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The 2011 Christian Readers Survey
- 05/10/11
- 15
In May of last year I created a Christian Readers survey. This was an attempt to answer some questions I had been asking myself about where we buy our books and why we buy them there. I started with the question, "Why do people shop at one e-commerce store and not another” and went from there. The results, based on over 2200 responses, were very interesting, not just to me, but to you (judging by the comments I received) and to Christian booksellers and publishers. (You can see last year’s results right here).
Now that a year has elapsed, I thought the time was right to do another survey. This one is the same, but different. I improved upon last year’s questions while swapping a few others in and out. And now I’d be grateful if you’d take just a few moments to fill it out. There are just 20 questions and I can’t imagine that it would take you more than 5 minutes to complete. Thanks in advance for your participation!
I promise to share the results with you when all is said and done…
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I worship and serve as a pastor at 
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Comments (15)
I would be interested in audio books as well. Now that I have an hour commute to work either way, I would say that 75% of the “reading” that I do is via audio book. Perhaps I am just a big faker, but am curious nonetheless.
reg. survey.
Something that is overlooked in the whole eBook market is the vital role in which it plays to people like me who are missionaries in countries that it is very difficult if not impossible to get books other than eBooks, very much enjoying ‘the next story” Thank you for your time and prayer that has gone into writing it. It has both been an encouragement and challenge.
Tim, one of your questions was a little leading. About buying more eBooks in the future, the only answer available to whether or not you would definitely buy more eBooks in the future was “Yes! I love reading eBooks”. It’s got little to do with love, and more to do with price and availability. It also has to do with storage. I can truck hundreds of books on my iPhone and iPad and read them anywhere, plus sync them to Kindle on my laptop.
Tim, one of your questions was a little leading.
Fair enough…
Being in the minority here (a female. My husband refers to me as a “stay-at-home theologian”), I need to mention that price of a book should really reflect the actual cost plus the shipping cost (though the survey listed these as separate items). The total makes a difference in my decisions, and it is primarily why I choose Amazon. Though another site may have a cheaper book price, the shipping would offset any savings. Also, I recommend another category for where you read e-books- I have Kindle app for my android phone, though I do not actually own a kindle device.
I also should express my thanks for your dedication to this blog. I, along with so many, appreciate your desire to keep us continually learning and analyzing, especially in current issues relevant to the church.
perhaps you should include banner of truth?
BTW, thanks for Monergismbooks.com, I just went there for the first time! CBD Reformed doesn’t seem very … reformed
Right after your last survey, I received a Kindle as a gift and admit that I have been purchasing only ebooks for the most part, and mostly from Amazon. They make the little one-click thingy so easy, too easy sometimes. So sad.. I want to support monergism and westminister, but my laziness is winning out.
tim! I don’t know how I missed the survey results last year (or maybe I just forgot I saw them…) but I actually work in market research now, and the value of “trended data” over quarters or years or any other period of time is always revealing & valuable. I look forward to part 2.
Thanks for the article. It was incredibly insightful. I have been loyal to Amazon for over 10 years now simply because I believe they always have the best prices and free shipping; I admit I don’t price-shop though…not enough time, but also because I’m lazy about it!
Being a fairly new Christian, I was happy to learn of the reformed bookstores Monergism and Westminister and how their prices are the same if not better than Amazon’s. Because of your article, I’m going to look into both stores and give them a chance; it would be awesome to support a reformed Christian company instead.
Thanks!
That’s what I love about my Kindle- I switch audio on dog walks, drives, or finishing up some mundane activity. Try the fast speed once you get used to it the normal sounds patronizing.
Coming from a Southern Baptist background, the only book E-commerce distributors I was familiar with on the survey, were Amazon and Lifeway. I had no idea there were other options! The things you learn on Challies.com!
Oddly, the most difficult question on the survey was whether or not I identified myself as Reformed. I answered “no”, but in retrospect, I am much, much closer to being Calvanist than being Arminian. Perhaps my hang up is I don’t want to be labeled, but I have to admit, I glean the most from Reformed teachers and authors.
I took the survey and suddenly I feel sort of convicted about all my shopping at a non-Christian book seller :-\
One thing that is missing in this survey is any mention of new vs used books. I almost solely buy used books and thats why I shop so much on Amazon. They typically have used books in good condition for a cheaper price than anywhere else that I could buy a new book. I think that is something helpful that could be added to this survey in the future, or in a new survey. Thanks for all you do!
One aspect that pushes amazon over the top for me (along with the used book thing that someone already mentioned), that has yet to be mentioned is that as someone with a valid .edu e-mail address, I get amazon prime for free, which allows me to order most books with free shipping. I realize this is already kind of covered in the “shipping cost” category, but I feel like the weight of being able to order one $10 book with free shipping is not fully captured in that question. Even without prime, Amazon’s $25 threshold for free shipping vs. WTS books’ $35 threshold is a pretty big deal for some of us college students out there.
On the rare occasion that I know I will be spending at least $35 on books at one time, I like shopping at WTS books, but I usually average 1 or 2 books per month so being able to order them independently, each with free shipping is huge for me.