Bookswim.com has different plans depending on how many books per month you want to read.
The books are mailed to subscribers along with a postage paid return label. “I send back the books I’ve read and they send me the next ones on my list,” said Lawson.
Lawson said she also has the option of purchasing a book she wants to add to her collection rather than returning it.
If you have a money saving tip you can email it to vhoff@11alive.com and follow Valuesval on Twitter.com
Can’t turn away the latest best-selling novel even on a budget? Check out five Web sites to help you save and continue your reading habits:
• PaperBackSwap.com — Post books you’re willing to swap and earn credits when other readers take yours. You cash in the credits to grab someone else’s book offer.
• BookSwim.com — This service, similar to Netflix, lets you rent books at different levels of membership. The devout reader might check out the 11-at-a-time $60 plan.
• LibriVox.org — Download free audiobooks.
• ChiPubLib.org — Download e-books and digital books. Must be a member of the Chicago Public Library. Enter your library card number and ZIP code for downloads.
Quietly I’ve been watching the e-book pricing debate and the feuds between Amazon and many publishers. I’ve seen quite a few interesting articles on the price of e-books from heavy hitters such as Cory Doctorow (via podcasts) and articles such as this. There are tons of other articles I’ve read lately and all of them seem to be offering perspectives but very few of them (if any) provided an actual step by step solution that publishers can follow to solve this crazy complex question of HOW TO PRICE AN E-BOOK.
For those that are unfamiliar with a dutch auction and don’t feel like reading here’s a short summary
1) The seller sets a quantity of an item to sell, the description of the item, and a time to keep the auction open
2) Bidders get to select a price and quantity they wish to buy at. For example, they can say they are willing to pay $50 each for 10 units. Their bid is a contract and should they be a winner, they must pay and will receive the item. (The second part is key to getting people to be honest in their perceived value).
3) When the auction is over, starting with the highest price, quantities are matched until the quantity is met and that is the price that the top bidders get. (Ok, this is a mouthful, see the chart below)
EXAMPLE:
Stated Quantity: 80
Bids:
Bid Quantity
Bid Price
10
$100
20
$80
50
$50
100
$25
1000
$20
10000
$15
In this case,the quantity level would be met at the price of $50 (10 + 20 + 50), so the 80 people who bid $50+ would be sold the item at $50.
Got it? Good. Cause now comes the fun part.
If you have ever taken econ 101 or had to sit into a business meeting with a CFO, you’ve seen this before. Its the supply/demand curve. Most of the articles that have talked about e-book sales have mentioned that publishers need to figure out the supply and demand curve for e-books so they can solve the pricing problem. Well, I’m about to explain how dutch auctions will solve that problem, and how to make the data work.
The Information a Dutch Auction Provides 1) The number of people willing to pay a given price for e-books
2) The distribution of people at a given price
3) How scarcity effects price
To keep this discussion short(er) and focused, I will NOT touch upon hardcover/paperback releases or pricing.
How Does a Dutch Auction Solve This Problem? If you look at the chart above with bid quantity and price, as you see, your quantity increases as your price decreases. In actuality, there will be a cutoff where a reduction in price will not yield a significant gain in quantity. To save on time and screen space, I will use the above table in the rest of these examples. From the data, we’ve learned that we have a demand of 11,180 from the sample size of people who knew of the auction. Based on this data, if we know 10% of our addressable market saw the auction, then we have potential sales of 111,800 (assuming that we sell it at $15). We also see that we have a potential of 11,800 if we sell it at $20. With this, we can actually plot out that supply/demand curve. (I will address data quality issues later). I’ve addressed facts #1 and #2 above. As for scarcity, based on the quantity defined in the dutch auction, you will have different price distributions (which can help address limited editions)
How Can This Be Done With Statistical Accuracy? I have a reasonable schooling in mathematics and have held quite a few positions being “the stats guy” so I understand the importance (and irrelevance) of limited/bad data. Below are the steps to gather enough data so that the information gathered will be statistically relevant and will provide a reasonable cross section of information.
Providing Diversity Within Data: 1) For all of the following lists, they will need to be repeated for the following groups (Suggested min 5 authors per group):
a) Mass market (high recognition) authors such as James Patterson, Janet Evanovich, Stephanie Meyer
b) Niche market (high recognition within a niche) authors such as Neil Gaiman
c) Mid-market (medium recognition) authors - this would be a multi-published author with some popularity
d) Debut authors. For best results, ignore previously well known figures
e) Celebrities. It seems their putting out books in greater frequency and you can’t ignore them.
How To Collect The Data: There are a few rules that need to be followed for any of this to work. A failure to follow any of these rules will compromise the data and provide less accurate results
1) There needs to be a limited quantity that will be provided during the dutch auction. This quantity should be less than the total demand (60% or so). Prior sales can be used as in indicator.
2) This must be the only channel in which the e-book can be purchased. There must be at least 3-4 months delay before the e-book will be available outside of this dutch auction.
3) No pricing data should be available in the auction description. Bidders must not be given starting points for comparison with such immediacy.
4) Traffic must be driven to the auction site. Quantity being sold during the auction should be driven by the expected traffic that will make it to the auction.
5) The auctions should be run during the month or two leading up to the release of the book and should end on the day the book is released (so that winning bidders can receive their e-book on the day of release)
6) Bid quantity must be fixed at 1 unit and bidders only allowed one bid. This will keep out people trying to fix results or bulk buyers. The goal is to find out what consumer demand is.
Summary: 1) Publishers should run 20-25 dutch-auctions to gather data on the supply/demand curve of books
2) Publishers should control the supply of those e-books to get an accurate idea of demand distribution
3) After data is collected, a reasonable idea of what specific types of books with different marketing spends/author recognition look like will be gained
I realize this is a blog post, and I’m speaking to a general audience, but I will be available via comments and e-mail (nruffilo@bookswim.com) if you have further questions about this.
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ― You’ve probably heard about renting textbooks, now that system applies to all books with a new website called “Bookswim.”
By their own description, Bookswim.com is like Netflix for books. For around $10 a month, you get unlimited book rentals and the shipping is absolutely free!
The books are delivered to your house and you can take as long as you need to read them. Just ship the books back when you’re done.
You can even buy the books you like after you’ve read them.
First, you sign up with the service, and then pick the books you want to read and put them in the “rental pool.”
There’s no checkout, you just wait for the books to arrive and start reading! If you have one of those e-readers, or read on your phone, they offer I-book rental as well, at ten to twenty dollars off the cover price.
And best of all, there’s no contract, and no cancellation fee, you can quit at any time.
So how do you save by renting your bestsellers?
If you bought ten books in one month, the company says this service would save you $175 by using Bookswim!
You might be a Transumer. You might have Netflix or Blockbuster for your online movie rental. You might even have Gamefly for your Game rental. But how about your online Book rental? Well that is the business model of BookSwim – an online Book rental system.
Simply choose your plan, choose from the large library they have and get the books in the mail. No late fees – return at any time through the pre-pay envelopes. The next book will arrive shortly.
In this Quickcast interview, we talk with Eric Ginsberg – a teacher, musician and librarian that brought over some great ideas of online book rental to life months after BookSwim was created by George Burke and Shamoon Siddiqui. We talk with Eric and discuss the reasons why someone would use BookSwim as opposed to an e-reader, buying or just going to the Library to get books for Transummers.
Plans start at $9.95. Gift cards are available for those you love, too. If you are a Transumer – person who rents, consumes, then gives back – Bookswim will definitely fulfill the transummation of books.
Netflix-style book rentals.
BookSwim, a Netflix-style service for books, is offering MORE readers a one-month free trial membership for the three- or five-at-a-time plan. BookSwim delivers paperbacks, hardcovers and college textbooks to your front door. Go to www.bookswim.com/readMORE and use the promo code readMORE to sign up!
Oh, have I got a treat for you! Do you love reading as much as I do? Because, trust me, reading is my greatest passion. I will read anything, but when I find that story that captures my mind completely, it’s like the world stops. I don’t eat. I don’t sleep. I don’t do anything other than curl up into a paper-filled fantasy land.
I must admit, I’ve been deep in a book the last few days. I’m thrilled my children our bathed and fed, really.
So, if you are a book lover like me, you know that the habit is a touch expensive. Oh, sure, we have the library. But, alas, Inland Empire residents are avid readers. Best sellers are checked out almost immediately and the wait list is pages long. Never fear, I have a solution! Rather, Book Swim does. Book Swim is to books what Netflix is to movies. I am not even kidding.
You pick a rental plan. You receive your books in the mail and return, with free shipping, when you are done. Like the book too much to part with it? It’s yours with a click of the button.
Unlimited books. Free shipping. Buy if if you love it. How sweet is that?
Lately I’ve been absolutely giddy with indulging my first geeky love: Books. When I spotted this gorgeous Dutch Enlightenment Book Light, it hit me that Steve Jobs was wrong — people do still read books, and technology will never strip us of our desire to read. To prove my point, I’ve put together a slideshow of geeky reading-related products and websites, all geared toward book-thirsty geeks, for your, ahem, your reading pleasure.
Bookswim
Too busy to get to the library? Let Bookswim take care of you, Netflix-style. Then you won’t be able to complain about not reading enough!
……..Bookswim.com is another renting site…… users have to pay monthly. The site runs much like Netflix, but for books. Users choose the plan that fits their finances and their membership is billed automatically every month. The cheapest plan is $9.95 a month for one book, and $3.99 shipping and handling. Some plans offer free shipping……..
Today’s tough economy has consumers socking away cash instead of buying big-ticket items. But all hope is not lost. You can carry a new-to-you designer handbag each week, or get your hands on a jackhammer … as long as you don’t mind giving it back when you’re done. A handful of niche online companies are offering high-demand rentals at an affordable price…….
……4) Paper and water never mix, unless you’re taking a dip over at BookSwim, THE place to rent the hottest book titles. A lit-lover’s dream, BookSwim(mers) can browse around the clock for new reads or old favorites. BookSwim will even purchase a book you’re looking for if it’s not already in their inventory. Keep a book as long as you like, and never worry about late fines. And if you become smitten with a borrow, it’s yours to keep with the click of a button. At the highest subscription level, 11 reads can be borrowed at a time, with free shipping. Subscriptions start at $9.99 for one book a month…….
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that 4 million people retired, effective Dec. 31. For many, retirement and age are life-altering events that require changes in the way things are done and the attitude to be willing to change and adapt.
Pre-boomers are now a vibrant part of the retirement community and those in the boomer community and those in the early boomer generation, after 1946, are retiring at the rate of 10, 000 per day for the next 20 years. A changed lifestyle and eventually some different needs has created new businesses, catering to a demographic with a technological past and an generation characterized by determination, entrepreneurship and comfort. It is not surprising that new businesses are now owned by these retirees or are simply others who now see a niche.
For example, while this generation did not grow up with the technology of renting video movies, once the technology became mainstream, it wasn’t long before a video rental store seemed to be located as frequently as fast food restaurants. And while books preceded everyone, now the concept of video rentals is being applied to book rentals, specially targeting a population who might need the convenience of home delivery at some point. www.Bookswim.com is a service that aspires to be the Netflix for books and while they promote the fact that they are inexpensive, a feature appreciated by many retirees with a reduced income, it also saves time and hassle of traffic and it helps the environment. One convenience not thought of is gift cards for retirees. Especially for those confined to an assisted living facility or who aren’t able to get out as much, a gift card could be great help to children and friends with gift problems…………
Every man has gone through the anguish of finding the right gift. Many have also felt the pain of giving the wrong gift. While the biggest trick is to make sure that there is thought behind the gift, you need not stumble in the darkness trying to find meaning behind a thoughtful gift.
Throughout history, flowers have always been a wonderful gift and they certainly remain so. Keep in mind that presentation of the gift is a large part of the gift. Think about unwrapping a gift - the surprise is part of the present. Here is a guide to roses, recommendations for delivery methods, as well as other Valentine’s Day ideas. Keep in mind, beyond the cost of the flowers, most of these are relatively inexpensive — or even free (although may require some practice, learning and time).
The Rose Rules:
As with all things in romance, giving a rose is an art. With art, there are extremely powerful ways to break the rules, but, for the mainstream, following rules is the best way to achieve.
1) Never give an even amount of roses. If you get a dozen, give your partner 11 and the last one should be artfully delivered (see Uses for Roses below)
2) One perfect rose is worth one million wilting roses.
3) Thorns are natures protection, they have their time and place, be mindful of their presence in your delivery.
4) If you wish to deliver a colored rose, know its meaning. You never want to get caught in a lie, or, have nothing at all to say.
5) Never give a rose in the same way twice to the same girl. Romance is an art.
Uses of Roses:
The Story: Women are a wonderously imaginative creatures. Pick out an assortment of rose colors and slowly go through why you have picked them. A history of your relationship, the feelings you had while on a date, make your story as vivid as the color in the roses to achieve the greatest effect. Keep in mind the rose color meanings with your story. Also - if you do not have a photographic memory, feel free to use note-cards - it isn’t cheating.
The Infinite Softness of a Rose:
Beyond the beauty of a rose, there is one more often overlooked quality - they are amazingly soft. The smoothness of a fresh rose petal rivals that of high quality silk and is softer than the softest human skin. For this reason, it is highly erotic and pleasurable to be stroked with the petals of a rose. By placing a rose petal between your index/middle finger and pinky/ring finger, you make a perfect surface for exploring your lover. If you have bigger fingers, you can put a petal around each of your fingers. While in full daylight this looks awkward, in the dimness of night and during a passionate moment it will be greatly forgiven.
This softness can heighten a massage and create a pleasurable yet soft atmosphere. Looking for some quick romantic ideas that you can do for your partner? Life is filled with simple joys and moments where, if you seize them properly, you can spark great romance.
Five Gifts Guaranteed to Get Ger Going:
1. Flowers: It’s obvious but still powerful. Try to note which flowers are her favorite. Roses are a great fallback but if she loves daisies or sunflowers - go there first. 1800flowers.com has some great arrangements for those on a budget, or stay local and try Big Apple Florist.
2. Massage: While you may not be a trained masseuse, that doesn’t mean she can’t get a real massage! You can easily find reputable spas via Citysearch — or check out our favorite, Great Jones Spa which has an amazing water lounge, so she can enjoy herself post-treatment for as long as she’d like.
3. Dinner & Movie: While taking your woman out on Valentine’s Day is sweet, it can be costly and difficult to get reservations at a nice restaurant. Instead, you can get a reservation for the future, and pre-buy movie tickets and let her pick out the movie. It’s economical and still sweet. Try Fandango.com for advanced tickets, get some popcorn and sweets on the fly!
4. Books: Women like books as much as men like video games and sports. There’s a service - BookSwim.com which is the Netflix for books. Instead of trying to figure out what books she wants, let her choose!
5. Chocolate: Chocolate is one of women’s major food groups. Try to find out if she likes dark or milk chocolate and try not to get the cheap off-brand chocolate either, quality matters. Stay classy and give La Maison du Chocolat. Have a funky side? Opt for Chocolate Bar NYC.
Today’s tough economy has consumers socking away cash instead of buying big-ticket items. But all hope is not lost. You can carry a new-to-you designer handbag each week, or get your hands on a jackhammer … as long as you don’t mind giving it back when you’re done. A handful of niche online companies are offering high-demand rentals at an affordable price…….
Why don’t you rent the items you didn’t get for Christmas? Kara talks about renting designer bags, dresses and even books! Rent Books Netflix style!