The Kindle is great. I have the most recent Paperwhite and love it. Instant access to books, great battery life, thinness, e-ink display, free of notifications and other distractions… The list of Kindle benefits is certainly not lacking. Recently having read many reviews of the new flagship Kindle Oasis, I’ve begun wondering why no one focuses - not even Amazon - on what should be Kindle’s #1 selling point: A Kindle will more than pay for itself. 

In my experience over the last six months of reading exclusively on a Kindle, each biography or novel I buy that I otherwise would’ve bought at a physical book retailer is at least $5 less from Amazon, and often in excess of $10 cheaper. Then there’s the exposure that Amazon gives you to books - I receive plenty of recommendations both on the Amazon website and via email of popular books that are discounted for a limited time. I’ve read a handful of these sub-$5 novels recommended by Amazon, that I wouldn’t have otherwise discovered, and have enjoyed them immensely. 

Just some quick price comparisons: 

- The Martian by Andy Weir: 

          $22.99 @ Dymocks  |  $10.99 on Amazon Kindle

- Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson:

          $22.99 @ Dymocks  |  $13.99 on Amazon Kindle

- Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges:

          $19.99 @ Dymocks  |  $14.99 on Amazon Kindle

- More Fool Me by Stephen Fry: 

          $24.99 @ Dymocks  |  $10.99 on Amazon Kindle

For the sake of the above comparisons, all prices are in Australian dollars and accurate at the time of writing (6th May 2016). Prices compared between dymocks.com.au and amazon.com.au.

Dymocks just can’t compete with the prices offered for the exact same books from Amazon. The smallest price saving from the above list of examples is $5, with the highest being $14. On average, $10 is saved per book bought, so to essentially “pay off” a Kindle Paperwhite (at ~$180) it would take 18 books - about a years worth of reading for a keen reader. That’s not to mention the dozens of other books that will be purchased over the life of the Kindle, all with savings of approximately $10.  

So, if you’re on the fence about the Kindle I urge you to consider the cost savings associated with the purchase of this device. It’s something not often mentioned in reviews or even by Amazon themselves, but it’s certainly something to consider.