People often buy new Kindle ereaders this time of year with Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, so I thought it would be interesting to look over Amazon’s Best Sellers list for Kindles to see which models are most popular with all the sales going on.
With the exception of the Kindle Scribe, Amazon’s sale prices aren’t as low this year as they usually are, especially on the Kindle Paperwhite, and yet the 8GB Kindle Paperwhite is currently the #1 best selling Kindle. That’s kind of surprising considering the price is only $20 off at $119.99 (last year for Black Friday and Cyber Monday it was $94.99, and it was only $89.99 for Prime Day).
The #2 best selling Kindle is currently the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition. It adds 4x more storage space, wireless charging, and an auto-adjusting frontlight sensor for an extra $20 over the base model so I can see how people consider it a better value, but it’s still kind of surprising it’s selling better than the $79 basic Kindle.
Speaking of which, the $79 Kindle in black is #3 on the list, and the blue version sits at #7.
The #4 spot is held by the 16GB Kindle Paperwhite, and #5 and #6 are both Signature Editions in different colors. #8 is the 8GB Paperwhite again, this version without ads. #9 is the kids bundle of the Kindle Paperwhite, so 7 of the top 10 best selling Kindles are some version of the Kindle Paperwhite.
The 32GB Kindle Scribe holds the #10 spot currently, and the 16GB version is ranked at #12.
I know a lot of people are disappointed with Amazon for not releasing a new Kindle Oasis, but I wonder if that’s just because it isn’t very popular anymore. The Kindle Oasis is ranked pretty low on the best sellers list currently. It doesn’t show up until #17 (8GB) and #18 (32GB).
Maybe it’s the fact that it’s old and kind of outdated at this point, and people aren’t interested in paying a higher price for it. It’s only $40 more than the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition though, but at this point the SE is clearly a lot more popular.
It’s would be great to see Amazon release a follow-up to the Oasis in some form, even if they call it something else, but with the Kindle Paperwhite being so popular it kind of undermines the development of other Kindles.
I am surprised that the Signature Edition is so #2 on the list, but I guess people think they are getting a better device because they are paying more, better in quality build and durability, while it really is no better than the regular paperwhite. I would also guess they are influenced by the idea of having 32 GB of storage, which is generally not needed, unlike a computer or tablet that the more memory the better. In short, I am guessing people are paying more than they need to for not fully understanding what they are actually getting with the signature. I am not trying to shoot down the Signature edition, just question the reasons people are buying it.
I think more storage space is a big selling point for a lot people because that’s an important thing to consider when it comes to other types of electronics, but I’ve always pushed back against that because I know how small ebook files are and how it’s literally impossible to read even 16GB worth of ebooks before an ereader’s battery wears out. I think companies know people will purchase something with more storage space so they go out of there way to offer more expensive options since storage is cheap for them. It’s easy money.
One thing to note, the Signature Edition has ads removed by default, and the price increase to do that on the non SE makes the total price roughly even. Could have been a factor.
I really hope they make page turn buttons an option on the Paperwhite. People have been able to choose storage space, cellular or wi-fi only, color and other things, I wish page turn was also an option.
Or to make a different model of a traditional shape Kindle with page turn buttons.
And to update the Oasis line.
Well, I am glad that the Paperwhite SE is popular. I have not bought it though. Generally, trends in e-readers have aligned themselves with my preferences. Unlike trends in music and movies, i.e.. I’m glad that I do no desire page turn buttons. Buttons on an otherwise flat device make me think of the 80s, for some reason.
At this point I just want them to make Scribe Mini with 7″ or 8″ display and page turn buttons. I don’t care how much it’d cost, I’d just buy it. Right now they don’t have any Kindle for me.