# How much is too much for an ebook?



## djv1120 (Dec 7, 2013)

I know there is a big debate about ebook pricing. Actually, it's more like a war between Amazon and traditional publishers. For the most part, I try to take the attitude that "it is what it is" but today, for some reason, it is really bugging me.

I am an avid reader of fantasy which ultimately led me to writing fantasy. I have faithfully followed many authors and buy their books almost as soon as they come out. Over the last few years, I have seen the price of their Kindle ebooks climb to the point that you are basically paying for a hardcover book. That is pure BS. There is no manufacturing cost and shipping cost for an ebook. You can't give it to somebody else. You can't sell it when you are done reading it. In short, it is nowhere near as valuable, yet I am seeing ebooks being priced at hardcover prices.

The book that got me wound up today is priced at $15.49  . The book is not particularly long. In fact, for traditionally published fantasy, it is probably on the short side at 368 pages. As much as I want to read this book (and I do), I cannot in good conscious pay over $15 for an ebook. I would pay the $17 they have priced the hardcover at long before I spend $15 for an ebook. I guess I will just wait for the paperback to come out and pay $7.49.

Thanks for listening to my rant


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## dmburnett (Feb 4, 2011)

It's a rant that makes perfect sense.


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## Speaker-To-Animals (Feb 21, 2012)

I think about book prices more than ebook prices. I really love ebooks and don't feel like I have to have some kind of discount to get one rather than the print book.

On prices in general, I remember going into bookshops as a teen every other weekend and coming out with three or four books and I can't imagine doing that at trad prices today. At some point in the late 90s, even mass market paper got to the point where it just felt too expensive to buy "junk" books that were just for a quick read and mostly I just read things that had won some kind of award or were in a series I was already into. For me, indies and low priced ebooks really opened back up the pure joy of reading books who's only purpose was simple entertainment.


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## Steve W. (Feb 23, 2011)

This is an old article, but it's very worth the read to understand why trade presses charge so much for their eBooks:

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2011/03/why-some-e-books-cost-more-than.html


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## djv1120 (Dec 7, 2013)

Kat S said:


> I think about book prices more than ebook prices. I really love ebooks and don't feel like I have to have some kind of discount to get one rather than the print book.
> 
> On prices in general, I remember going into bookshops as a teen every other weekend and coming out with three or four books and I can't imagine doing that at trad prices today. At some point in the late 90s, even mass market paper got to the point where it just felt too expensive to buy "junk" books that were just for a quick read and mostly I just read things that had won some kind of award or were in a series I was already into. For me, indies and low priced ebooks really opened back up the pure joy of reading books who's only purpose was simple entertainment.


I agree with all your points. I prefer ebooks and would pay the same price for an ebook as I would a paperback (I wouldn't pay $15 for a paperback either). Hardcovers have always been seen as a "premium" product. When you buy collectors editions, they are hardcover.

As far as indie authors, I hope that people start deciding to buy 2 or 3 indie books for the price of 1 trade book (in this case you could get 4 or 5).


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## D-C (Jan 13, 2014)

I won't pay over £5 for an ebook (about $. 

I think every reader has their sweet spot. eBooks aren't tangible, so it's difficult to justify higher prices when you can't even touch them. 

I will pay quite a bit more for a gorgeous paperback or hardcover, but I buy them as luxury items (whereas I'll one-click an ebook) and I can appreciate the cost that's gone into getting a physical book into the store. 

As we all know, ebooks do cost money to produce, but nothing like their printed counterparts. Publishers are trying to claw back their costs from ebooks. Yes publishers have huge overheads, massive staff bills, taxes etc, but loading ebooks with those costs just seems unfair to the reader. I can see why the publishers do it, but I don't agree with it.


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## djv1120 (Dec 7, 2013)

Steve W. said:


> This is an old article, but it's very worth the read to understand why trade presses charge so much for their eBooks:
> 
> http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2011/03/why-some-e-books-cost-more-than.html


The funny thing is that both sides, Amazon and Publishers, are trying to do the exact same thing, but when the other one does it, they are evil. When it comes down to it, the only one that loses is the READER and until we make a stand, we are going to see the prices for traditionally published ebooks rise.

On the physical book side, things are pretty much set. The average reader will not pay more than $7 or $8 for a paperback so those prices aren't going to go up. It's just sad that capitalism is driving up the price of this particular technology when technology is getting cheaper in almost every other area.


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## KelliWolfe (Oct 14, 2014)

It isn't "capitalism" when the publishers get together secretly and agree that they're all going to keep their prices artificially high, rather than competing in a fair market. That's called collusion and it's illegal.


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## Peter Julier (Jun 16, 2012)

My limit is about $7 for an ebook. Anything over that and I'll buy the print version. I don't understand people pricing ebooks at $15;maybe I'm just  too cheap.


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## Guest (Oct 18, 2014)

Pricing should be based on:
- what is the product worth
- what is the buyer willing to pay

Cost of production is not the key factor (except you shouldn't price BELOW cost)

Consider this:

A blank DVD disk, bought in bulk, costs pennies. Yet Adobe and other software companies charge several hundred dollars for their products. Customers pay the price because of the VALUE

Computer printer ink costs about $12 for just a few ounces. Yet if we do the math, the actual cost to the customer over time is $1,000 an ounce.

A one-pound block of steel costs very little. But if you buy a pound of nails, you pay more. If you buy a pound of piano wire, the cost is more.

It's all about VALUE, not the manufacturing cost.

Oh, but us writers have a hissy fit pricing above ZERO or 99 cents. Here, what the reader is willing to pay for an unknown author, plays a big role.

If Margaret Mitchell had written Gone With the Wind as an ebook, we could of had it for free because she was an unknown when she published.


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## vlmain (Aug 10, 2011)

I can relate. One of my favorite Indies recently signed with one of the Big 5, and when I saw the price of his latest release, my heart sank. I'm happy for him but disappointed that I'll never get to read another one of his stories because I simply refuse to pay almost $20 for a Kindle book (fiction). 

Edited to clarify my comments above related to fiction.


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## Shiriluna Nott (Aug 26, 2014)

I wouldn't even pay $15 for a physical book. $8 is my limit--for an ebook or otherwise.


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## djv1120 (Dec 7, 2013)

Okey Dokey said:


> It's all about VALUE, not the manufacturing cost.


I absolutely agree. The value of a digital product that cannot be given away or sold is less than that of a physical book.

It is also about what the consumer, in this case me, is willing to pay. I am not willing to pay $15. I am willing to wait until the paperback comes out and pay about $7. If they priced it at $10 or so, I would probably buy it so I can get it now instead of waiting a few months. In the microcosm of me, they are losing the $10 I would be willing to pay today and are only going to get $7 in the future (maybe). A loss of $3 plus uncertainty of me still being interested

In my opinion, this is a business model that will not survive, but I am far from an expert. I am just a reader and writer who thinks $15 for an ebook is too much.


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## Ethan Jones (Jan 20, 2012)

Short answer: It's too much if you don't sell or if you're not happy with the amount of books you sell.
For example, I have a few books for sale at $5.99. They may not sell as good as others at $4.99, but I'm happy with the numbers.
Hope this helps.
Thanks,
Ethan


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

As far as my own shopping habits go, there's no hard limit on what I'll pay. It all depends on how much I want that particular book. If I'm casually browsing and pick up something I'm only half-heartedly curious about, I'll put it back down if the price is too high. I'll look for something comparable at a lower price. But if it's a book I've been looking forward to, something I've seen recommended, or is part of a series I'm hooked on? Nothing will stop me from bringing it home. I buy ebooks because they're my preferred format, not because I expect a discount. As long as they aren't (far) above the price of the paperback, I won't complain. 

BUT. I'm not a bargain shopper and am not the average buyer of indie ebooks, so I don't price according to my own habits. I'm under no illusions that I'm on any/many readers auto-buy lists. I'm an impulse buy and I price like one. As smarter people have put it, the value of a book is whatever readers are willing to pay. It's up to the author/publisher to estimate the demand for their book. (And the demand usually has little to do with production costs, how much work the author put in, or how much they personally value their work.)


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## Amanda M. Lee (Jun 3, 2014)

I'm down to collecting only one series in hardcover (Terry Brooks). That might change if I discover something new I love. It just is what it is for now. In ebook? It varies. I will spend more if I know and trust the author. If it's a newbie I know nothing about? Yeah, I'm not spending more than $4. Period.


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## vlmain (Aug 10, 2011)

Carol (was Dara) said:


> As far as my own shopping habits go, there's no hard limit on what I'll pay. It all depends on how much I want that particular book. If I'm casually browsing and pick up something I'm only half-heartedly curious about, I'll put it back down if the price is too high. I'll look for something comparable at a lower price. But if it's a book I've been looking forward to, something I've seen recommended, or is part of a series I'm hooked on? Nothing will stop me from bringing it home. I buy ebooks because they're my preferred format, not because I expect a discount. As long as they aren't (far) above the price of the paperback, I won't complain.
> 
> BUT. I'm not a bargain shopper and am not the average buyer of indie ebooks, so I don't price according to my own habits. I'm under no illusions that I'm on any/many readers auto-buy lists. I'm an impulse buy and I price like one. As smarter people have put it, the value of a book is whatever readers are willing to pay. It's up to the author/publisher to estimate the demand for their book. (And the demand usually has little to do with production costs, how much work the author put in, or how much they personally value their work.)


I'm like you in that I'm not a bargain shopper and I read on a Kindle because it's easier on my aging eyes. Print is hard for me to read, even with glasses. 
I'm pretty comfortable going up to $9.99 on fiction that interests me, even if it's a new author. I read the sample, and if I like it, I'll buy it. I'm even okay up to $12.99 for a title that has a lot of reviews and is selling like hotcakes. But I draw the line long before the $20 price.

Nonfiction is an entirely different thing. I will, and have, paid a lot more for nonfiction. For example, I paid over $30 for the Kindle edition of a book on Java programming. It's a small price to pay compared to taking a class at my local community college, or even an online course.


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## djv1120 (Dec 7, 2013)

Carol (was Dara) said:


> As far as my own shopping habits go, there's no hard limit on what I'll pay. It all depends on how much I want that particular book. If I'm casually browsing and pick up something I'm only half-heartedly curious about, I'll put it back down if the price is too high. I'll look for something comparable at a lower price. But if it's a book I've been looking forward to, something I've seen recommended, or is part of a series I'm hooked on? Nothing will stop me from bringing it home. I buy ebooks because they're my preferred format, not because I expect a discount. As long as they aren't (far) above the price of the paperback, I won't complain.
> 
> BUT. I'm not a bargain shopper and am not the average buyer of indie ebooks, so I don't price according to my own habits. I'm under no illusions that I'm on any/many readers auto-buy lists. I'm an impulse buy and I price like one. As smarter people have put it, the value of a book is whatever readers are willing to pay. It's up to the author/publisher to estimate the demand for their book. (And the demand usually has little to do with production costs, how much work the author put in, or how much they personally value their work.)


Carol/Dara - I love your books and I just pulled out the calculator. I can buy all the books in your first series (including the pre-sale) and the first book in your other series for a grand total of $15.95. The amount of value and entertainment I get from that $15.95 (6 books) is certainly greater than the $15.49 for this single book. I just hope that more people look at things that way and decide to support indie authors instead of paying high prices for less just because somebody is a big name author.

As I pointed out in my original post, I like this author and will certainly buy the book. I just hate that he and/or his publisher are charging me twice what they used to. Let's be clear, the prices for ebooks are going up. This isn't a case of things have always been high, they have doubled in the last couple years.

To illustrate my point about prices going up. The book I referred to is book 2 of a series. It released on September 30 so it has been a little less than 3 weeks and it is priced at $15.49. Book 1 released on March 11 and I purchased it on April 20 for $6.52. The paperback did not release until September 2 so it isn't a case of the paperback being out. That is a 237% increase in price.

Call it capitalism, call it supply and demand, call it price gouging. Whatever you call it, I won't spend more than $15 for something that used to cost less than $7 six months ago.

I cannot say what the price was at launch on March 11, but 6 weeks later I know what the price is because I can see it on my digital purchase history. I will follow up in 3 weeks and if the price has dropped to $7 or so, I will eat my words and publicly apologize.


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

vlmain said:


> Nonfiction is an entirely different thing. I will, and have, paid a lot more for nonfiction. For example, I paid over $30 for the Kindle edition of a book on Java programming. It's a small price to pay compared to taking a class at my local community college, or even an online course.


Yes, I'll definitely pay a lot more for nonfiction - especially on hard to find topics. There's a limited number of, say, good biographies about certain historical figures. So I'll cough up extra dollars to make sure I'm getting the best version.



djv1120 said:


> Carol/Dara - I love your books and I just pulled out the calculator. I can buy all the books in your first series (including the pre-sale) and the first book in your other series for a grand total of $15.95. The amount of value and entertainment I get from that $15.95 (6 books) is certainly greater than the $15.49 for this single book. I just hope that more people look at things that way and decide to support indie authors instead of paying high prices for less just because somebody is a big name author.


That's certainly a hope I can agree with.  Reader frustration over high prices has given indies a great boost these past few years. But if/when the pricing on traditionally published ebooks comes down, that's when we'll see some tough competition and we'll lose our biggest competitive advantage.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

This seems like a good topic for the Book Corner -- lots of readers there, too  -- so I'm moving it.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

If you wait and buy the paperback, you're a better fan than I am. If I want to read a certain book and consider the price offensively high, I put a hold on it at the library and read it for free. That's my own personal rebellion against too high prices. I have paid as much as $12.99 for new ebooks by favorite authors, but there are only 6 of those, so that's one overpriced book every other month. I know I'd balk at $15.49 because I have in the past. In that case it's read it for free from the library when it's new and buy it at a more reasonable price when I get an urge to reread, at which time it's always cheaper, even if still not reasonable.

I just gave up on a series I discovered through KU when the last books in the series weren't in KU and were priced at $9.99. Mysteries. I like them, but I don't like them that much. Authors/publishers who want to lure readers to buy the newest by putting the oldest in KU probably can do it, but they're going to have to make the step from free to buy a little less steep, at least for me.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I will pay more for nonfiction than for fiction. My preference is to pay no more than $9.99 for nonfiction but I've paid up to about $15 a handful of times.

For fiction I'm more chintzy. I absolutely refuse to pay more than $9.99. As it happens just a couple days ago I noted that a book in one of my favorite detective series finally dropped to $9.99 after being $11-$12 for over a year. It is arguably silly for me to fret over a couple of dollars for one of my favorite books, but I did. I bought it immediately when I noticed it was $9.99, and read it just two days later (staying up till the wee hours last night to finish it in one go!)! To make this seem slightly less illogical, I can point out that I have lots of other stuff to read, and arguably even paying the $9.99 price was not a good idea when I had other books waiting to be read. But for fiction, I actually prefer to pay somewhere between 4 to 8 dollars per book. Especially if it is not something that was published just in the last couple of years.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I generally avoid anything over $10 for novels, but it is not a hard and fast rule, and a lot of variables come into play: my personal track history (if any) with that author, the length of the book, subject matter, etc.: all going into a fuzzy mental equation trying to guess how much enjoyment per dollar I expect to receive. For an author I really like, I may well pay something in the lower teens for a recent novel if it looks to be something I'll really like; while for some self-published author I've never read, it's going to be tough to get more than $5 out of me unless the sample really grabs me. Then again, it may depend on what day you catch me and how generous/thrifty I'm feeling at that moment.


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

There's no way for me to give a definitive answer to that question. I have paid as much as $19.95 for a non-fiction ebook (that was priced at $39.95 for the 900 page trade paperback). There have been ebooks that I thought that the $0.99 price was too much.

It just depends on the particular item. I don't have any arbitrary prices I keep to. Pre-ebook (and pre-retirement), I mostly bought the hardcover edition of new released works from my favorite authors and could spend $150 a month on books.


Mike


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## djv1120 (Dec 7, 2013)

I think the saddest part of the whole thing is that the author's royalty for that $15 ebook is about the same (or even less) than my royalty for selling a book at $2.99.  Of course, he probably sells a hundred for every one I sell, but on a per book basis, my indie royalty is probably higher than his.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Other than a select handful of traditional authors, I have been buying--and touting the benefits of buying--indie books for going on six years now. (had to stop and think about it a sec   )
The economics of our family's reading habits just make sense to try out new, and existing indies. We have 10 family members on my Amazon account that I buy books for. Yes, I am the book buyer. They all contact me, say what they want, and I get it, they pay me back. We have 15 kindle devices, not counting apps. Last I knew, we were closing in on 9K e-books on the account. Our reading habits cover everything. 

Personally, I will pay for those few traditional authors, pre-order price... but I am still paying far less per month for books than I ever did pre-Kindle revolution. Pre-e-book spending could sometimes hit $400/month.. We read a metric crapton of books...


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## NoahMullette-Gillman (Jul 29, 2010)

I can't imagine spending more than $9.99 on an eBook, and I doubt I would ever go above $8.99.

There are too many costs reduced from not having to create, warehouse, ship, etc the physical copy. And you don't get to resell or show off an ebook in your living room.

I love ebooks. The speed, convenience, and low prices are great. And you can't beat them for travel. But sellers have to price them at a reasonable discount from paperbacks.


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## C.F. (Jan 6, 2011)

BTackitt said:


> Pre-e-book spending could sometimes hit $400/month.. We read a metric crapton of books...


Totally off-topic, but this makes me think you have the most interesting family. I wish I could get my family to read more.


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## KateEllison (Jul 9, 2011)

I prefer not to spend any more than $5. That said, I will and do pay $7-10 for books by favorite authors, but I generally like to get stuff while it's on sale.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

caethesfaron said:


> Totally off-topic, but this makes me think you have the most interesting family. I wish I could get my family to read more.


This is one of our "interesting family stories"
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,37433.msg671093.html#msg671093
And Another..
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,54861.msg932789.html#msg932789
And then there was this one..
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,69915.msg1131201.html#msg1131201


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## vlmain (Aug 10, 2011)

EelKat said:


> I also own the Guinness World Record for the most books owned by a private collection ...


Seriously? Or were you being facetious?


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

My pricing varies. I'll try new authors at $2.99, 3.99 if I'm really intrigued by the cover, blurb, and sample. I'll generally go up to $8.99, depending on how much I like the author and whether or not my  husband will also read the book, etc. But the higher a book is, the more resistance I have on price. As Dara so succinctly put it, once a book is above a certain price point, it's no longer an impulse buy for me and then more factors come into play.


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## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

Depends upon several factors -

1. For nonfiction, if it was a book I absolutely needed for research - whether academic, or for some practical issue, like how to repair some part of a broken fence - I would pay plenty.  Certainly as much as 20, 30 dollars or more.  Indeed, I would pay more for an ebook than a paper book, since I would really appreciate getting it immediately.

2. For a few fiction authors, I would pay pretty much the same as for the needed nonfiction - say, if a previously unknown novel by Isaac Asimov had been discovered and published.

3.  But for all other fiction, the absolute top would be $9.99 - and, even then, I'd have to some very good reason for wanting the book (I love the author, or heard great things about the book, etc.).


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

EelKat said:


> I also own the Guinness World Record for the most books owned by a private collection





vlmain said:


> Seriously? Or were you being facetious?


I'll assume facetious. According to the Guinness world record site:

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/8000/largest-collection-of-books-owned-privately

Unless "EelKat" is really "John Q Bentham"


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## Seleya (Feb 25, 2011)

I don't have a price limit for e-books. The ease of reading digital, not having to pay for shipping (I read mostly in English and, pre-Kindle I ordered a lot from amazon.com, S&H really jacked up those prices), and immediate delivery really raise the value of e-books for me.

I've spent above $30 for non fiction, for fiction it depends on how much I want to read a given book right the moment it comes out, at the moment I've a preorder for  SF by Liu Cixin translated by Ken Liu, it's $16.57, and, for me, absolutely worth it.

Would I get more enjoyment from 5 books than from a single one at that price? Well, were I of that opinion I would not have a pre-order standing. I know the kind of science fiction both Lius care for and how they write, I'm sure that the book in question will stay with me a long time and be revisited multiple times, I don't particularly care about what else could be out there for less money, since this is the book I want to read.


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## John F (May 19, 2014)

What's too much for you may not be too much for me, and vice versa. It depends on how much I want the book and whether an e-book will do, as opposed to a real book. 

To tell the truth, so far I haven't paid a dime for any e-book. I've picked up a few free titles from Amazon, and am pleased with that, but mostly I "borrow" from the public library. If it turns out that I want to own the book, I'll buy the print version and somehow find space for it around here.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

djv1120 said:


> I know there is a big debate about ebook pricing. Actually, it's more like a war between Amazon and traditional publishers. For the most part, I try to take the attitude that "it is what it is" but today, for some reason, it is really bugging me.
> 
> I am an avid reader of fantasy which ultimately led me to writing fantasy. I have faithfully followed many authors and buy their books almost as soon as they come out. Over the last few years, I have seen the price of their Kindle ebooks climb to the point that you are basically paying for a hardcover book. That is pure BS. There is no manufacturing cost and shipping cost for an ebook. You can't give it to somebody else. You can't sell it when you are done reading it. In short, it is nowhere near as valuable, yet I am seeing ebooks being priced at hardcover prices.


There may be less tangible value but half of the value of something is in the demand for it. For many reasons, lots of people prefer an ebook version to a printed version, making it more valuable to them.

For the very reason that ebooks have no printing and shipping costs, I do agree an ebook should be less than the available printed version (which is why retailers should have control over pricing ebooks, not the publisher). But I would rather see ebooks get released with the hardcover, for a higher cost, and then drop in price when the paperback is released later, than not have an ebook available at first release at all and have to wait for the paperback release to get the ebook! If it's a book I really want, I am willing to pay a premium to get it at first release AND in the format I want it in (ebook). I've always disliked hardcovers and pre-ebooks, I always hated that unless I wanted to wait for the paperback to come out, I had to pay more for a format I didn't even want! Now I can at least get the format I do want. To me, that's worth a little extra. If it's not a book I want right away, I am happy to wait for the ebook price to come down with the paperback release. I'd rather have the choice to do that than be forced to wait for the ebook to come out later.

So it doesn't really bother me when new releases are more expensive as long as the ebook price isn't HIGHER than the printed book price. Back in the dreaded Agency Pricing Model days, it was common for an ebook to be more expensive than the hardcover. Not cool. At least those days are over.


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## djv1120 (Dec 7, 2013)

I'm ok paying a premium, but it should be a reasonable premium.


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## Guest (Oct 28, 2014)

For me, I value my time more than a couple of bucks. I've paid over $10 for ebooks that I really wanted, and would do so again if it was something I really wanted to read. I don't have a lot of time for recreational reading, so I would rather pay a premium for something that I will really enjoy than take a chance on something cheap that I won't like. Now for people reading a book a day, price is probably a greater issue. But I'm reading maybe two books a month recreationally. That free reading time is precious to me. I'm not going to squander it on a cheaper title I might not like when for a few bucks more I can get something that I have great confidence in that I will enjoy.

But like everything else, I expect products to be priced within the norms of the industry. I'm not going to pay $50 for a movie ticket when the average ticket is $10. With the average MMO running $15 a month for a subscription, I'm not going to sub to a game that costs $40 a month. But assuming the book is priced within the average range of the genre, I really pay very little attention to the price if it is something I feel I will enjoy.


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## belindaf (Jan 27, 2011)

Unless it's a must-have for me, I'll weigh an e-book's price against it's print price. So many e-books are only $1 off from their paperback counterpart. If that's the case, I go for print. I actually bought Gone Girl in hardcover for cheaper than the e-book was selling for a while back. I will also pay more for an author whose work I trust or one who has a TON of legitimate-looking good reviews and buzz. I'll pay less or try freebies for lesser known folks.


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## djv1120 (Dec 7, 2013)

We are now one month after my initial post and the price has come down to just under $10 so it is cheaper. I my purchase if I need another book to read, but for now I am reading other authors. By the time I get ready to ready it, hopefully it will be down to $7 or so


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## ancaiovita (Feb 13, 2016)

Noticed those high ebook prices on Amazon too. And whenever I see one of those, I see the fear of traditional publishers from having the ebook pirated. They will put up those high prices so that if - and when - that happens, they'll recover their costs. 

I don't have limits for what I'll pay in paperback form - but only if the topic is so niche and I am so keen on reading that book that I can't find it anywhere else - that is mostly the case of non-fiction. This happened to me less than 5 times till now. So I'll stick to ebooks and libraries most of the time. I may spend a lot more on an ebook if it was indie published because most of the money would go to that author, but for a traditionally published ebook? No way.


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## George Saoulidis (Feb 2, 2016)

You are a customer in this instance. If 15$ is too much, then it's too much. Rant totally acceptable. If I can enjoy Hugh Howey's beautiful and inspired sci-fi for 6$, then that's my ceiling for buying something.


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## geezergas (Nov 8, 2014)

It bothers me to see a book I want to read at $9.99 in a grocery Store while its $14.99 at Amazon.  I'll wait until they hit $9.99.  Got a notice for  The Girl in the Spider Web for $4.99 and jumped on it.  BookBub. I have a 2 page wish list that'll take years to get through at$9.99 or< so in the mean time theres many authors I like <$4.00 and I'll support them.  I receintly got rid of @1500 books, no more paper for me.


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## joyjennings (Jan 20, 2016)

Generally books in Australia are expensive. Over $30 for a new release paperback and hardcovers are $40+. If I do buy a book from a bookstore these days it has to something I _really_ want. For ebooks I don't think I would pay more than $5 unless I'm busting to read something then I'll pay up to $10.


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## kdiem (Feb 29, 2016)

Depends on the author and how good the book sounds in reviews. I read too much to be able to afford $15 novels in any format. 

For fiction: 
For favored authors, I will go up to about $7.99. After waiting a few months to see if I can catch a promo lower price. 
For other authors, I will pay up to $5, though I prefer to get books through KU if I can. 
For new authors, they either have to be in KU or less than/equal to $2.99. 

For reference books... depends. Cookbooks I will only read in KU or for free. "How to write" books need to be under $7.99. Most other reference books I prefer in physical format.


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## Shanna Moncuse (Jan 26, 2016)

That does seem like too high a price!
Maybe if they're more well-known, they can get away with selling it for that much?
I can't ever imagine selling an ebook for that much, simply because I feel it would turn a lot of people off, and as a self-published author, I want to bring more people my way, not turn them off.

I'm not saying self-published authors couldn't sell for that much and get people to buy, I'm saying that I'm a nobody right now, and I want to improve my fan-base. Though, even if I were famous, I couldn't selling my ebooks for that price.


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## dorihoxa (Feb 12, 2016)

I never saw why paperback prices are higher than ebook prices. 
I would personally pay up to $7 for a book by a preferred author - I've only ever paid more for Harry Potter. It makes sense that new writers should start with lower prices though.


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