Target to offer Livrada's eBook gift cards

PaidContent reports that Livrada, a Los Angeles-based startup, will sell gift cards for bestselling eBooks in Target stores' electronics sections, starting July 15th. Customers will purchase a gift card for a specific title, such as Fifty Shades of Grey. The recipient of the gift card goes to Livrada's website and activates the card, and then chooses whether to get the eBooks for Kindle or Nook. Livrada purchases the eBook from Amazon or Barnes & Noble (other platforms will be supported by the end of the year,) and delivers it to the recipient's eReader, tablet or computer.

Livrada gets marketing fees from the publishers of the eBooks, a portion of the purchase price from Target, and affiliate fees from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. There's no word on whether Livrada marks up the price of the eBooks. The question is whether enough consumers will buy the gift cards to make it into a viable business. At this point, there are only six titles available; Livrada is working to get more titles, publishers and platforms.