# E-book pricing



## hamerfan (Apr 24, 2011)

Do Kindle edition prices come down once a book becomes available in paperback? 
There's an e-book I want to buy, The Litigators by John Grisham. It came out October 2011, so it's a hardcover at $19 with the Kindle edition priced at $13. 
Once this book becomes available in paperback, will the Kindle version price come down? 
Thanks,
hamerfan


----------



## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Often times, yes. I'm currently waiting for Dance with Dragons to come down with the paperback.


----------



## Cyanide5000 (Aug 30, 2010)

I wasn't aware books came down in price, once they were released as a paperback? Shows how much attention i pay to the world around me! Guess i could have saved myself some dosh as well


----------



## typo (Jul 30, 2010)

That's the conventional wisdom, but it's not always true, especially with best-selling authors. I still am waiting for the price to drop on a book published in August of 2010. All it has done is go up $2.


----------



## Matt Larkin (Sep 27, 2011)

typo said:


> That's the conventional wisdom, but it's not always true, especially with best-selling authors. I still am waiting for the price to drop on a book published in August of 2010. All it has done is go up $2.


I have noticed a few times when a book, already priced about $10 at debut, actually goes up in price. Sometimes more than a little. Seemed a strange marketing decision, to me.


----------



## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

It is an industry fighting for survival. The sense of entitlement to free or inexpensive books has grown, fed in part by Amazon. The author and publisher don't want prices to deflate too far and the reader always wants a bargain. It should eventually settle down to a discernable pattern, my guess would be hardcover most expensive, paperback second and ebook least costly, but only over time.


----------



## patrickb (Nov 22, 2008)

Harry Shannon said:


> It is an industry fighting for survival. The sense of entitlement to free or inexpensive books has grown, fed in part by Amazon. The author and publisher don't want prices to deflate too far and the reader always wants a bargain. It should eventually settle down to a discernable pattern, my guess would be hardcover most expensive, paperback second and ebook least costly, but only over time.


The sense of *entitlement* !? Wow. No, I think we readers just expect to not be treated like crap. Publishers charging the same price (or even more!) for rights-restricted e-books as their physical counterparts is just plain absurd. Once a book is out in paperback then you'll see the price at $7.99 for the paperback, and... the e-book price, also 7.99. The publishers are determined to destroy their own business.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Most of the time, yes, the price will drop to the same, or a tad less, than the paperback.

But not always.  Luckily I've not had one I was waiting on not drop in price yet.

As for pricing more generally, I have absolutely no problem paying the same price for an e-book as the cheapest print version.  I'm paying for the book, not the format they're delivered in.  And e-books are a ton more convenient for me as I don't care about having a library of fiction as I almost never re-read.  So I love not having a paperbook to have to make room to store, and probably just end up donating to the library or Goodwill anyway.  So I have no issues paying say $7.99 for an e-book for which the paperback is also $7.99 personally.  I get the same content, and more convenience.

But of course everyone has their own budgets and spending priorities etc.  So it's a "to each, their own" thing for sure.


----------



## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

patrickb said:


> The sense of *entitlement* !? Wow. No, I think we readers just expect to not be treated like crap. Publishers charging the same price (or even more!) for rights-restricted e-books as their physical counterparts is just plain absurd. Once a book is out in paperback then you'll see the price at $7.99 for the paperback, and... the e-book price, also 7.99. The publishers are determined to destroy their own business.


I concur!

Five big publishers and Apple are not being investigated by the Justice Department in the US and its equivalent in the European Union for price fixing for nothing. There has been smoke, hopefully they will find the fire.


----------



## patrickb (Nov 22, 2008)

mooshie78 said:


> Most of the time, yes, the price will drop to the same, or a tad less, than the paperback.
> 
> But not always. Luckily I've not had one I was waiting on not drop in price yet.
> 
> ...


You should have a huge problem with paying the same price. You can only load that book on a limited number of devices - even when they're all your own. You can't loan it to friends (or 'best' case if the publisher allows lending [very very few do now] then you only loan it once *ever* and for a fixed period of time). Many publishers don't even let your kindle read it to you (yeah, wouldn't want a computer's text-to-speech voice to trample on their audiobook cash cow - give me a break - there's no comparison between TTS and a professionally produced audiobook). The ebook is also restricted on what platforms its able to be used on - while the format may be open (or semi-open) - the DRM is *not*.

While I agree about the convenience of e-books (I haven't purchased a physical novel in about 5 years nor will I again), I don't think there's any justification for the price of physical (which has significantly higher costs than e-books for which there is near zero incremental cost per sale) books being the same cost as ebooks which are heavily restricted in how and where they can be used.


----------



## jbcohen (Jul 29, 2011)

Since watching the issue at the close of the Clinton administration and the Bush II admin I have found that the Justice department has not been investigating price fixing and anti-monopoly cases like it has prior to bush II, not trying to say something political here its simply my observations based on what I have been able to see coming from the justice department.  This trend has continued through the Obama white house.  I don't think politics as much to do with this, both Republicans and democratic administrations seem to be de-emphisizing antitrust litigation.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

patrickb said:


> You should have a huge problem with paying the same price. You can only load that book on a limited number of devices - even when they're all your own. You can't loan it to friends (or 'best' case if the publisher allows lending [very very few do now] then you only loan it once *ever* and for a fixed period of time). Many publishers don't even let your kindle read it to you (yeah, wouldn't want a computer's text-to-speech voice to trample on their audiobook cash cow - give me a break - there's no comparison between TTS and a professionally produced audiobook). The ebook is also restricted on what platforms its able to be used on - while the format may be open (or semi-open) - the DRM is *not*.
> 
> While I agree about the convenience of e-books (I haven't purchased a physical novel in about 5 years nor will I again), I don't think there's any justification for the price of physical (which has significantly higher costs than e-books for which there is near zero incremental cost per sale) books being the same cost as ebooks which are heavily restricted in how and where they can be used.


I just don't care about that stuff. I can easily read my e-books on my Kindle, iPad and iPhone, so the 6 device restriction doesn't affect me. And I don't care about lending things to people, it's not something I do often with physical books, movies, CDs etc. anyway.

I'm spending money to read the book, and I'm only going to read 99% of fiction once. So I'm basically just paying for the experience of reading the book--so I don't care about format restrictions etc. It's basically equivalent to buying a ticket to see a movie in the theater for me, as that's similar in paying just to experience content rather than to own anything. But with the added bonuses of most e-books costing less than a movie ticket in my city, lasting longer and having access to the digital copy to read again down the road if I so choose.

So e-books are totally worth it to me. I get more value out of them than a paper novel as I can take it around everywhere on my phone, and don't have to hassle with donating it after I finish reading it, thus adding another errand to my hectic schedule. So I have no issues paying the same as the paperbook for an e-book.

But as I said, everyone views these things differently. Others are impacted by DRM (whereas it doesn't affect me) as they like to loan books, others prefer paperbooks and thus won't pay more for ebooks on principle and so on. To each their own. Ebooks are a good value to me for the reasons noted, and the negatives aren't related to how I use book/ebooks personally.


----------



## hamerfan (Apr 24, 2011)

Thanks, history_lover, for the info.
Now to see just how much patience I have,


----------



## tahliaN (Nov 6, 2011)

This is what happens when the book is put out by a big publisher, they keep the ebook price high to encourage you to buy the paper book to keep them in business. I haven't found that any I've wanted have come down in price, but maybe I haven't waited long enough. I just don't buy anything over $10 anymore, because it's only the big publishers with those high prices, and they're just making us pay for their overheads. Very little of the money they save on not having to print the book goes to the author.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

hamerfan said:


> Do Kindle edition prices come down once a book becomes available in paperback?


Generally, it depends. 

As suggested, keep an eye on it and see what happens. One of our author members recently announced in his Book Bazaar thread that, as the paperback was coming out for one of his titles, the kindle price was being reduced. So it definitely can happen.

As to pricing in general. . .there are a lot of threads about what people think is a fair price. Some argue ebooks should be cheaper because of the licensing issue and no physical production costs. Other observe that perhaps the convenience of purchasing and the ability to adjust type size to your preference may argue for a higher price. It's all a personal decision so let's please not beat that horse, which is already quite dead, in this thread.


----------



## WillCorcoran (Feb 28, 2012)

Almost seems like airline prices.  Sometimes that happens, which would be intuitive.  But, I find myself just having to keep close tabs on prices and checking back.  Sometimes, I spend way more time on it than I would have saved.  Live and learn!


----------



## patrickb (Nov 22, 2008)

Not everyone knows about it, but the pricewatch site at http://www.ereaderiq.com/pricewatch/ is great for being told when the price goes down. Unfortunately these days it's more of a notice that the paperback is out and they lowered the price to match the paperback but it can still be useful.


----------



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

tahliaN said:


> This is what happens when the book is put out by a big publisher, they keep the ebook price high to encourage you to buy the paper book to keep them in business.


I guess I don't follow the reasoning behind that statement. If they are going to try to pressure you to buy the paper book by keeping the ebook price high, why do they need to produce an ebook version at all? You'd just go ahead and buy the paper version anyway, since it was only available that way.

Mike


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

jmiked said:


> I guess I don't follow the reasoning behind that statement. If they are going to try to pressure you to buy the paper book by keeping the ebook price high, why do they need to produce an ebook version at all? You'd just go ahead and buy the paper version anyway, since it was only available that way.
> 
> Mike


Hedging bets maybe? (Note that I don't know, just offer a point for consideration.) They'd rather sell paper so they're priced better, but they recognize that some people will only want "e" so they have that available as well figuring that many people won't parse the pricing and just buy it.

I admit that I don't do a lot of price comparison between formats. My thought process consists of determining if the ebook I'm considering is worth the money they're asking. I vastly prefer the e-format so a cheaper paper option isn't nearly as attractive to me. It would have to be a book that I _really_ wanted to read -- *now* -- that was _way_ over priced in "e" for me to even give passing consideration to the paper option.

That's just me, of course. YMMV, as they say.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

jmiked said:


> I guess I don't follow the reasoning behind that statement. If they are going to try to pressure you to buy the paper book by keeping the ebook price high, why do they need to produce an ebook version at all? You'd just go ahead and buy the paper version anyway, since it was only available that way.
> 
> Mike


They're keeping prices the same as the print version so as to not devalue their product. They don't want people to stop buying $7.99-9.99 paperbacks because they see the e-book is $5 or whatever.

The shift to e-books threatens their profit margin. They could price them a bit cheaper and keep margin the same since e-books don't have the printing, shipping and buyback costs etc. But others have posted some studies on here in discussions in the past showing that cost is only $1-2 per copy of a bestseller. Though of course there's more wiggle room with niche authors getting much smaller print runs.

In all, publishers are just scared to death about e-books killing their profits. As indie presses and self publishers rise and are selling books for $0.99-$5 they're worried that the value of books in the eyes of customers will drop and they'll no longer be able to sell their wares at the rates they've been going for for years.

Moreover, they're worried about becoming obsolete. In a world where e-books are dominant, publishers aren't needed nearly as much. A famous author can say to hell with them and just higher their own editor and marketing firm to advertise their books if they're only putting out an e-book. So publishers and printing presses could become much smaller entitities.

So publishers are essentially doing all they can to slow the rise of e-books as the dominant way people read.


----------



## patrickb (Nov 22, 2008)

mooshie78 said:


> The shift to e-books threatens their profit margin. They could price them a bit cheaper and keep margin the same since e-books don't have the printing, shipping and buyback costs etc. But others have posted some studies on here in discussions in the past showing that cost is only $1-2 per copy of a bestseller. Though of course there's more wiggle room with niche authors getting much smaller print runs.


Some traditional print authors like to repeat this horse pucky as well [fed to them by their publishers] but it's just that - b.s. McGraw Hill's CEO unfortunately strayed from the publisher 'script' on this one recently when they partnered with Apple for their textbook initiative and selling a $150 book for $15 electronically.



> McGraw-Hill CEO Harold (Terry) McGraw III says Apple has "turbocharged the process." He believes the $14.99 pricing model can work. "In the online world your paper, binding, printing, warehousing (costs) go away. So you can pass that along and through the volume increases you'll do very well." (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-01-19/apple-ipad-textbooks/52670256/1)


Considering bookstores can also return unsold books to publishers - that cost is significant. Publishers just have their heads in the sand somehow hoping that this digital stuff will just go away and leave them alone and are repeating all the same mistakes the music industry (and film) industry made [and continue to make].


----------



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

mooshie78 said:


> They're keeping prices the same as the print version so as to not devalue their product.


Granted, but I was responding to a statement about pricing the ebooks _higher_ than the printed one.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

jmiked said:


> Granted, but I was responding to a statement about pricing the ebooks _higher_ than the printed one.


I was trying to relate to that as well--they want people buying printed books rather than e-books as the rise of e-books as a dominate format is a huge threat to the publishing industry.

Thus they're trying to forestall that as long as possible by pricing e-books the same or higher than the print versions so more people keep buying the print versions rather than switching to e-books.


----------



## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

mooshie78 said:


> They're keeping prices the same as the print version so as to not devalue their product. They don't want people to stop buying $7.99-9.99 paperbacks because they see the e-book is $5 or whatever.
> 
> The shift to e-books threatens their profit margin. They could price them a bit cheaper and keep margin the same since e-books don't have the printing, shipping and buyback costs etc. But others have posted some studies on here in discussions in the past showing that cost is only $1-2 per copy of a bestseller. Though of course there's more wiggle room with niche authors getting much smaller print runs.
> 
> ...


My thoughts exactly. It seems pretty obvious to me that although big publishers know they can't afford to ignore the ebook industry completely, they are doing everything they can to discourage it. Just look at how they've opted out of library and user-to-user lending. I'm not purposely boycotting them but I do find myself reading less and less from "the big 6".


----------



## Matt Larkin (Sep 27, 2011)

mooshie78 said:


> As indie presses and self publishers rise and are selling books for $0.99-$5 they're worried that the value of books in the eyes of customers will drop and they'll no longer be able to sell their wares at the rates they've been going for for years.


I think if people really came to believe $0.99 was the value of a novel, it'd be a problem for everyone involved, authors included. And what could short stories and novellas be sold at, if $0.99 is the proper price for a novel?

But I don't think that's going to happen. Most authors pricing their books that low probably do so for loss leaders, sales, or other strategies.


----------



## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

My point was not to rehash an old and exhausted discussion, nor to take sides in it, but to point out that it this is an industry fighting for survival and trying to at least slow down the transition. It must adapt or die. Deflationary pressures can be catastrophic in business (ask the old recording industry, which botched theirs miserably). Rock bottom prices will require enormous sales to be profitable. Everyone knows this format has created a rapid march to the inevitable. I do agree that the courts have not actively prosecuted anti-trust issues for a long time now, which may reflect the Supreme Court more than the elected governments. When that changes, and it will at some point, don't forget that Amazons own business practices will need some examination. A lot of very powerful forces are playing hardball with us, and midlist authors have been caught in the middle of the tug of war. I actually wish they would hurry up and deal with it properly and openly. A clear playing field would benefit everyone, author, publisher and consumer alike.


----------



## jbcohen (Jul 29, 2011)

On my job my employer sent me to a class many years ago, if I remember properly (which seems to be a challenge these days) was called Total Quality Management (TQM). It was a subject that was being introduced into business management classes on the university level at the time and it had two precepts:

1) When technology shifts everyone goes back to zero; and
2) Past successes guaranty nothing. 

Electronic books represent a significant shift in the technology of book publishing and I think the publishers understand and they understand the TQM principals above its simply that most publishers, on a technological level, have not grasped fully how to deal with the shift in technology or they are simply to large and don't have the agility needed to get behind the emerging technology. As a consequence they are using their pricing policy to attempt to hold back the sift in technology. Its inevitable with the lowering of the prices of electronic readers as the battle between Barns and Nobles and Amazon heats up, as it has been doing lately, more people will buy themselves book readers and expect discounts from the publishers.  

I have heard many of my pals who are new to the technology of electronic books because they have purchased their first reader in the last few months are telling me that they wonder why they must pay equal to or more for the electronic books. Most of them have come to the conclusion that I have, that books are simply not worth what they go for in the old book stores and are instead choosing to do business with newer more agile publishers like Amazon and baen who are quite happy to drop the prices of their wares when it comes to digital books.


For my dollars I have little need for a company that has not gotten behind the digital book revolution.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Matt Larkin said:


> I think if people really came to believe $0.99 was the value of a novel, it'd be a problem for everyone involved, authors included. And what could short stories and novellas be sold at, if $0.99 is the proper price for a novel?
> 
> But I don't think that's going to happen. Most authors pricing their books that low probably do so for loss leaders, sales, or other strategies.


Agreed on that. I think we'll see e-book prices settle somewhere in the $5-10 range. The only people who can afford to sell e-book an e-book for much cheaper than that are people who aren't writing as a career, but just on the side of another job.


----------



## jbcohen (Jul 29, 2011)

Makes little difference where they settle I am still not willing to pay over $3.50, I get that price per book all the time, why should I pay more?


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Everyone has their own budgets of course.  I make good money so mine is higher.  And I tend to find I like books more when they cost more and have been through the big publisher vetting process.  As I only read 2 or 3 books most months, I'd rather just drop the $7.99-9.99 for something I'm pretty sure I'll like than take a chance on an indie press book, much less anything self published as saving a few bucks isn't a big deal to me.


----------



## Guest (Mar 1, 2012)

Not sure, but that's a really good question.


----------



## Derek Clendening (Mar 1, 2012)

Personally, I'm willing to pay a little more if it's something I really want. But, if we're talking like $15, then that's a bit much. Look for a lot of people charging 99 cents for a full-length novel to raise their prices. The reason being is that a lot of 99 cent novels are becoming associated with lesser quality. I still keep shorter works like short stories and long fiction pieces at 99 cents, but I raised my full-length novels are $2.99.


----------



## MartinLake (May 9, 2011)

On a couple of occasions I have downloaded a sample from Kindle, not got round to reading it immediately, then gone back to buy it and found it has been reduced in price.  Mind you, like they warn you about stock markets, prices may possibly go up as well as down.


----------



## Derek Clendening (Mar 1, 2012)

MartinLake said:


> On a couple of occasions I have downloaded a sample from Kindle, not got round to reading it immediately, then gone back to buy it and found it has been reduced in price. Mind you, like they warn you about stock markets, prices may possibly go up as well as down.


I've read almost all of the freebies I've downloaded. Maybe I'm not the norm?


----------



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

I quiver with excitement anytime I can find my historical non-fiction under $20. Some of these print books are in the $40+ range and I will happily, gleefully, willingly hand over the Green Queen for it.


----------



## jackz4000 (May 15, 2011)

If there is something I really want to read I'll blow 12.99 on it. I would not want to go higher and I would rather go lower. That would be only for a confirmed author whose work I knew well. I don't have problem with $8 or $10 dollar ebooks either but I do subject them to some scrutiny. The way I look at it is simple--my big investment in a book is MY TIME.

If a ebook cost me $8 and it takes me say 10 hours to read I find that to be a bargain and works out to I'm paying 80 cents per hour for a good read. I have zero problem with that. If I go to a movie or bowling or dinner it will cost me much more than 80 cents per hour.

That said I have had very good reads at 3.99 or 1.99 and Free.


----------



## jbcohen (Jul 29, 2011)

On the contrary I love the race to the bottom my price limit is currently at $3.50 each, however if you are willing to cut that bill to $3 perhaps I will do business with you. The lowest dime wins and I love various publishers and authors willing to under cut eachothers prices - the more the better. I'll wait until the dust settles and do my business with the lowest cost provider. Not willing to do business at the $5 price point, that's too high I can get lower than that so why should I shell you $5 for anyone?



tkkenyon said:


> Hi folks,
> 
> I copied and pasted this from my previous post on ebook pricing, though I added some more about short stories.
> 
> ...


----------



## Matt Larkin (Sep 27, 2011)

tkkenyon said:


> Short stories should, really, be 10c, or 25c, or 49c, at most. I wish Amazon would let us do that.


I don't think I'd take an author selling stories for 10c seriously. At least, it doesn't seem like they take their own work seriously at that point. The royalty would be what, 3c per copy? Better to just give it away for free for exposure.


----------



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

jbcohen said:


> Not willing to do business at the $5 price point, that's too high I can get lower than that so why should I shell you $5 for anyone?


Except that there are plenty books that I want to read that aren't that price. If I can't get THAT book, what does it matter what else is there? There are plenty of urban fantasies out there, but there is only one Harry Dresden.


----------



## Seleya (Feb 25, 2011)

Krista D. Ball said:


> Except that there are plenty books that I want to read that aren't that price. If I can't get THAT book, what does it matter what else is there? There are plenty of urban fantasies out there, but there is only one Harry Dresden.


+1


----------



## patrickb (Nov 22, 2008)

Which is why if I want to read Dresden books, I'll get it for my Kindle through the library.  As much as I like Dresden (Butcher's Codex Alera series is his best work though - Dresden is a bit more popcorn fluff), Jim Butcher's publisher and their pricing decisions has gotten me pretty close to just outright banning then.  There's so much to read from so many independents out there the thought of just banning those publishers outright doesn't bother me too much.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Krista D. Ball said:


> Except that there are plenty books that I want to read that aren't that price. If I can't get THAT book, what does it matter what else is there? There are plenty of urban fantasies out there, but there is only one Harry Dresden.


I'm much the same. I don't have a set price limit for any of my hobbies really. It varies on a case by case basis on how much I want to experience something. Some books/authors I won't pay more than $5 for as I'm not that into. Others I love and will pay a lot more to read day 1, like paying $15 for A Dance with Dragons last summer. It's just like movies, some actors, directors etc. I like a lot and go see in the theater and buy the movie when it comes out on Bluray. Others I'll just wait and rent via Netflix or Redbox. Or video games--some I'll pay $50-60 to play day one, others I'll wait until the go on sale or I can get them from a game trading site etc.


----------



## jpflug (Jan 25, 2012)

Pricing is a big problem on kindle....authors who are traditionally published or land book deals after making a name for themselves on kindle will often raise their prices (probably because they are contractually obligated) and so there are tons of ebooks posted for 9.99, 14.99, 19.99...I have to say, its a bit ridiculous. As a writer, I think that my intellectual property is important (mostly to me) and it shouldn't be cheapened...but the cost of a paperback orhardback novel is mostly going to the manufacturing and promotion process...ebooks are free to manufacture, and that SHOULD be considered in pricing. My first novel is only priced at .99, which I think is very low, but the book is a teaser and I am not worried about money as my major priority. Some authors are worried too much and are charging 9.99 for an ebook that you can get in paperback for the same price, or less.


----------



## Bob Mayer (Feb 20, 2011)

I just think of Dr. Evil in his lair when they ask him what his blackmail will be.

He puts his pinkie to the corner of his mouth:  "My eBook will be priced at--" dramatic pause-- "ONE MILLION dollars!"


----------



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

patrickb said:


> Which is why if I want to read Dresden books, I'll get it for my Kindle through the library.


And, as a fan, I have the hardcovers, the audiobooks, and the ebooks (and a few paperbacks, too, before the ebooks were available in Canada). So, that goes back to -- some of us are happy to pay for our favourite books and series.

There have always been people who would never buy a hardcover unless it was on $5 clearance (aka the author doesn't make any money off it). 
There have always been people who would only go to the library or used book stores. That's fine. There's plenty of places for those folks to still get their books.

Just like there's still plenty of places for me to get the books that I want at a price I'll pay.


----------



## Matt Larkin (Sep 27, 2011)

Krista D. Ball said:


> There have always been people who would never buy a hardcover unless it was on $5 clearance (aka the author doesn't make any money off it).
> There have always been people who would only go to the library or used book stores. That's fine. There's plenty of places for those folks to still get their books.
> 
> Just like there's still plenty of places for me to get the books that I want at a price I'll pay.


Absolutely. I dislike when an author (or rather publisher) prices ebooks much above $10, but for an author I really like, I will pay that. On the other hand, I may wait a little to see if it comes down.


----------



## Neil Ostroff (Mar 25, 2011)

That's an outrageous price for an ebook. Jeez, publishers are getting so greedy.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

patrickb said:


> You should have a huge problem with paying the same price. You can only load that book on a limited number of devices - even when they're all your own. You can't loan it to friends (or 'best' case if the publisher allows lending [very very few do now] then you only loan it once *ever* and for a fixed period of time). Many publishers don't even let your kindle read it to you (yeah, wouldn't want a computer's text-to-speech voice to trample on their audiobook cash cow - give me a break - there's no comparison between TTS and a professionally produced audiobook). The ebook is also restricted on what platforms its able to be used on - while the format may be open (or semi-open) - the DRM is *not*.
> 
> While I agree about the convenience of e-books (I haven't purchased a physical novel in about 5 years nor will I again), I don't think there's any justification for the price of physical (which has significantly higher costs than e-books for which there is near zero incremental cost per sale) books being the same cost as ebooks which are heavily restricted in how and where they can be used.


Patrick, you seem to be arguing that a copy of an e-book is more limited than the physical book. Well, gee, my paper copy doesn't read to me, either...and can only be read on one platform, the one I bought it on--paper.

I loan Kindle books to friends--I have three Kindles, my K1, my K4 and my KTouch. Friends are welcome to borrow any of my 1000 book Kindle library at any time. In fact, they can borrow a couple of hundred at once if they want.  And I know I'll get them back--oh, wait, they never left because they are in my archive. Granted, I wouldn't loan a Kindle out to just anyone, but I never loaned paper books out to just anyone, either. The people I loaned my paper books to are more than welcome to borrow one of my Kindles.

And it's a fine point, but just to clarify, I can only load some books on a limited number of devices AT ONE TIME. I can delete the limited book from a device and load it on another if I need to. 

So no, paying the same price as the paper version doesn't bother me as the e-book may have some of the same limitations as a paper book, but it has far more advantages for me.

Betsy


----------



## jpflug (Jan 25, 2012)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Patrick, you seem to be arguing that a copy of an e-book is more limited than the physical book. Well, gee, my paper copy doesn't read to me, either...and can only be read on one platform, the one I bought it on--paper.
> 
> I loan Kindle books to friends--I have three Kindles, my K1, my K4 and my KTouch. Friends are welcome to borrow any of my 1000 book Kindle library at any time. In fact, they can borrow a couple of hundred at once if they want.  And I know I'll get them back--oh, wait, they never left because they are in my archive. Granted, I wouldn't loan a Kindle out to just anyone, but I never loaned paper books out to just anyone, either. The people I loaned my paper books to are more than welcome to borrow one of my Kindles.
> 
> ...


The kindle reading a book to you is a feature that Kindle has paid for, not the author...so I hope no one is charging for that convenience, which they have nothing to do with other than saying "sure! Make it read itself!" All of the above points are valid, though I am not sure that they are valid with respect to price. Its a good argument from both parties involved in this discussion, but the simple truth is that authors who are charging 9.99 and up need to realize that they overvalue their product, or just admit that the profit is more important than people reading your work! Your ebook doesn't have to be .99 by any means...but I do think it is a problem when an author thinks that as much work went into their ebook as did their paperback.


----------



## patrickb (Nov 22, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> And it's a fine point, but just to clarify, I can only load some books on a limited number of devices AT ONE TIME. I can delete the limited book from a device and load it on another if I need to.


It may have changed, but my understanding is that's not true. You could load the book on 6 devices, turn off the wireless and then try to load it on other devices - so Amazon tracks what you load it on to period - it's not tracking what you've loaded it onto and apparently removed it from (which can't be verified when not always connected). Search around and you'll find stories of users having to call Amazon and bitch up a storm to have the device count reset for books.

As for your argument that you can lend out Kindle books by lending out your entire Kindle - I'm sorry, I don't see how that's remotely comparable to someone lending a paperback or hardcover book.


----------



## hamerfan (Apr 24, 2011)

Thanks for your thoughts on this subject, everyone. Unfortunately, the point is moot.
I just bought the Kindle version.


----------



## jackz4000 (May 15, 2011)

jpflug said:


> but the simple truth is that *authors who are charging 9.99* and up need to realize that they overvalue their product, or just admit that the profit is more important than people reading your work! Your ebook doesn't have to be .99 by any means...but I do think it is a problem when an *author* thinks that as much work went into their ebook as did their paperback.


Usually it is the Big Six publishers charging over $9.99 to keep the ebook price close to the HC price, it's NOT the authors who set the price, it's the publishers who set the price with ebooks.

The publishers bestselling authors seem to sell at prices over $9.99 so although the prices may be too high to you there are others who have no problem paying that price. Maybe you won't pay, but others will and as long as publishers make enough $ they will sell high and protect their paperbooks.

I also agree and think a valid argument can be made that you pay more for an ebook for the technological convenience of being able to put 3000 book in your pocketbook and you can read one anywhere.


----------



## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter]And it's a fine point said:


> It may have changed, but my understanding is that's not true. You could load the book on 6 devices, turn off the wireless and then try to load it on other devices - so Amazon tracks what you load it on to period - it's not tracking what you've loaded it onto and apparently removed it from (which can't be verified when not always connected). Search around and you'll find stories of users having to call Amazon and bitch up a storm to have the device count reset for books.


Your understanding is partially right, and partially mistaken. If you load onto a device you do use up one of your licences. If you remove the book from your kindle, turn the wifi/3g back on and sync up, it WILL release the license back to be re-used.

Now, not all books have a complement of 6 licenses. some only have 3 or 4... or 1. and some, are unlimited. Most people bitch when they do not pay attention, and blame Amazon for something over which it has no control, publishers/authors set the limits, not Amazon.


----------



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

jackz4000 said:


> I also agree and think a valid argument can be made that you pay more for an ebook for the technological convenience of being able to put 3000 book in your pocketbook and you can read one anywhere.


I know some rural folks who say that they don't even care because they are saving a fortune with their ereaders because they don't need to drive into the city to buy books.


----------



## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Krista D. Ball said:


> I know some rural folks who say that they don't even care because they are saving a fortune with their ereaders because they don't need to drive into the city to buy books.


Here Here! It's a 45 minute drive to a non-used bookstore other than the local Walmart. 4 gallons of gas, which is currently approximately $3.50/gallon.


----------



## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Krista D. Ball said:


> I know some rural folks who say that they don't even care because they are saving a fortune with their ereaders because they don't need to drive into the city to buy books.


We have a winner here! DH and I used to make the trip to the "big city" Barnes & Noble once a month because Wal-Mart/Target are the only options in our little town. 180 miles round trip. Anything less, equal to or even slightly higher than the paper price is worth it to me.


----------



## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

BTackitt said:


> Here Here! It's a 45 minute drive to a non-used bookstore other than the local Walmart. 4 gallons of gas, which is currently approximately $3.50/gallon.


I think this is something that's becoming a lot more in the minds of people going shopping now. It was a bit different when petrol was half the price it is currently; but the convenience of home delivery is just too nice, so long as you can wait a few days... or 30 seconds


----------



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

BTackitt said:


> Here Here! It's a 45 minute drive to a non-used bookstore other than the local Walmart. 4 gallons of gas, which is currently approximately $3.50/gallon.


Fuel is $1.09-$1.15/L here right now. If you're an hour away from a proper bookstore, that's a lot of money. Plus, with online ordering you still need to buy $25-40 worth of books (depending where you live and where you buy). With an ereader, you can just buy one book, as opposed to $25 worth.


----------



## KLDillon2056 (Mar 3, 2012)

Just wanted to give my two cents...or .99 cents or 2.99 or 9.99 (You see what I did there!!).

Look, I'm no industry expert. I only published my first work of fiction last week. All I know is that, as a reader, if I'm going to spend between 5-10 on an e-book, it's going to be from an author I know and like. And, even then, I'm hesitant to do so.

Now when it comes to purchasing from authors I never heard of, I believe that anywhere from .99-4.99 is fine. But, I also believe this is where it gets tricky. Some people, when they see a book priced at .99, may be a little hesitant to purchase.

"Why so low? Can't be that great if it's so low?"

While others may just click the "Buy" button _simply because_ the book is only .99. "It's only a dollar. Why not!"

Overall, I'll buy your book as long as it's 9.99 or less!!!


----------



## jackz4000 (May 15, 2011)

Krista D. Ball said:


> I know some rural folks who say that they don't even care because they are saving a fortune with their ereaders because they don't need to drive into the city to buy books.


EXACTLY! Gas here is has reached $3.75 p/gallon. The nearest decent bookstores are about a 3 hour roundtrip drive for me and even then they don't have the selection that Amazon has and they don't have the pricing Amazon has. For me buying ebooks is a substantial convenience and economic incentive even at 12.99 a book. Not only do I have to invest in gas but I have to invest in time just to buy the books.

Sure I would like some ebooks to be a bit cheaper, but this works fine for me. I remember devoting 4-5 hours just to go a bookstore to browse books and buy 5 or 6 each trip. I can browse and find what I want on Amazon in minutes. Now I don't waste the gas, car wear and tear or the time so ebooks save me money and even if they cost a bit more--no problem.

For all the dead-tree advocates I am saving trees and fossil fuels and pollution.


----------



## Richard Parks (Feb 29, 2012)

I don't know how typical this is, but last week I actually had the experience of a reader taking me to task for pricing my books too _low_. Flattering, sure, but not the kind or reader response you'd normally expect, especially after following this thread for a while.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

patrickb said:


> It may have changed, but my understanding is that's not true. You could load the book on 6 devices, turn off the wireless and then try to load it on other devices - so Amazon tracks what you load it on to period - it's not tracking what you've loaded it onto and apparently removed it from (which can't be verified when not always connected). Search around and you'll find stories of users having to call Amazon and bitch up a storm to have the device count reset for books.
> 
> As for your argument that you can lend out Kindle books by lending out your entire Kindle - I'm sorry, I don't see how that's remotely comparable to someone lending a paperback or hardcover book.


It was once true that users had to call Amazon to get licenses released, but that was changed a while ago. I think you'll find those stories are pretty old. Now, removing the book from a device frees that license.

As for lending my Kindle books out, which I do, *shrug* I was just saying I can lend out the physical copy of the Kindle book, just as I can with a paper book. I don't see the Kindle version as more limited than the paper version; you seem to. We don't have to agree. 

Betsy


----------



## JBool56 (Feb 22, 2012)

> Usually it is the Big Six publishers charging over $9.99 to keep the ebook price close to the HC price, it's NOT the authors who set the price, it's the publishers who set the price with ebooks.


... I'm sure this is true. But I think it's flawed thinking, similar to how record companies initially treated MP3's. And I think it has the same effect, namely it drives people to piracy, which ultimately isn't good for anyone.


----------



## aswashington (Mar 6, 2012)

Pretty sure it depends on the publisher and how well the book is doing. If good at that current price, probably wont drop it. If not performing well, probably a couple of bucks to see if sells pick up.


----------

