# E-book pricing/cost discussions - COMBINED thread



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

How does this work, is there any particular formula?

I find it disappointing that Kindle books are sometimes more expensive than (non-discounted) paperback prices. 

Meaning, not old or discounted paperback prices, but current retail price for the paperback. To me, they should at least be the same, I cant see any reason why an e-book should be more...except profit margin naturally.


----------



## SusanCassidy (Nov 9, 2008)

Most books are sold by Agency-model publishers, which means that the publisher sets the price, not Amazon.  A few smaller publishers are more reasonable, and allow Amazon to discount and/or sell at a more reasonable price point.

The publishers mostly seem determined not to admit that ebooks are going to overtake paper books eventually.


----------



## gatehouseauthor (Apr 22, 2011)

There's no particular formula for this, although there have been a lot of discussions about this topic.  The major publishers locked Amazon into a deal in which they set the price for their e-books.  Many of them have chosen to set the price for the e-book quite high, although some are coming to the realization that e-books have been an untapped market, and are lowering their prices accordingly.  Indie authors and publishers have actually benefited quite a bit from this business model, as their books are often priced well below the price of traditionally published books.  

In the eyes of the publisher, the cost of producing a book barely includes the printing cost, which for them is generally only a couple of dollars per copy.  The true cost comes from marketing, the advance paid to the author, and thousands of other expenses.  As to why there are a few that are actually higher priced than the paperback... some people have theorized that it's to discourage people from buying digital books.  I don't really buy into that theory fully, although I also don't have a better one.


----------



## Sam Rivers (May 22, 2011)

There is a tremendous difference in price between Indie books and Publisher books.  You can buy a good Indie book for anywhere from $.99 to $3.99.  The ones from publishers start at about $8 and go up to $12 or more.

So that is why so many people buy the Indie books.  In many cases the Indie books are just as good or maybe even better and at a considerable savings.

So why are publisher books so expensive?  It is a simple matter of greed.


----------



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

Franklin Eddy said:


> There is a tremendous difference in price between Indie books and Publisher books. You can buy a good Indie book for anywhere from $.99 to $3.99. The ones from publishers start at about $8 and go up to $12 or more.
> 
> So that is why so many people buy the Indie books. In many cases the Indie books are just as good or maybe even better and at a considerable savings.
> 
> So why are publisher books so expensive? It is a simple matter of greed.


Where do you find good reviews of indie books? I was going to list some genres, but then again, I hate to limit myself!


----------



## gatehouseauthor (Apr 22, 2011)

redadeptreviews.com
oktopusink.blogspot.com
aflashlightreader.blogspot.com
indiebookblogger.blogspot.com
lastdraftediting.com/reviews

Those are a few blogs I know of that review indie books.  Hope that helps!


----------



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

gatehouseauthor said:


> redadeptreviews.com
> oktopusink.blogspot.com
> aflashlightreader.blogspot.com
> indiebookblogger.blogspot.com
> ...


Thanks!


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Aw, go ahead, list some genres. (And visit the sites, of course!   )


----------



## Colin Taber (Apr 4, 2011)

The great thing about the Kindle is that you can download the samples before being asked to commit to buy.

Just try the samples of a some indies. If you like the style and subject matter, give them a try.

Between sampling and the pricing of most indies, it's not going to cost you much money - only some time!


----------



## patrickt (Aug 28, 2010)

When someone else wants money it's called greed. When we want money it's called fairness and justice.

Stuff it.


----------



## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

9MMare said:


> How does this work, is there any particular formula?
> 
> I find it disappointing that Kindle books are sometimes more expensive than (non-discounted) paperback prices.
> 
> Meaning, not old or discounted paperback prices, but current retail price for the paperback. To me, they should at least be the same, I cant see any reason why an e-book should be more...except profit margin naturally.


Traditional publisher, depending on the author I've seen e-books priced higher than paperbacks. In those cases, it's doubtful the author has lot of say in the matter. Bob Mayer's blog tells a tale regarding e-books.

Consider looking the 99 cent and below 3 bucks threads at this site. There are lot of great authors offering low prices, hoping to develop a readership.


----------



## Jeff Rivera (Jun 22, 2011)

Colin Taber said:


> The great thing about the Kindle is that you can download the samples before being asked to commit to buy.
> 
> Just try the samples of a some indies. If you like the style and subject matter, give them a try.
> 
> Between sampling and the pricing of most indies, it's not going to cost you much money - only some time!


Downloading samples is one of the best parts of the Kindle. It's great to be able to discover new indie authors and get a taste of what you're in for before committing to buy.


----------



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

Casper Parks said:


> Consider looking the 99 cent and below 3 bucks threads at this site. There are lot of great authors offering low prices, hoping to develop a readership.


Thanks, I'll do that. I've already ordered several from those in author's sigs here.

As for genres (as someone asked):

--SHTF/end of civilization (but generally not a zombie fan)
--homicide/mystery with alot of forensic detail
--science fiction (but not much fantasy)
--women in the (US) West
--world history
--nature guides and natural history
--evolutionary psychology
--epidemiology

(Probably not much in the indie world on the last 2 or 3)


----------



## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

It is understandable that people resent being asked to pay more for something that costs less to produce. So much for the idea that cost savings will be passed along to consumers. When I see ab e-book that costs more than the hardcover, I am highly unlikely to buy it. There are plenty of other books out there. And I will exercise my rights to complain about it.


----------



## KingAl (Feb 21, 2011)

QuantumIguana said:


> It is understandable that people resent being asked to pay more for something that costs less to produce. So much for the idea that cost savings will be passed along to consumers. When I see ab e-book that costs more than the hardcover, I am highly unlikely to buy it. There are plenty of other books out there. And I will exercise my rights to complain about it.


What is not so understandable is why so many people think that cost savings will automatically get passed along to consumers.


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

9MMare said:


> Thanks, I'll do that. I've already ordered several from those in author's sigs here.
> 
> As for genres (as someone asked):
> 
> ...


Have you read J.A. Konrath/Jack Kilborn? Should match the homicide interest and, perhaps, the sci-fi too.

I don't know if this veers too much into fantasy, but you might like:



This is a dystopian future-y thing. (I have it to lend, if you want.)



I own this one, but have not read it. The authors have good reputation though -- can also lend this one:



There are tons of indies around these parts -- though a lot of them hide out on just a couple boards. Still, you should end up finding a lot of great choices.


----------



## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

I was looking at some books on Amazon today.  I found one, The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory for 12.99.  I bought it in December 2008 for 3.79.  Glad I had the foresight to purchase then.  It's tripled in price a little over two years.  
deb


----------



## Mr. Coffee Snob (Jun 27, 2011)

I believe competition from indie authors will drive the prices down eventually. There are plenty of very professional indie authors with high quality books on the Kindle at low prices. New readers are discovering this fact every day. In order to compete in the e-book market, the bigger publishers will be forced to lower their prices. That's one theory, anyway.


----------



## Liz Fervo (Jun 25, 2011)

Robert E. Keller said:


> In order to compete in the e-book market, the bigger publishers will be forced to lower their prices. That's one theory, anyway.


I'm frustrated by some well-known literature being in the $9.99 - $12.99 range when I can buy a used paperback for $0.01.

The ebook price doesn't have to be that low, obviously, but pricing should consider market saturation, I think. Although I suppose publishers are seeing ebooks as a way to make more money off those famous old authors.


----------



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

MichelleR said:


> Have you read J.A. Konrath/Jack Kilborn? Should match the homicide interest and, perhaps, the sci-fi too.
> 
> I don't know if this veers too much into fantasy, but you might like:
> 
> ...


Thanks, I'll look into those. I think I have Land of Ash, hard copy.

What is lending in Kindle-speak?


----------



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

drenee said:


> I was looking at some books on Amazon today. I found one, The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory for 12.99. I bought it in December 2008 for 3.79. Glad I had the foresight to purchase then. It's tripled in price a little over two years.
> deb


That movie was pretty good, I should look for the book.


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

9MMare said:


> Thanks, I'll look into those. I think I have Land of Ash, hard copy.
> 
> What is lending in Kindle-speak?


http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200549320


----------



## Xopher (May 14, 2009)

Part of what we see is based on different models. For the major publishers, they sell DTBs wholesale, and Amazon discounts the retail price. 

When Amazon was purchasing ebooks wholesale from publishers, they did the same thing. There were a lot of ebooks $9.99 and less.

With the Agency model, the publishers consider themselves the seller - just using Amazon as the portal. Since the publisher is the actual seller, they set the price and Amazon can't discount it. So, when you compare the discounted DTB sold by Amazon to the ebook sold by the publisher, that is where the difference lies.


----------



## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

KingAl said:


> What is not so understandable is why so many people think that cost savings will automatically get passed along to consumers.


That's what industry keeps saying, that cost savings will be passed on to consumers. But businesses tend to only reduce costs when forced to do so by competition, otherwise they will just keep the money that was saved. If people say no to highly priced e-books, and instead buy indie books, that will bring real pressure to bring down prices. If people just say "I don't like the high prices, but I will still pay it!", the publishing companies have little incentive to bring down prices.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Franklin Eddy said:


> So that is why so many people buy the Indie books. In many cases the Indie books are just as good or maybe even better and at a considerable savings.
> 
> So why are publisher books so expensive? It is a simple matter of greed.


I'd argue it's also simple supply and demand.

Publishers are selling books from established authors that have a big market. Thus prices can be higher than for some indie author no one's ever heard of.

That's just the way the market works. Stuff in high demand can be priced higher as more people are willing to pay those prices. I don't consider it greed. Any time I'm selling something I try to sell it for the highest price I possibly can. So I can't begrudge authors and publishers for doing the same. Maximize profit, minimize pain is the rule to live by if you want to be as successful as possible.


----------



## hamerfan (Apr 24, 2011)

9MMare said:


> --women in the (US) West


Not indie, but a great book in this genre is Telegraph Days, by Larry McMurtry:

http://www.amazon.com/Telegraph-Days-ebook/dp/B003NE6HCU/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1309355235&sr=8-1


----------



## gatehouseauthor (Apr 22, 2011)

As a reader, I don't mind paying 7.99, 8.99, 9.99 for an ebook by an author I enjoy following or a series I've been reading.  But the 9.99 price point or higher is unlikely to get me to try an author I've never read before, at least for an ebook, and many major publishers are realizing that.  Hence the number of 5.99 to 7.99 Kindle books available from major publishers and big name authors.

Then again... all this wrangling about price made me think about something the other day, as I went to my local comic book shop.  Yes, I'm a comic book fan.    Anyway, I went in to pick up about a month's worth of comics that the owner had been setting aside for me.  (Yes, I'm THAT MUCH of a comic book fan!)  They ranged from $2.99 to $4.99 each.  I spent about sixty dollars for a month's worth of comics.  I went home and I read them... it gave me about two and a half hours of enjoyment.

The last indie book I read on my Kindle was The Hawk and His Boy.  I paid 2.99 for it, the low end of what I would pay for a single issue of a comic book.  It was a good book... not the best I've read, but a solid 3.5-4 stars, or thereabout.  And while I'm a fast reader, especially on Kindle, it gave me around... four hours of enjoyment spread over two days of reading as I had the time.

While I love my comics, and my print books, and my big name authors... which of these things seems like it was a better deal in the long run?


----------



## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

The ebook costing more than paper book isn't new. I've had ereaders since the Rocketbook. Also I had the early Sony. The ebooks always costed more, sometimes up to $5 more, than the paper. It wasn't until Amazons $9.99 that they were cheaper. But because the new ebook reader customer base grew so much with kindle, and so the $9.99 was their first exposure, the idea ebooks cost the same as paper seems new. It isn't new to the industry, or early adopters of ereading regardless of device.


----------



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

hamerfan said:


> Not indie, but a great book in this genre is Telegraph Days, by Larry McMurtry:
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Telegraph-Days-ebook/dp/B003NE6HCU/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1309355235&sr=8-1


Thanks! Added to my Wish List.


----------



## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

I used to buy comics, but the price got out of hand. So I stopped buying. If enough people stopped buying, then they will be forced to change pricing. I'm not that interested in the seller's perspective, that's their problem, I'm on the opposite side of the counter, I'm interested in my perspective as a buyer. It doesn't matter a bit to the seller whether you agree with the pricing or not, if you choose to buy, you've agreed to the price.

So if you don't like the pricing, withhold your money, it's really the only language that business understands. Plenty of other good authors out there.


----------



## ennis333 (Jun 29, 2011)

Can anybody offer me any insight on one aspect about the cost of ebooks vs the cost of traditional books?  In particular, there are many times when I've noticed that the price of an ebook is actually higher than the cost of the paperback version (and I'm not talking about a used book price), and sometimes it's higher by several dollars.  I'm just not inclined to pay, say, $ 13 for an ebook when I can get the actual book for $10 or less.  This simply makes no sense to me.


----------



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

You can check out this thread for more info.

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,73128.0.html


----------



## Erica Sloane (May 11, 2011)

Good luck trying to figure out how traditional publishers are pricing their books.


----------



## Tara Maya (Nov 4, 2010)

Erica Sloane said:


> Good luck trying to figure out how traditional publishers are pricing their books.


LOL. Indeed.


----------



## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

Basically, the big publishers are either clueless about ebooks and how they fit into their overall marketing plan, or they are consciously trying to drive people to small and independent publishers, or they are prescient in realizing that ebook buyers will actually pay more for ebooks because they're handier than paper books.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

It makes no sense to me when the e-book costs more either.  I'm perfectly fine paying the same price for the e-books as the cheapest print version on Amazon, but that's my upper limit.

In terms of how much a print book costs, I've never seen any firm data on that, just estimates.  I've seen a few different articles showing it was $1 or so per copy in printing and shipping etc. costs for a hardcover best seller.  Less popular releases that get much smaller printings would cost more per copy.  So it's not a huge expense for major releases, but still enough that there's no way an e-book should ever cost more than the print version.

I don't have a problem paying the same since the printing costs aren't all that high, and the author did just as much work writing it regardless of the format I choose to buy it in.  But I'll never pay more than the print version.


----------



## kchughez (Jun 29, 2011)

Hi,
I just read an article about the big 6 and their greed. But consumers have been taking action by rating the books with 1 star on amazon. I have joined in protest of ebooks that cost more than the hardcovers.

Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/11/technology/11reader.html

~KC

_--- edited... no self-promotion outside the Book Bazaar forum. please read our Forum Decorum thread._


----------



## ennis333 (Jun 29, 2011)

Thanks for the comments......and while it will never make sense to me that an e-book should ever cost more than any new print version, at least I can still make my own decision whether I buy or not!!!!


----------



## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

kchughez said:


> Hi,
> I just read an article about the big 6 and their greed. But consumers have been taking action by rating the books with 1 star on amazon. I have joined in protest of ebooks that cost more than the hardcovers.
> 
> Article
> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/11/technology/11reader.html


I don't think it's fair to penalise authors by giving them 1 star reviews because you disagree with the price set by the publishers. Reviews and the ratings should be based purely on what you think about the content of the book after you've read it.


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

I would never mark a book down because of price. People can see the price and make their own decisions. And, few people who do mark the books down return the amend the ratings later on. 

For your reading enjoyment, the first 10 books I bought for Kindle and what the prices were then and now:

2/13/09 Ur/Stephen King/2.99/3.19
2/13/09 On Writing/Stephen King/7.99/12.99
2/13/09 Dark Passions: Hot Blood XIII/horror anthology/9.99/9.99
2/13/09 Dead Sea/Brian Keene/6.39/7.95
2/13/09 Revolutionary Road/Richard Yates/7.99/7.99
2/13/09 Law of Attraction: The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don't/Richard Losier/9.99/9.99
2/13/09 Lamb/Christopher Moore/8.76/10.99
2/13/09 Power of Intention/Wayne Dyer/8.14/9.66
2/13/09 Your Scandalous Ways/Loretta Chase/5.59/6.99
2/13/09 North of Beautiful/Justina Chen Headley/9.99/7.99
2/13/09 Nick and Norah's Infinite Play List/Rachel Cohn and David Levithan/6.39/7.99


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Linjeakel said:


> I don't think it's fair to penalise authors by giving them 1 star reviews because you disagree with the price set by the publishers. Reviews and the ratings should be based purely on what you think about the content of the book after you've read it.


Agree 100% with that.

If you don't like the price, then don't buy the book and write the publisher stating why you didn't buy the book. Maybe write the author too so they'll have incentive to put pressure on their publisher and/or choose a new publisher when their contract is up.

Don't give a false review and possibly turn others who may be ok with the price off from buying the book. That's dishonest and not fair to the author.


----------



## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

Linjeakel said:


> I don't think it's fair to penalise authors by giving them 1 star reviews because you disagree with the price set by the publishers.


I understand your point, but we base our evaluation of many products partially on whether they offer fair value. "Don't buy this book as a summer read as it just isn't worth it for the money" is a valid review after reading the book.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Elk said:


> I understand your point, but we base our evaluation of many products partially on whether they offer fair value. "Don't buy this book as a summer read as it just isn't worth it for the money" is a valid review after reading the book.


That's fine, but that's a different situation.

Actually reading a book and leaving a review saying it's not worth the money for the quality of the content is fine. That's 100% valid for the reason you note.

What's not fine is leaving a 1 star review for a book you haven't read just to protest the price.


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Elk said:


> I understand your point, but we base our evaluation of many products partially on whether they offer fair value. "Don't buy this book as a summer read as it just isn't worth it for the money" is a valid review after reading the book.


If a review talks about the book, and you can see for yourself the size of the book and the price, why do you need someone to mark it down for that reason? A review is to tell people something they don't know. Reviewers get a hard time for reading part of a book and saying they couldn't finish, because of the very unlikely possibility they would have liked it more if they'd continued. "How do you know, if you haven't read it all?" Yet some people find it perfectly valid to rate a they have not read at all, and get others to do the same. By the logic of the previous argument this could have been the book that changed that person's life -- or not. 

Being familiar with an item, in this case reading the book, is the price of admission. Heck, reading at least half the book. It's a mob mentality at work, school yard games, and I have no respect for it. I spend a lot of time here talking about reviews being for readers, but that doesn't mean and it will never mean that writers are to be needlessly trashed or harmed by people who haven't even given their work the respect of reading it. Writers are not acceptable collateral damage for people who are trying to punish someone else entirely.

Even if someone has read the book, no one else can judge for someone else what they're willing to spend.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

MichelleR said:


> If a review talks about the book, and you can see for yourself the size of the book and the price, why do you need someone to mark it down for that reason?


I don't think he mean the book may not be worth the price if it's too short. I think he mean the book may not be worth the price due to the quality.

For instance, a $14.99 e-book I end up thinking is good but not great, I'd probably end up rating lower than I would if it had been a $6.99 e-book. Whether I feel like I got my money's worth quality wise will affect my rating--even if just subconsciously--as feeling you didn't get your money's worth for something leaves a more bitter taste in your mouth.

So I don't have an issue with someone writing such a review. But I do have a big issue with people who haven't read a book leaving a low review due to price as that's just a dishonest practice and is just a deliberate attempt to screw up the review system.


----------



## Teinouji (Dec 13, 2010)

I rate books on content, not price. So, therefore, I'd never rate a book one star for price.


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

mooshie78 said:


> I don't think he mean the book may not be worth the price if it's too short. I think he mean the book may not be worth the price due to the quality.
> 
> For instance, a $14.99 e-book I end up thinking is good but not great, I'd probably end up rating lower than I would if it had been a $6.99 e-book. Whether I feel like I got my money's worth quality wise will affect my rating--even if just subconsciously--as feeling you didn't get your money's worth for something leaves a more bitter taste in your mouth.
> 
> So I don't have an issue with someone writing such a review. But I do have a big issue with people who haven't read a book leaving a low review due to price as that's just a dishonest practice and is just a deliberate attempt to screw up the review system.


I get the idea of someone thinking a book wasn't worth the money, but I'm going to discuss the book and let other people determine whether or not it seems worth it to them. To say, "for two dollars less, I'd give the book one star more," muddies the water.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

MichelleR said:


> I get the idea of someone thinking a book wasn't worth the money, but I'm going to discuss the book and let other people determine whether or not it seems worth it to them. To say, "for two dollars less, I'd give the book one star more," muddies the water.


I kind of agree when it comes to the star ratings (I find those pretty pointless anyway). But I don't have a problem with the text of the review saying they didn't feel the book was good enough to warrant the price.

I just see a clear interaction of price and quality.

Think of food. Say you get a steak that's pretty good, but nothing spectacular. How likely are you going to be to eat there or recommend to it to others if it was a $35 meal? Probably not very as you could have gotten an excellent steak at a nicer restaurant for that price. But if it was a $12.99 meal, then that's a different story as it seems like a bit of a bargain. It's not as a good a steak as a pricey steakhouse, but was good for the money and is thus a nice option when wanting a steak but not wanting a pricey meal.


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

The price doesn't change the quality of the steak though -- it's still pretty good. It then becomes up to others to decide if they want to pay the money for it.  We're on the same page in not having a problem with someone saying they didn't find something a good value, but it shouldn't be the sum total of the review and I don't think it should affect the rating.


----------



## Bigal-sa (Mar 27, 2010)

MichelleR said:


> Even if someone has read the book, no one else can judge for someone else what they're willing to spend.


In exactly the same vein:
Even if someone has read the book, no one else can judge for someone else what they're willing to *read*.

Price can be just as important...


----------



## SSantore (Jun 28, 2011)

I read a lot, so price of e-books is important to me.  I won't consider buying an e-book for the same amount (or even more!) than a paperback costs.  I get a lot of .99 and 2.99 books.  Of course, I also check out the free books to see if they look interesting.


----------



## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

MichelleR said:


> The price doesn't change the quality of the steak though -- it's still pretty good. It then becomes up to others to decide if they want to pay the money for it.


A fair position, but value is part of the decision making process of anything we buy. It is proper to downrate an unreasonably priced, but serviceable, product. Similarly, it is appropriate to upgrade an item that performs above its price point. The reviewer should however make clear that this is the case in each situation.

Books appear different as they are not fungible. One cannot readily replace book A with book B and easily obtain the same experience at a cheaper price. One relevant exception is when the Kindle version is priced higher than the paperback.


----------



## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Giving stars isn't a "rating" - it's a "review".  And I'm sorry, but giving a book you haven't read a one-star "review" makes about as much sense as the publisher's pricing the book higher than the paperback price.  It's so unfair to the author (who probably has NO say in how the book is priced).  

If you've read it and chose to read it in print because of the Kindle price, mention that in your review, but give the book an honest review based on content.  If you read the Kindle version and found it wasn't worth the price, you can mention that in the review, but give the stars based on content as well as price, but not price compared to the print price.  If you want to tag it as overpriced for Kindle to send the publisher a message, fine - knock yourself out.  Better yet, if you feel strongly about it, do something constructive - contact the publisher to let them know you looked but chose not to buy because of the price.  But don't "review" a book you haven't read.  It's lazy, and it's dishonest.  IMHO  

As far as pricing goes - for me, I don't look at the print price - I don't care about the print price.  I don't want to read a paper book these days.  Yes, I have my price limit for eBooks.  But for me the print price is a moot point, so why look?  And frankly, if I did want to read print books, I'd go to the used book store or the library like I used to, so the print version would almost always be cheaper anyway.  For me, ultimately  - eBooks aren't about saving money.  Yes, it was part of how I justified paying $359 for my first Kindle, back in the halcyon days before the agency model, but there are much more important reasons for reading on my eReaders.


----------



## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

For ages publishers have been raising the price of their books by a dollar, two dollars, three dollars because "the price of paper went up." Now they're trying to tell us, "Actually, the printing isn't much of the cost, and that's why ebooks cost as much as print books." Were they lying then, or are they lying now...or both?

What the publishers don't tell you when they cite low printing figures is that they print up several books for each one sold. The rest are returned for credit. They will often withhold royalties...as much as 50-60%...from authors "against returns," so it isn't stretching a point to say they expect to print and ship two books for every book sold. They also have to pay staff to process returns, and those books have to be shipped and warehoused.

If I were a publisher, I'd price the ebook about 20-25% less than the street price of the cheapest currently available print book. So if the hardback debuted at $25, widely available discounted to $14, an ebook price around $10-11 would make sense. When it goes to paperback, say at $9.00, the ebook would drop to $7. When the book goes out of print, the ebook competes with used book stores at $2.99.


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Meemo said:


> As far as pricing goes - for me, I don't look at the print price - I don't care about the print price.


Me, either. 

Mike


----------



## SusanCassidy (Nov 9, 2008)

It is silly to rate a book one star because of the price, when reviews stay there forever, and prices change.  I often wait until a book's price goes down before buying it.  Doesn't change the content of the book.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Meemo said:


> As far as pricing goes - for me, I don't look at the print price - I don't care about the print price. I don't want to read a paper book these days. Yes, I have my price limit for eBooks. But for me the print price is a moot point, so why look? And frankly, if I did want to read print books, I'd go to the used book store or the library like I used to, so the print version would almost always be cheaper anyway. For me, ultimately - eBooks aren't about saving money. Yes, it was part of how I justified paying $359 for my first Kindle, back in the halcyon days before the agency model, but there are much more important reasons for reading on my eReaders.


For me I'm not anti-paper book. I actually prefer reading a paper book to an e-book. I just don't like buying paperbooks for leisure reading as I seldom re-read so I have to hassle with storing a book that just gather's dust or donating it.

So given that, I refuse to pay more for an e-book than a paperbook, so I usually look at both prices. At least for e-books that are more than $6-7. If the e-book is more I'll just wait for a drop or see if I can get the e-book or paperbook for the library.

It's not a matter of saving money. It's just a matter of principle of refusing to pay more for an e-book which costs the publisher less to put out per copy than a physical book.


----------



## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

mooshie78 said:


> Agree 100% with that.
> 
> If you don't like the price, then don't buy the book and write the publisher stating why you didn't buy the book. Maybe write the author too so they'll have incentive to put pressure on their publisher and/or choose a new publisher when their contract is up.
> 
> Don't give a false review and possibly turn others who may be ok with the price off from buying the book. That's dishonest and not fair to the author.


I agree about false reviews, but the concept that authors (short of Stephen King or JK Rowling) have the power to pressure their publisher or just choose a new one stopped me dead in my tracks.

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or to cry. Really. Do you have ANY idea how many mid-list authors are being dropped by publishers? Being pressured to write *stuff* (evading Betsy and her taser of death) they have no desire to write--including some most people would consider "best sellers"?

The situation at the moment in "traditional" publishing for most authors (not all but the majority) is at best dire. I've talked to a couple of friends in the writers' community in Portland, a very large community, who are depressed beyond words.

Authors with VERY few exceptions have absolutely no influence over pricing.

As far as high costs, I have bought one eBook over $9.99 in the last year which is my pre-release order of GRR Martin's ADWD and it is cheaper than the hardcover that is being released at the same time. But much of the publisher policy is pure and simple price fixing and protectionist to try to keep DTB sales high.

If you object, don't buy them. Let the publisher know if you want, but the sales figures are beginning to speak for themselves.

Edit: For an education in publishing from a writer's perspective (and she is a successful one) try this post from Kristine Kathryn Rusch: http://kriswrites.com/2011/06/29/the-business-rusch-you-are-not-alone/


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Elk said:


> A fair position, but value is part of the decision making process of anything we buy. It is proper to downrate an unreasonably priced, but serviceable, product. Similarly, it is appropriate to upgrade an item that performs above its price point. The reviewer should however make clear that this is the case in each situation.


If anything is up for constant debate, it's how much a book should cost, with many people unwilling to compromise past a fixed point. (See: this thread.) As someone who is more flexible, I don't want someone using that in their ratings and forcing me to have to guess what the book would be had they not done that. On the other hand, people who do have that line, don't want a more flexible person assessing that way either. While you say the reviewer "should" make these things clear, not all will (or do) and the disclosure will most likely involve the words "too expensive" or "what you could expect for the money." Oh, and what price is that person talking about? Is it the same now as when he wrote it?

All other things being equal, the guy who bought the book when it first came out, the guy who bought it when the price got lowered by a few dollars, and the guy who got his copy when it became a freebie for a week, all assessing by the price they paid -- which can change again -- confuses the issue needlessly by entering into an area that is not their business -- what someone else should pay.

By this system, indies would get a great head start for being in the .99 to 2.99 range. It's hard to argue that .99 isn't a great price and it allows in one of my favorite "songs" -- _You only paid a dollar, you're an idjit for expecting a professional effort. _ It's hard to say something isn't worth .99, so I prefer to stick to if it felt worth my time.

Established author with decades of experience would start out in the hole for 14.99, because a lot of people think that's too high no matter what. People, for the most part, just want to know if you think their favorite author is slipping. If you don't think he is, the potential buyer thinks you have similar sensibilities, and you talk about the actual book, the reader can figure out the pricing on her own. This is true whether the potential reader has a firm stance on pricing or not.

Oh, and how many reviewers are keeping up with the prices and fixing the ratings accordingly? If 1% do, it'll be a miracle. How about when it does it again? That's not even bringing in blogs. The price can change, but what's "inside" -- for the most part -- doesn't.

Like I said, I'll mention price in a review -- and possibly how my life would have been happier had I received the fancy doll house for Christmas when I was a kid (or now) -- but it doesn't figure into my final assessment.


----------



## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

Very thoughtful response.



MichelleR said:


> I don't want someone using that in their ratings and forcing me to have to guess what the book would be had they not done that.


We have this quandary regardless . . . what if? What if the reviewer was never exposed to excellent writing? What if the reviewer has read only 30 books? We are always forced to guess as to the strength of any review.

One can only hope that the reviewer states upon what they are basing the review. If price is an issue, the specific price paid would indeed help as the price does often vary over time. Price is a legitimate factor however.


----------



## ennis333 (Jun 29, 2011)

mooshie78 said:


> It's not a matter of saving money. It's just a matter of principle of refusing to pay more for an e-book which costs the publisher less to put out per copy than a physical book.


Actually, this is the very point that prompted me to start this thread. I cannot conceive of any sensible reason for which an e-book should ever be more expensive than a print version (new, of course) with the soul exception of printing overruns which the publisher is trying to get rid of. Part of my reason for getting a Kindle was to avoid adding to the huge pile of books I have on hand, but I find myself invariably hesitating at purchasing any ebook that is several dollars more expensive than a physical book--although I'll grudgingly buy an ebook that is only minimally more expensive, despite my visceral reaction that something "wrong" is going on!


----------



## KingAl (Feb 21, 2011)

ennis333 said:


> Actually, this is the very point that prompted me to start this thread. I cannot conceive of any sensible reason for which an e-book should ever be more expensive than a print version (new, of course) with the soul exception of printing overruns which the publisher is trying to get rid of. Part of my reason for getting a Kindle was to avoid adding to the huge pile of books I have on hand, but I find myself invariably hesitating at purchasing any ebook that is several dollars more expensive than a physical book--although I'll grudgingly buy an ebook that is only minimally more expensive, despite my visceral reaction that something "wrong" is going on!


Well, I can't think of any sensible reason why any actor/athlete should make $20 million per movie, but that doesn't stop me from going to movies. Wanting to maximize profits is perfectly sensible to me... (even though I don't think their strategy will maximize profits.)


----------



## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

mooshie78 said:


> It's not a matter of saving money. It's just a matter of principle of refusing to pay more for an e-book which costs the publisher less to put out per copy than a physical book.


This appears to be the foundation of most ebook pricing complaints.

I posit that this is the wrong point of departure. Are we truly most interested in purchasing products that exhibit the lowest profit margin for the seller?

Rather, we should base our analysis on the value of the ebook over a physical book. An ebook offers portability, instant gratification, cross-platform access, etc. We are generally willing to pay more for such conveniences - often sacrificing quality in the exchange (such as listening to an MP3).

Many here vociferously assert that an ebook is inherently superior to the pejoratively labeled "DTB." If so, is it not worth more?

Thus, the relevant issue is whether the price of the ebook is worth its format advantages. If not, buy the physical book.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

I get that sentiment.  But most authors get a higher percentage royalty for e-books, so they make more on those sales even if they're a bit cheaper than the print version.  And personally, I have no problem paying the same price as the cheapest print version.

I personally don't value the portability etc. of e-books enough to pay any extra for them.  It's not that big a hassle for me to donate a paper book if I won't re-read it, and I personally prefer the experience of reading a paperbook.  I'll just give that up to not have to hassle with donating books after reading them (or using the library), but I won't pay more for that luxury.  If the e-book costs more than the paperbook, I vote with my wallet by not buying and wait for a price drop or check the book or e-book out from the library etc.

At the end of the day, I'm a fairly selfish person.  When I'm making a purchase the only thing I'm thinking about is my bottom line.  The author's income isn't my problem.  I just care about buying the book the cheapest way possible legally.  If they want more of a cut, it's up to them to get a better deal from their publisher or to switch to self publishing if they have the name recognition to pull it off etc.  I'm not going to feel bad about shopping around for the best price on something I want to buy.


----------



## journeymama (May 30, 2011)

Because that darn 'one-click' button is so easy to push, I have a small budget for books. If I end up paying a high price because I REALLY want a newly released book (Right now I'm reading Ann Patchett's 'State of Wonder') then whoops, I'm done for a while, or I can only get new or cheaply priced books. I would buy WAY too many e-books, even at high prices, if I wasn't careful. Put myself into the poorhouse. 

I'm also in Nepal, so I don't really have a choice. I can't get the print format for most books.

And I agree, I think reviews are for quality of writing and adherence to style, not for price.


----------



## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Elk said:


> This appears to be the foundation of most ebook pricing complaints.
> 
> I posit that this is the wrong point of departure. Are we truly most interested in purchasing products that exhibit the lowest profit margin for the seller?
> 
> ...


That's pretty much my position - an ebook is worth more to me than a paper book, because it's the format I want. I still have my price limit, just like I had my price limit for a paper book (as I've said I was a used book/library person, or occasionally found a great deal on a hardback in a bookstore). Reading it in the format I want is added value (for me) over a paper book. There's also value to me in that instant gratification, in not having to make a trip to the bookstore or library, and in portability - I never would've carried *Pillars of the Earth* around in my purse in a paper version.

And really, isn't that what pricing is about? Value to the consumer? What's most valuable to me might not be what's most valuable to, say, Mooshie...but we can both vote with our wallets. I would never pay $19.99 for *Fall of Giants* - even in hardback - I read it shortly after it was released on my Nook from Overdrive. But it's still priced there so apparently someone's buying it. I think we tend to forget that it's only been the past 3-4 years or so that things started getting really serious in the ebook industry - so things are still shaking out.

And while logically I understand the value of having a physical copy of the book that you can sell/loan/etc vs having the digital rights and all that, ultimately to me the value of a book is the content. It's like going to a movie, which I enjoy doing - it usually costs more than an ebook, I view it once and that's it. At least with an ebook the experience lasts longer and I've got it there to read it again if I want. Everything's relative. At least to me.


----------



## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

mooshie78 said:


> I personally don't value the portability etc. of e-books enough to pay any extra for them . . . I personally prefer the experience of reading a paperbook.


As do I. Thus, for me, it is not worth spending the extra money for an electronic version. On the other hand, Meemo does an excellent job explaining why, for her, an ebook is easily worth more.

This is the analysis that matters - not who is making money on the transaction and how much profit there may be.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Both are valid considerations for me as I don't like being ripped off.  Which is what happens if a publisher is charging more for an e-book than the print version when the e-book costs them less to produce.

The personal value judgement is more important, I agree.  But that profit calculation matters to me as well as I'm very picky about where I spend my money, what companies I support by buying their products etc. based on their business practices.


----------



## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

mooshie78 said:


> But that profit calculation matters to me as well as I'm very picky about where I spend my money, what companies I support by buying their products etc. based on their business practices.


Laudable, but it is exceedingly difficult for us to judge what a reasonable business practice may be.

For example, we understand authors get more for ebook sales - thus charging more for an ebook is positive for those who like to support authors. Perhaps the increased price is also used to offset losses elsewhere experienced by the publisher - perhaps these losses are support for new authors, library donations, publishing of specialized texts, etc. Additionally, what is a reasonable return on investment and how is this calculated? And is this to be calculated on a per item basis or corporate-wide? (What until you learn how food items are priced - you won't be able to buy food anywhere.) 

Pricing an ebook more than a print version hardly meets the standard for nefarious.


----------



## Straker (Oct 1, 2010)

Jan Strnad said:


> For ages publishers have been raising the price of their books by a dollar, two dollars, three dollars because "the price of paper went up." Now they're trying to tell us, "Actually, the printing isn't much of the cost, and that's why ebooks cost as much as print books." Were they lying then, or are they lying now...or both?


This is a key sticking point for me. I worked for years on the retail side of the book/comics/magazine industry and whenever prices were raised the reason given was always, _*always*_ "the ever-spiraling cost of paper!" Now they're saying that, whoops, paper (and other expenses of physical production) really don't contribute that much to the cost of a book. They're not only trying to overcharge me, they're insulting my intelligence.


----------



## Ursula_Bauer (Dec 12, 2010)

ennis333 said:


> Actually, this is the very point that prompted me to start this thread. I cannot conceive of any sensible reason for which an e-book should ever be more expensive than a print version (new, of course) with the soul exception of printing overruns which the publisher is trying to get rid of. Part of my reason for getting a Kindle was to avoid adding to the huge pile of books I have on hand, but I find myself invariably hesitating at purchasing any ebook that is several dollars more expensive than a physical book--although I'll grudgingly buy an ebook that is only minimally more expensive, despite my visceral reaction that something "wrong" is going on!


I could not have said it better, Ennis.

I'm of similar mind.


----------



## Michelle Muto (Feb 1, 2011)

MichelleR said:


> I would never mark a book down because of price. People can see the price and make their own decisions. And, few people who do mark the books down return the amend the ratings later on.
> 
> For your reading enjoyment, the first 10 books I bought for Kindle and what the prices were then and now:
> 
> ...


Wow! It makes you wonder why the price hike.

I'd NEVER rate an author 1-star because of the price either. I simply don't buy items (books or otherwise) that I feel isn't priced within reason.


----------



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

KingAl said:


> Well, I can't think of any sensible reason why any actor/athlete should make $20 million per movie, but that doesn't stop me from going to movies. Wanting to maximize profits is perfectly sensible to me... (even though I don't think their strategy will maximize profits.)


It stops me from going to movies. I go to very very few, they are too expensive *IMO*. I wait for it to come out on DVD to rent or download...and then look for bargains. I dont support (with my discretional income) professional sports either.

As for music, that is tougher...I think that there are definitely parallels between iTunes and other downloaded music and e-books.


----------



## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

ennis333 said:


> I'm just not inclined to pay, say, $ 13 for an ebook when I can get the actual book for $10 or less. This simply makes no sense to me.


I hate those high prices too. I mostly just buy ebooks priced under $3. Or better still, the free ones! Although... I gotta admit I spent $11.99 on an ebook the other day. It hurt.  But this was one of my favorite authors and I just couldn't stand to wait another minute to get the book in my hands. We only have one bookstore left in our town and it doesn't usually have what I'm looking for. So unless I want to drive to Tulsa for a paperback (forety-five minutes away), I get ebooks on Amazon. It also solves the problem of shelf space.


----------



## Russell Brooks (Dec 23, 2010)

There's absolutely no justification as to why eBooks should be priced either the same if not higher than paperbacks. With eBooks, printing, packaging, shipping and handling charges are eliminated, so right there, a bundle is being saved. The major publishing houses know that they're in competition with Indie authors and they price their books high for two reasons IMO: 1)To keep up the myth that ALL Indie books are rubbish in order to drive up sales 2)To help make up for their huge loses and maximize profits, knowing that there are enough suckers out there who will pay $13+ on an eBook that cost less than half as much to produce.


----------



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Ebooks don't cost that much less for large publishers. Small press, yes, but the giant publishers with huge printing discounts and owning their own warehouses don't really make a difference in the long run. The cost is the same - cover art, author payout, editing, line editing, proofreading, ARC creation, marketing, promotion...All of that is what costs the big dollars.

Also, for people talking about $5 hardcovers and 1 cent paperbacks: authors don't make any money off those.


----------



## SoCal (Feb 7, 2011)

I understand that price is determined by the market. 

It seems to me that there are 4 reasonable prices for books.
1. Hard cover which should be the most expensive except 4 below.
2. Soft cover next most expensive except 4 below.
3. Kindle
4. Close out, Get rid of, Fire sale price of hard cover and/or soft cover.

So for new books or non close out, when the Kindle price is greater than the physical book, the publishers are saying we think that the market will pay it.

We should just refuse.

Ideally Amazon would require publishers to make Kindle the least expensive except in non close out situations.

Just  my two cents.


----------



## Grace Elliot (Mar 14, 2011)

9MMare said:


> That movie was pretty good, I should look for the book.


READ THE BOOK! Read the book!
The movie is a pale shadow of the book! 
This film is a classic example of why I rarely watch 'the-movie-of-the-book.' It was so dumbed-down to fit it into a movie length feature I came away feeling cheated and disappointed.


----------



## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Liz Fervo said:


> I'm frustrated by some well-known literature being in the $9.99 - $12.99 range when I can buy a used paperback for $0.01.
> 
> The ebook price doesn't have to be that low, obviously, but pricing should consider market saturation, I think. Although I suppose publishers are seeing ebooks as a way to make more money off those famous old authors.


Well if you're going to compare to a $.01 used paperback, you never should've bought a Kindle to begin with.  (Not that it'll end up costing you $.01 anyway after shipping costs.) I was a used book/library book reader before Kindle, so I knew I'd end up spending more on books with the Kindle. I'm paying for the convenience and the experience of reading in my preferred format. And my first Kindle cost $359, so I definitely knew I was making a significant investment in my reading habit. But it was worth it because I'm reading so much more these days than I did before Kindle. It truly did re-Kindle my reading habit, which had been rather dormant for a few years.

Now I have my limits - $19.99 for *Fall of Giants*, for example, is ridiculous to me, but it's still priced there so clearly someone's still buying it.  Me, I chose to read the Overdrive library ebook version. But as I've said on other threads in this vein, the print price is pretty much unimportant to me because the print version is of no value to me - I don't care to read a print book any more. I can't change the font size, I can't slip it into my purse if it's a ginormous book (again, *Fall of Giants*), I can't immediately start another book when I'm finished with one without moving from my reading spot...bottom line...I can't put it on my Kindle, so I'm not interested.

LauraB is right about the history of ebook prices - and in a way Amazon probably did us a disservice regarding ebook pricing - it was great, and clever, that they were discounting ebooks (often to less than what they paid for them) before the agency model came into play. They got people hooked on reading on their Kindles. But not all bestsellers were $9.99 or less even then, there were always books that were over $9.99 (even then people often failed to notice that "unless priced otherwise" disclaimer that was included with the $9.99 price advertising). But they couldn't keep selling them at a loss forever, and I'd guess they planned on raising prices slowly, so slowly that we barely noticed. But with the agency model the pricing went up virtually overnight, and went up significantly. So we did notice. And Amazon still generally undersells the other outlets on books where they can set the price.

Overall it's still going to take a while for things to shake out - I can't remember how long the agency model was supposed to last (it seems like I'd seen that it was for a fixed period) - it'll be interesting to see if that's the case and what happens when/if it ends.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Vote with your wallet and don't buy books that cost more than you're willing to pay.  For me, I'm fine paying up to the same price as the cheapest print version on Amazon, but not a penny more.

Maybe also e-mail the publisher and tell them why you're not buying the book as well.

But that's about all we can do individually.  I suppose one could do petitions etc. for a popular book that was priced too high.

But at the end of the day publishers only care about $$$.  Vote with your wallet and hope enough others do the same and maybe prices will come down.  If not, there's no shortage of books cheaper than the print versions, cheap indie books, and free books out there to read.


----------



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

I bought HERESY in ebook, even though it was more expensive than the paperback. Why? That thing was a lead weight and I.Did.Not.Want to carry that beast around on my vacation. So, I bought it in ebook at $18.99. The money extra I spent saved me from physical therapy...


----------



## Brem (Jun 29, 2011)

Kindle books should be lower than the paper back. You have to count in the fact that there's no shipping involved and no physical copy. It's a simple send, and you got your book. Shouldn't cost any extra. It should be respectively priced though, so the author gets his/her fair share.


----------



## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

I can understand (though I strongly disagree with!) pricing ebooks high so that they don't cannibalize print sales--I think it's stupid but I understand the thinking--but publishers are really missing a bet by not offering $2.99 ebooks of their out-of-print books.

At that point, they're only competing with used book stores whose sales don't net them a cent, and they could attract readers to all of the author's work that remains in print.


----------



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Brem said:


> Kindle books should be lower than the paper back. You have to count in the fact that there's no shipping involved and no physical copy. It's a simple send, and you got your book. Shouldn't cost any extra. It should be respectively priced though, so the author gets his/her fair share.


I normally agree. However, HERESY was really worth paying extra for, both in terms of the outstanding writing and the fact that the paperback was like carrying a spruce tree around in the airport....


----------



## D/W (Dec 29, 2010)

I rarely pay more than $3 for an e-book.  I read mostly indie books, though, so it's easy to find reasonably priced e-books.  If I want to read a higher priced book, I'll generally borrow the print version from the library, which is free.  Sometimes there's a long wait for the most popular books, but that's okay.  I have hundreds of other books to choose from on my Kindle that I can read while I wait.


----------



## Dr. Laurence Brown (Jun 23, 2011)

The only time I purchase an eBook that's worth more than the print copy is if I want that instant gratification and can't get to a bookstore right away. This might have happened once or twice, tops. 

The only thing we can really do about the high pricing is not buy the eBook. Poor sales will force publishers to reevaluate.


----------



## NightGoat (Feb 2, 2011)

But by not buying the ebook, might this give the publishers the ammunition to say "the ebook market just isn't viable, no one's buying ebooks..." and for them to not publish books in ebook format?


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

NightGoat said:


> But by not buying the ebook, might this give the publishers the ammunition to say "the ebook market just isn't viable, no one's buying ebooks..." and for them to not publish books in ebook format?


I doubt it as they can see other e-books priced lower selling better. Be it things in their own catalog or from sales charts etc.


----------



## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

There's no denying ebook sales. Eventually a low-selling publisher has to see the numbers and wonder why they aren't getting their share.


----------



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

Grace Elliot said:


> READ THE BOOK! Read the book!
> The movie is a pale shadow of the book!
> This film is a classic example of why I rarely watch 'the-movie-of-the-book.' It was so dumbed-down to fit it into a movie length feature I came away feeling cheated and disappointed.


Re: The Other Boleyn Girl....Thanks for the review! I added it to my Wish List but it's ridiculously expensive for something that's available in paperback for much less. It's $12.99 K....doubt I'd ever pay that for it.


----------



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

Krista D. Ball said:


> I bought HERESY in ebook, even though it was more expensive than the paperback. Why? That thing was a lead weight and I.Did.Not.Want to carry that beast around on my vacation. So, I bought it in ebook at $18.99. The money extra I spent saved me from physical therapy...


LOL, you've given me an idea. My favorite book is Stephen King's The Stand...the long, (less-edited) version. Even the paperback is a brick. I havent read it in a few yrs now....I should see if they have the long version for Kindle (they probably dont)...but it would sure make reading it more pleasant!


----------



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

9MMare said:


> LOL, you've given me an idea. My favorite book is Stephen King's The Stand...the long, (less-edited) version. Even the paperback is a brick. I havent read it in a few yrs now....I should see if they have the long version for Kindle (they probably dont)...but it would sure make reading it more pleasant!


Ha! Jokes on me. I just ordered the K version...and it's the extended 1990 version too 

So now I have the original in paperback, the extended version in paper _and _ hard back...and the K version. Guess I'll call it my 'Happy Fourth of July' present.


----------



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

9MMare said:


> Ha! Jokes on me. I just ordered the K version...and it's the extended 1990 version too
> 
> So now I have the original in paperback, the extended version in paper _and _ hard back...and the K version. Guess I'll call it my 'Happy Fourth of July' present.


I'm telling you, sometimes the higher priced ebook is better than the physio you'll be getting after carting some of those books around...


----------



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

Krista D. Ball said:


> I'm telling you, sometimes the higher priced ebook is better than the physio you'll be getting after carting some of those books around...


----------



## jaimee83 (Sep 2, 2009)

It does bother me when I look at a new book to download and see used paperbacks from $.01 and I'm going to spend $15 -16.00 for electronic media.  As popular as Kindle is and the ever expanding market these books should be decreasing in price monthly as overhead is paid off earlier and earlier.  So, in effect, we Kindle readers are subsidising print media.


----------



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

I don't see that at all. A used paperback has nothing to do with a new paperback or a new digital copy. The only person who makes money from a used paperback (or a return hardcover, the discount ones where they are $2-5) are the people selling it. The publishers, the authors, the printers, none make money.

With an ebook, it all goes into the same pot and is paying for nearly all of the same stuff, with the exception of warehousing and print, which isn't the bulk of the cost.


----------



## Tamara Rose Blodgett (Apr 1, 2011)

Less overhead (paper, manufacture, etc.) = less cost. Obviously eBooks from all publishers ( Indie and otherwise) should logically be lower than paperback. I will be redundant: I'm not buying anything over $5 anymore. A person/reader just doesn't need to! It's a fabulous reality now...


----------



## John Van Stry (May 25, 2011)

write hate mail to Steve Jobs 
Apple is the company that forced all the other ebook sellers into the 'agency' model by their contracts with the big 6 publishers. You'll notice that all of the other apple ebook readers folded this year too, after investing large sums of money, because apple set the prices in the ibook store to run them out of business.
Personally I'm surprised that the Justice Department hasn't filed suit, because fair trade and price fixing is supposed to be illegal.


----------



## John Van Stry (May 25, 2011)

What happened was Apple came along and signed a contract to use the 'agency model' with all of their ebooks, where all prices are set by the publisher, and CAN NOT be discounted by the seller, who gets an automatic 30 percent profit. Apple also made sure that the contract they signed was forced on all other ebook vendors. 
That's why Amazon's prices on big six published ebooks jumped so high in the last year.

So basically, Apple screwed the consumers, which is pretty much Apple's business model.


----------



## Myrindyl (Jun 19, 2011)

Kindle eBook pricing is very frustrating to me, and it's really slowing me down on my original goal of using the Kindle to replace all my DTBs with e-copies. The publishing companies would be getting a lot more of my money if I could replace my books in Kindle format for what I paid for the paperbacks I currently own. Having to pay more per copy to replace my entire library isn't really something I can do right now, so I'm having to keep an eye on a large number of titles hoping for sales and temporary price drops so I can pick up what I want at prices I consider reasonable. 

The new books I do get are all freeebies so the book money I have can go toward Project Replacement.

Darn you, Steve Jobs! /shakes fist


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Two similar threads have been merged -- sorry for any confusion. . . .


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Grace Elliot said:


> READ THE BOOK! Read the book!
> The movie is a pale shadow of the book!
> This film is a classic example of why I rarely watch 'the-movie-of-the-book.' It was so dumbed-down to fit it into a movie length feature I came away feeling cheated and disappointed.


Agreed! The movie made me furious, because what was left out and what was changed. It was sloppy.

Mary is married and her husband dies, leaving her (somewhat) free to be with the man she loves -- except the movie forgets to kill off her husband.  Then the ending, with Mary having a roll in Elizabeth's life?

Philippa Gregory writes historical fiction and speculates in ways that make sticklers cringe, but the book was entertaining and had a core truth to it which the movie missed.


----------



## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

mooshie78 said:


> Vote with your wallet and don't buy books that cost more than you're willing to pay. For me, I'm fine paying up to the same price as the cheapest print version on Amazon, but not a penny more.
> 
> Maybe also e-mail the publisher and tell them why you're not buying the book as well.
> 
> ...


There is another thing you can do - when you don't buy an ebook based on price, go to Lost Book Sales - http://lostbooksales.com/ - register the book you didn't buy, why you didn't buy it, and what you did instead.


----------



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Meemo said:


> There is another thing you can do - when you don't buy an ebook based on price, go to Lost Book Sales - http://lostbooksales.com/ - register the book you didn't buy, why you didn't buy it, and what you did instead.


Yep.


----------



## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

gatehouseauthor said:


> redadeptreviews.com
> oktopusink.blogspot.com
> aflashlightreader.blogspot.com
> indiebookblogger.blogspot.com
> ...


All good choices. If you like romance, www.theromancereviews.com is a good review site. They also review some Urban Fantasy (the kind that has similar appeal as paranormal romance) and traditionally published books, as well as indies. I haven't written a review for them in forever, but I'd recommend them if you like the genre


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Meemo said:


> There is another thing you can do - when you don't buy an ebook based on price, go to Lost Book Sales - http://lostbooksales.com/ - register the book you didn't buy, why you didn't buy it, and what you did instead.


Thanks for the link. I hadn't heard of that site.

Submitted one for Between a Rock and a Hard place by Aron Ralson as the Kindle book is $11.99 while the paperback is $9.14.


----------



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

Meemo said:


> There is another thing you can do - when you don't buy an ebook based on price, go to Lost Book Sales - http://lostbooksales.com/ - register the book you didn't buy, why you didn't buy it, and what you did instead.


Thanks! Bookmarked!

I submitted one for The Other Bolely Girl.


----------



## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

9MMare said:


> Meaning, not old or discounted paperback prices, but current retail price for the paperback. To me, they should at least be the same, I cant see any reason why an e-book should be more...except profit margin naturally.


I've seen ridiculous quotes from industry people about why they're inflating ebook prices and delaying ebook releases to protect hardcover sales. Some of them just flat-out don't understand that folks who buy kindles have switched gears and priorities.


----------



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

shrug I have an ereader. My gears have not shifted and my priorities have not changed. And I still clean the litter boxes at 7pm every night.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Agreed.  I haven't changed gears or priorities at all other than reading more than before!

Before I rarely bought hardcovers and usually waited for the paperback before buying a book (or I just used the library).

Now I do the same and don't buy the e-book unless it's the same price or less as a paperback.  So that means I'm still often waiting for the paperback to come out and the ebook price to be dropped to match it.  Sometimes I'll pay $10 for an e-book while the hardcover is out (or $14.99 in the case of A Dance with Dragons since I'm dying to read it!).  But usually I wait.

Otherwise, I haven't changed my habits.  I'm still mainly buying and reading mainstream books and not expecting to pay less for them than I did when reading paperbacks.

Though I know others have changed gears and mainly read free books and cheap indie books etc.


----------



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

mooshie78 said:


> Though I know others have changed gears and mainly read free books and cheap indie books etc.


My guess is that a lot of those also usually didn't buy new paperbacks and either bought used books at yard sales or used the library exclusively. So, really, not much has changed.


----------



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

mooshie78 said:


> Agreed. I haven't changed gears or priorities at all other than reading more than before!
> 
> Before I rarely bought hardcovers and usually waited for the paperback before buying a book (or I just used the library).
> 
> ...


I think this pretty much describes me too, altho I'm not that much into mainstream fiction...but am into mainstream non-fiction, even tho I like to read both.

And K has opened up a new world of small pubs and indies for me, which I appreciate.

But yeah....I have tons of books to read and can afford to be picky...and frugal...and still be happy. I am going to resist the big pubs forcing high prices down my throat.


----------

