Print and E-book Fans Unite with Kindle Matchbook

By: Kristin Feisler

Ever regret purchasing a hard-cover book from Amazon now that there's a cheaper e-book version available? Now you don't have to. According to a Mashable article by Samantha Murphy Kelly, Amazon has released a program called Matchbook which allows you to purchase a discounted Kindle edition of any print book you've bought on the site. Just how discounted will these e-versions be? These e-books will cost up to $2.99, but some e-versions will be free. This includes any print books you've purchased since Amazon first launched its online bookstore in 1995.

Amazon Matchbook

Matchbook was announced on Sept. 3 and was officially released today, Oct. 29. Amazon came up with Matchbook after multiple customers asked for combined digital and print content. Amazon reached out to publishers and authors to enroll in Matchbook which would bring additional revenue to the platform and to the writers. The program offers over 70,000 books, which is a massive increase from the 10,000 available books it had in September.

Some of the available Kindle Matchbooks

I believe Amazon has hit the jackpot with this idea. I am one of those hard-cover lovers, but also like the idea of my books being mobile. Now I can purchase a print book, write all over it if I want, and use my e-version when I'm on the go. Matchbook is giving its customers the best of both worlds and will spark popularity with paper book fans. The only downfall I see is having to pay extra for the e-version. Even though the digital edition will be inexpensive, I hate to hand over additional money when I just purchased a print book. Maybe an Amazon Kindle competitor will pick up on this idea and allow customers to receive digital editions free with the purchase of a print edition. What are your thoughts on Amazon Matchbook?