Amazon to Remove Free Books From Kindle Bestsellers List
Publishers Weeklyreports that Amazon.com plans to remove free titles from its Kindle bestsellers list. The list is currently filled with ebooks that cost $0.00. No date for the revised list has been given but PW says a rep told them the change will take place in a "few weeks."
The Kindle bestseller list has been used by publishers to gauge consumer behavior towards e-books, as well by consumers use to point them to titles. An executive at HarperCollins said she thinks Amazon is certainly doing the right thing by splitting the list, noting that consumers "want to know what books everyone is reading, and buying," and that a list which combines free downloads and books for sale doesn't deliver this information. When asked if she thought the separation of the lists might make promotional e-book giveaways less effective, she said it might.
It was a little absurd to call free ebooks bestsellers since they are not actually sold. The current Kindle bestseller list is still showing the free ebooks.
