As Christmas is close, Winter Solstice is closer, and Hanukkah is already upon us, I can imagine some of you may be looking for ways to gift people that don’t involve shopping malls or overnight shipping. Give an eBook! Every year it has gotten easier and easier to send ebooks as gifts. Here are my short and easy instructions, with links to the longer versions for each vendor.
How to gift at each of the eBook marketplaces:
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/NOOK-Book-App-Gifts-FAQ-Questions/379003362/
NOOK Books can be gifted to anyone with a valid email address. Neither you nor the recipient need to own a NOOK to purchase or read a digital book.
To gift a NOOK Book,
- Click the Buy as Gift link under the Buy Now button on the product page.
- Enter your eGift recipient’s email address and an optional message.
- You may preview the eGift email before purchasing. To place your order, click the Buy Now button.
- You can select the date for the eGift email to be delivered.
The email will be sent to your gift recipient’s inbox in the early morning hours on the date you selected. The eBook will be a standard ePub file that any reader can view.
Apple iTunes: http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201783
Unlike what many sites claim, it is not only possible but easy to gift an iBook to another person. You can only purchase iBooks using an iPad or iPhone, or using the iTunes software. iBooks can only be read using an iPhone, iPad, or Macintosh.
- Open the iTunes Store (Mac or PC) or App Store (iPod or iPhone).
- iTunes: Pull down on the arrow to the right of Music (on the right sidebar) and select Books.
- Find a book you’d like to give.
- Click the arrow to the right of the price and select Gift This.
- Type the email address for the recipient.
- Pick the day you want to send the gift and click Next.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200555070
Kindle books can be read using a Kindle or the Kindle reader software available on every device and platform. However it cannot be read using any other reader, and may not be supported by newer technology.
Do I have to own a Kindle to give or receive a Kindle book as a gift? No. Kindle books can be given and received by anyone with an e-mail address. Kindle books can be read either on Kindle or using one of our free reading apps.
What if the recipient doesn’t like or want their gift? Kindle books received as gifts can be exchanged for Amazon.com gift cards.
Google Play: https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2850372?hl=en
Google is currently the only major ebook vendor who doesn’t support eBook gifting. I highly recommend taking your business elsewhere until they clue in.
Personal opinions about gifting:
Book Format
One of the most important difficulties is ensuring that the user will be able to read their book no matter what happens in the publishing marketplace. If you give a book published in the ePub standard format then the recipient is assured to have access no matter what happens in the marketplace. If you give them a book based on a proprietary format (e.g. Kindle) then they could be forced to repurchase the book later on as technology evolves.
However, if you know absolutely that the user has and prefers an Amazon Kindle, then you can gift them either format. They are already facing the technology risk associated with the Kindle format.
While it is possible to convert Kindle books to ePub format, it will lose information and formatting.
Digital Rights Management (DRM)
Likewise if a book is protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM) it may be difficult to read on other platforms. If possible, purchase a book without DRM protection.
If the publisher of the book you want to give insists on DRM protection, Barnes & Noble books are the safest for reading on any platform. Apple books with DRM cannot currently be read on anything other than iPhones, iPads, or Macintoshes. For this reason I highly recommend Barnes & Noble as the best vendor for eBook gifts safe to use on any device.
Naturally if you are willing to invest some time and potential but unlikely legal liability, you can safely remove DRM from any eBook and not lose any content or formatting. It appears likely that the courts may rule that removing DRM for personal use (not sharing with others) may soon be legally protected. That will be a great step forward.