A tech management
and consulting firm has launched a web service that appears to make it easier
for publishers to sell e-books directly to its customers.
The service,
called skBookshop.com, helps publishers tap into the 900 million users on
Facebook, plus provides a low-cost way to create mobile apps for Android
devices immediately, with an app for Apple iOS gadgets coming later this year.
There are fees to
use, but publishers are given a password-protected login to a site that allows them
to create full-color catalogs with pages for author and book information that links
back to the publisher’s web site. The service also provides detailed analytics
and tracking information, can collect e-mail addresses, and allows publishers
to easily create e-book promotions.
Justin Loeber of
CarverTech, the firm that created the service, claims publishers can’t sell
directly to customers from the site because rapid development in Facebook and
mobile platforms make it difficult to keep up with the coding. At least not
yet, and booksellers have to be wondering about the message being sent to
visitors who can click on a “buy button” that takes them back to the
publisher’s web site to make the purchase.
