Libri, an online bookshop and middleman, sells more digital books (e-books) than paper books through their online web-shop. This turning point was reached at the end of last month. According to manager Per Dalheimer this is not an incidental peak, but the result of a constant development. The ebooks are now the most sold category of the online bookshop. Libri offers 530.000 digital titles, including 125.000 German digital titles. These are not only sold through their own webshop, but also via thousand other webshops, such as Bol.de, Thalia.de and Buch.de.

According to a Gfk study commissioned by Börsevein, the revenue share of e-books in Germany in 2010 was a mere 0,5% of the total book sales. Yet after an increase of e-reader sales following Christmas, Alexander Skipis, director of Börsevein, already predicted a breakthrough for the e-book in 2011. Since last summer Amazone.com already sells more digital than paper books. 

In the Netherlands, however, the sales of digital books still needs to get started. Recent research by SEO Economic Research (SEO) in collaboration with the Dutch Institute of Information Law (IViR), shows that the percentage of sales of e-books is less than 1% in the Netherlands. Also less than 1,5% of all book titles are available in the form of an e-book. According to research by GfK Retail & Technology the percentage of sales until October 2011 is 1,5%, corrected for only the Dutch sales. 

Read more on ebooks on FutureOfCopyright.com:

• The Netherlands competition authority aspires more competition regarding e-books 
• European politicians debate about VAT and the price of e-books 
• E-readers encourage growing illegal market for e-books 

Reference: ereaders.nl, boekblad.nl (only available for subscribers) 

By: Deniece Teterissa