Publisher HarperCollins and bookseller Foyles have joined hands to come up with a unique scheme, a book bundle offer where buyers will get both the print as well as the ebook version of the same as a single buy. The above draws some parallel from Kindle MatchBook though the Amazon offer covers a huge 70,000 titles. In stark contrast, HarperCollins and Foyles are offering just 8 titles with it being trade books that are on offer. Foyles though have stated there will be more titles added later on.
The titles that form part of the bundle offer include: Catastrophe by Max Hastings, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, As Luck Would Have It by Derek Jacobi, Faster Than Lightning by Usain Bolt, The Pagan Lord by Bernard Cornwell, Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope, The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan and The Demon Dentist by David Walliams.
“HarperCollins is always keen to experiment with getting our authors’ work into the hands of readers in as many different formats as possible. We are delighted to be part of this industry first with Foyles and are very much looking forward to seeing how readers respond,” said Charlie Redmayne, CEO of HarperCollins.
The offer starts from today, October 31 in what can be termed as the first from a book retailer in UK which incidentally has also been the proud recipient of the ‘National Bookseller of the Year’ award, 2013. The bundle offer will be about £5 more than what it would take to buy the hardcover alone. The printed version of the book will carry the voucher code to obtain the ebook which will be via Foyles powered by txtr, Foyles own ebook service. The real book will also be shrinkwrapped so that the voucher code does not fall off.
Buyers will have to enter the code at the http://www.foyles.co.uk/bundles site to download the ebook. The same can then be read using any ebook reading device or ereader application that accepts ePub titles. The same can of course be accomplished using the Foyles eReading app as well which is a free download from iTunes or Play Store.
Speaking on the development, Foyles CEO Sam Husain said: “Ebook bundling is something that Foyles customers regularly ask for so we’re really pleased to partner with HarperCollins to offer more choice and convenience for readers. It will allow customers more flexibility to enjoy hardback books at home and carry the ebook version with them when travelling, or to give books as gifts.”
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