Barnes & Noble charges users for free public-domain eBooks, too

By on Dec 1, 2010 at 3:00 PM
eBooks December 1, 2010

Following a report on Tuesday questioning the ethics surrounding free public-domain eBooks that were reformatted and made available for sale in Amazon’s Kindle store, BGR has learned that a similar scenario exists in Barnes & Noble’s NOOKbook store. In a thread entitled Scammers and Bottom Feeders: NOOKBooks Open for Business on Barnes & Noble’s public forums, users share a variety of complaints surrounding public-domain eBooks that are available for sale in the NOOKbook store. Beyond the ethical questions surrounding this practice, some users also raise concerns surrounding the inevitable clutter that results when “bottom feeders” post multiple copies of the same book for sale. One forum member lists 10 separate copies of the Dickens classic A Tale of Two Cities for sale that have been uploaded to the NOOKbook store by various third-parties. The famous Dickens novel is a public-domain work that is available for free through numerous outlets.

Whether or not Amazon and Barnes & Noble plan to put measures in place to prevent the sale of free public-domain eBooks remains to be seen — though it is important to note again that while this practice is certainly unethical, it is not illegal.

Thanks, Bic

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8 Comments

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  • editorkid

    I disagree that it’s inherently unethical. I’ve spent some time on Project Gutenberg, and often the passion that inspired someone to post an ancient tome was not equalled by his or her typing, transcribing, or proofreading prowess. I’m sure many of these sellers *are* just raking in a few bucks for a product that’s the same as the free version. But if I found someone who was actually vetting the editions, I’d consider that worth a coupla bucks.

    • Frank Castle

      Funny how it takes technology and a digital revolution for people to get up in arms about a business practice that’s existed since before they were born.

  • Nun

    This practice is no different than B&N selling free domain books on their own branded Classics Fixture in their physical stores. Different publishers can add their own insight, notes, etc. If you want the free version of the ebook, then just do a little searching before you “buy”.

  • Anonymous

    You want the “free” version, go to the library! Read a real book!

  • Anonymous

    Barnes and Noble have both the Free Version and a paid verison of the books. The Paid versions just have better formatting. Nothin wrong with that.

  • Tbondmobile

    Don’t be holier than thou. No question of ethics here. A service is being provided. Each product includes time and place utility.

  • http://www.torrentoff.com download

    I prefer e-book, because it’s convenient. You can download it for a couple of minutes without leaving home, no investment of time and money.

  • http://www.torrentoff.com download

    I prefer e-book, because it’s convenient. You can download it for a couple of minutes without leaving home, no investment of time and money.

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