Doomed: Kindle books officially outselling paperbacks

by Steven Mostyn - Jan 31 2011, 05:28

There’s no stopping the march of technology, especially where eBooks are concerned.

Moreover, if a fresh burst of Kindle chest-beating by Amazon is any indication, the days are numbered for paperback publications.

More pointedly, according to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, electronic Kindle books “have now overtaken paperback books as the most popular format on Amazon.com.”

According to Amazon, for every 100 paperbacks purchased through the store since the turn of the year, customers have opted for 115 Kindle downloads.

The retailer’s revelation doesn’t arrive as much of a shock, not least because Bezos & Co. were quick to tout the Kindle’s momentum during the summer of 2010 when they revealed that digital book sales had surpassed traditional hardcover sales.

Back in July, the sales ratio favouring Kindle publications over hardbacks stood at 143 against 100—it now stands at 300 Kindle sales for every 100 hardback sales.

Amazon’s latest attempt to ‘big-up’ its electronic book reader comes around a month after the retail giant revealed that its third-generation Kindle had “eclipsed” the final Harry Potter novel as the store’s bestselling product.

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