I see Beingfrugal.net, a blog about saving money, recently gave a mention to Zlert in their "News of Note" section. Thanks Lynnae!

Paperback alert change

Companies that control content, such as movie, record and book companies tend to charge a premium for new releases.

For movies, they want you to watch it on the big screen. DVD and online releases come later. For books, the vehicle they use for premium pricing is the hardcover. Now hardcovers are nice n' all, they keep the pages in better shape. I don't think, though, that your average book publisher is concerned with preventing pages becoming dog-eared. It's simply a tool to charge you more for the exact same content as that in the paperback version.

Now, this model of tight control may change as these companies power is eroded by digital technologies (à la the Record companies). For example, down the road, DVDs may be released at the same time as the movie on the big screen. For now though, with books, you can pay anywhere from $5 to $12 more for the hardcover.

I enjoy reading. I do not, though, like being forced to pay more for the exact same content. I wait for the paperback. How do I know when the book becomes available in paperback? I set up a paperback alert on zlert.

We've made a change to the paperback alerts. Previously you would receive an alert when the book was available to be purchased on Amazon. In practice though, this was often well before the book was released. 5, 6 or 7 months before it actually shipped.

We think it's better to be alerted on the release date itself. Then you know the book is out and you have the option to buy it then or when you finish reading your current book. So, from now on, paperback alerts will let you know on the day the paperback is released. Happy reading!