While I’ve complained every now and then about the price of iBooks compared to hardcover offerings on Amazon (which honestly would equal out anyway after shipping costs), the convenience of downloading books with nothing more than a tap and an instant charge to your credit card is looking rather bright. Not only are people buying iBooks en masse, but this speaks volumes of what people actually think about the iPad: it is in fact a great reading device.

9 to 5 Mac is reporting that the iPad 3G boosted iBooks sales (a lot of people have been holding out for the 3G model apparently), but overall publishers have been seeing good numbers all around the board.

“One publisher saw a three-fold increase over last weekend alone; another said sales were up more than 400% in that period. At another company, sales for the week ending last Sunday, iBooks sales of their top titles nearly doubled. But even prior to the 3G’s debut, responding publishers saw the iBookstore move quickly to a meaningful share of their ebook market. For most companies surveyed iBooks sales comprised 12 to 15% of all ebook sales before the new models landed, quickly equaling or surpassing Sony as their number two ebookseller.”

iBooks are making a pretty strong statement right now, and hopefully those numbers will only increase and the available content only gets bigger and better. We’ll have to keep an eye on the months to follow to see if this trend continues, but I’m going to safely bet that sales will continue to be strong. iBooks does a very good job of giving customers an easy way to view available books, get descriptions, and even read a bit before finalizing their purchase. All in all, it’s a model designed for success. Check out the rest of 9 to 5 Mac’s article here.