Calibre and DeDRM can strip Amazon's DRM and let you save the books forever.
https://github.com/noDRM/DeDRM_tools
You need a registered Kindle, but you don't need to actually use the Kindle to make it work. Just download the ebook from the Amazon website "for Kindle XYZ" and then import and convert the ebook in calibre.
This is unfortunately the closest answer to what the OP is asking.
To the best of my knowledge, outside of independent authors like Cory Doctorow selling drm-free from their own sites, I'm not aware of any place to shop for ebooks that are not tied to some online DRM scheme.
Humble Bundle books are another option, but it's highly dependent upon if you want what they're selling.
Baens library has been doing this for the past 25(?) years. They even have a free library. https://www.baen.com/catalog/category/view/s/free-library/id/2012
Going that far, I’d sooner just apply for a Bibliotik account.
Also works on kobo books which use adobe digital editions. I think the plugin is called obok (I've only just realised that kobo is an anagram of book haha)
This is the way anyway
OP wants to avoid Amazon. This is still giving Amazon money and therefore encouraging Amazon's greed, walled garden and dark patterns.
A better alternative would be using almost any other digital book seller. There's plenty. And if the author chose or was forced to only sell through Amazon, then you can try library sources (like Overdrive) so the author at least gets something. And if you still can't get what you're looking for, then it's time to sail the high seas.
At least make Amazon the last resort option.
On the high seas
Yarrrrr.
You can borrow them forever from libgen or similar ;)
Anna's Archive is a good option if you're wanting to sail the high seas. Very easy to navigate, and almost all titles are available in multiple formats (I.e. PDF, epub)
MAM is the best for piracy.
What's MAM, and in what ways is it better than Anna's Archive?
myanonamouse.net/
They have a lot of content and a pretty nice community.
It's a private tracker but it's easy to join even if it's your first.
Pirate the DRM free version of the e-book. And then send money to the author, either is a direct donation if they accept it, or donating a physical copy of the book to the library
Just pointing out that dozens of people work on each traditionally published book other than the author.
And all of them have been paid out. Corporations and royalties are getting the profits.
Does anyone other than the author and publisher get paid on a per-unit-sold basis?
I'm operating under the (perhaps mistaken) assumption that OP wants to "buy" an e-book in part to support those responsible for making it. And of course you can't support an editor or cover designer or publicist directly, but they do get paid indirectly because books get sold.
That is the way to go
And Calibre
You can then directly send something to the author
Otherwise you are just paying full price, but renting until the publisher changes their terms.
Here’s a good resource:
https://www.defectivebydesign.org/guide/ebooks
Thanks for this! I think I may have come across it at some point but never bookmarked it for whatever reason, corrected that now!
Surprised nobody's mentioned Weightless ebooks or Smashwords yet. You didn't mention region, so I can't assure these will work for you, but worth checking out regardless to see if they may.
Libro.FM as well.
A lot of publishers have DRM free content if you buy directly from them.
Verso, Tor, NoStarchPress to name a few
Humble Bundle and storybundle.com sell DRM-free ebooks.
Careful though, not every Humble Bundle is DRM-free. I just got one recently not realizing it was locked to the Kobo app. I have an Android e-reader so I'm still able to read them, but I'm pretty annoyed given that DRM-free used to be one of the major selling points of Humble Bundle.
If you get it off Amazon, you can use Calibre to download the ebook. Then convert to ebook .epub and now it's yours forever. I don't like this but some books are not possible to get it legally without Amazon.
Or use baen to buy. Or if your really lucky off the authors official website.
If you're an audible user, libation is a great way to own your audio books the way calibre does.
That beats connecting the speaker jack to the mic jack and recording with audacity.
I used to do that all the time as a kid, and there are still songs where I expect to hear a windows tone over it in specific spots....
Head's up - since Jan this year, this route is ONLY available if you have registered a Kindle with them. The new format used by amazon cannot be "unencrypted", even by calibre, without a Kindle "unencrypting" it for you or providing it's key or whatever the dark magic required is.
That's terrible, thanks for the he heads up.
This question should be asked at lemmy.dbzero piracy
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You're missing a word..
Thanks; fixed!
For those who are curious, the word was "link".
Since the beginning of the whole eBook trend I've refused to buy e-books from Amazon exactly because of their DRM, and recently I went looking around for an alternative and discovered Smashwords were I can buy the books and get them at least in ePub format (some also in other formats). They've been getting a steady stream of money from me ever since. (No, it's not a subscription, it's me being an avid book reader).
No idea of how good or not they are compared to other alternatives, but they seem to have more than enough choice for my needs and do satisfy my criteria, - the same as yours - which is that I when I download a book I get to keep it and read in any way I see fit.
www.kobo.com is an online bookstore I use. I don't know if all their books are DRM-free, but the handful I bought have been. The full name of the store is Ratuken Kobo. I like it well enough.
They definitely sell DRM'd books, it might even be the majority of books on the store. I think it depends on the publisher. I have managed to find some DRM-free books there though.
Oceanofpdf.com works for a lot of titles
For ebooks, the hurtle is really storing them on your own system. Most open source readers can read Amazon's .azw and .azw3. I like to keep everything in epub on my proton drive, but I buy (and sometimes don't buy) them from different places. I went to my local library to come up with a archival method that works. I use an open source ereader app on my phone and laptop, and use 'Send to Kindle' to get books on an old Kindle from 2014, deleting them when I'm finished reading.
By breaking up where I get my books from, and decoupling it from storage and reading method, I'm able to be a lot more flexible and take advantage of deals/exclusives on different platforms. I also feel a little more private. The downside is paying for storage, and an extra step to download books from the central location when I want to read them.
Seems like the starting point for this would be e-readers with open device content control. So instead of relying on my_email@kindle.com or something like that in order to get files onto the device, you’d use your own file server or something for the device to connect to.
Then the long-term ownership just consists of having the epub, mobi, or pdf files of the books you want to own, and passing them through whatever device content control system you’re using.
In other words: calibre.
It does all that and more
A lot of (bigger) bookstores also sell ebooks on their websites. There it usually depends on the publisher if they have DRM or not, so just look around.
Piracy or your local library.
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