# Please don't buy my ebooks



## LDB (Oct 28, 2008)

I got a book free a while back and read it last week. I really enjoyed it. It was the first in a series. I wanted to read more of them. I looked them up and the Kindle price is $9.99 each. Obviously they can charge any amount they want but whew, 25% more than full price for a paperback book. That's more of a request not to buy than to buy.


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## Seleya (Feb 25, 2011)

That definitely depends on each reader's mileage. 
If it were a writer I knew and enjoyed I wouldn't think twice about buying it, over here new paperbacks in English cost way more, moreover adding shipping and having to fit the books on my overflowing shelves..., for me 9.99 is well worth the convenience.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

$9.99 is not an unreasonable price for me - especially if I got the first book for free and I really liked it. But I agree that the ebook being more expensive than the paperback is wrong. To me, that's like the paperback being more expensive than the hardcover.


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## kindlegrl81 (Jan 19, 2010)

Is the Kindle price actually 25% more than the paperback price for that book? Or is it 25% more than what you like to pay for paperback books in general?  I can't quite decide from your post.  If it is the former, then, yes that is a huge "Do not buy me."  

I believe (emphasis on I) some publishers are fighting ebooks tooth and nail and price them like that so people will buy the paper copies instead.  I don't believe ebooks are going anywhere anytime soon but some of the publishers seem to want to throw temper tantrums in the mean time.


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

kindlegrl81 said:


> I believe (emphasis on I) some publishers are fighting ebooks tooth and nail and price them like that so people will buy the paper copies instead. I don't believe ebooks are going anywhere anytime soon but some of the publishers seem to want to throw temper tantrums in the mean time.


Publishers could make the ebook revolution work for them if they had any sense, and a few of them are doing just that thing. But others are currently running around like chickens with their heads cut off, and this kind of pricing is a good example. All the evidence points to the fact that if you keep the cost of ebooks down, you sell much more of them. Well, duh!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

This topic comes up regularly.  People seem to fall into two camps -- unless they just wander indiscriminately in no-man's-land. 

One camp says: eBooks should NOT cost more than paper.  Period.  They cite the fact that a paper book may be given away, etc. and is a physical thing you own rather than just a license to the content.

Two camp says: eBooks costing more than paper is no big deal.  If you have allergies, you don't have to deal with the dust.  If you have eye issues, you can make the print as big as you need.  If you have gripping issues, you can read a doorstop tome just as easily as a novella.  All those things may make eBooks greater value than paper books for the people in Two Camp.

So I say, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. . . . . I would never tell a person they shouldn't purchase a book in paper because "e" is better.  Nor would I tell them they should never purchase an eBook because paper is better.  NOR would I tell them what criteria they should use when deciding how to spend their own money.


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## LDB (Oct 28, 2008)

Ok, after further research this is a series with the ridiculous $13.99 paperback pricing so the ebook is less than the paperback although both are over priced. As to my comments and position,

I think paperbacks should be $7.99 each new, the current common price for the common size paperback.
I have a favorite used bookstore where I get paperbacks for $4 and less.
There is so much available to read even for free and so much more for just a few dollars that I don't spend more than the $4 I'd spend with my favorite bookseller.
My thoughts are of course only my own and apply to continental U.S. pricing.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

I won't pay more for an e-book than I would for a new paper version. The hardcover price is my standard of comparison until the paperback comes out. If someone else is willing to pay more for an e-book, that's none of my business, it's not my money. The author can set the price where they want, and the reader doesn't have to buy it if they think the price is too high. There are always other books. It's not like selling drinkable water for $1,000 per glass on a lifeboat.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

LDB said:


> Ok, after further research this is a series with the ridiculous $13.99 paperback pricing so the ebook is less than the paperback although both are over priced. As to my comments and position,
> 
> I think paperbacks should be $7.99 each new, the current common price for the common size paperback.


That sounds like a mass market paperback price. In my experience, a standard paperback is usually a bit more.



> Two camp says: eBooks costing more than paper is no big deal. If you have allergies, you don't have to deal with the dust. If you have eye issues, you can make the print as big as you need. If you have gripping issues, you can read a doorstop tome just as easily as a novella. All those things may make eBooks greater value than paper books for the people in Two Camp.


By that logic, paperbacks should be more expensive than hardcovers since they are more convenient and a lot of people don't like hardcovers.

I am not telling anyone how to spend their money, just explaining my point of view.


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## jaimee83 (Sep 2, 2009)

OK


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

I haven't seen a mass media paperback at $7.99 since junior high. They are around $11.99-12.99 generally here. Trade paperbacks are usually $18-21. Hardcovers are $25-35.

I'm thrilled to pay $9.99. THRILLED.


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

Ann in Arlington said:


> This topic comes up regularly. People seem to fall into two camps -- unless they just wander indiscriminately in no-man's-land.
> 
> One camp says: eBooks should NOT cost more than paper. Period. They cite the fact that a paper book may be given away, etc. and is a physical thing you own rather than just a license to the content.
> 
> ...


You left out the people in rural communities who have to drive an hour to get to a bookstore


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## backslidr (Nov 23, 2012)

I find so many good books in the $5.00 range that I don't mind occasionally spending more when I find something I want. My favorite author has a new Kindle book coming out in January for $14.99. I could wait a few months until it comes down in price a little, but I'm not going to. I already pre-ordered it.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

history_lover said:


> By that logic, paperbacks should be more expensive than hardcovers since they are more convenient and a lot of people don't like hardcovers.


Perhaps, but the fact is that we do have members who think the added convenience of digital books is worth a premium. You may not agree, but that's how they see it.

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Krista D. Ball said:


> You left out the people in rural communities who have to drive an hour to get to a bookstore


I also didn't mention the fact that, with a Kindle, I can carry all the books I'll need on vacation in my purse rather than having to pack a second suitcase! Which is related to the feature of not having to pay extra when you move house!


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

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Perhaps, but the fact is that we do have members who think the added convenience of digital books is worth a premium. You may not agree, but that's how they see it.
> 
> Betsy


Not to mention convenience of not waiting for local bookstores to order a book in because it's more than 3 months old!


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Perhaps, but the fact is that we do have members who think the added convenience of digital books is worth a premium. You may not agree, but that's how they see it.
> 
> Betsy


I understand that but I'm looking at it from an industry point of view, not from a personal one. You may not agree but that's how I see it.


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

history_lover said:


> By that logic, paperbacks should be more expensive than hardcovers since they are more convenient and a lot of people don't like hardcovers.


Logic doesn't hold up, since the means of purchase and delivery are the same for hardcover and paperback, whereas is different for ebooks.

...unless you get instant paperback delivery at 2am at your house when you have insomnia. (also known as the makings of a great porno flick).


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## LDB (Oct 28, 2008)

I realize prices are different in different parts of the world. I'm relating to prices in the continental U.S. as far as I know them. I admit not visiting a bookstore for probably a year anyway. My recollection is paperback pricing of $7.99 for a "regular" paperback although it seems the trend is for the "regular" paperback to be about an inch taller now than what they were for at least a third of a century since I was in school.

Then they have somewhat more "book shaped" paperbacks that are $13.99-$14.99 for the last few years. Apparently the "regular" paperbacks are now up to $9.99 so the Kindle price matches. That's still more than I personally will pay since waiting a while will make the paperback $5 at the used book store.

If there weren't literally hundreds in the TBR queues and it meant waiting months with literally nothing to read I might consider paying double to get it now. There's no need to spend that way though as there's so much equally good material to read until it's available more reasonably. For something I wanted I'd spend the $5 used book price immediately and probably consider up to $6, a 20% premium for now versus in a few weeks or more.

There are no costs for ink, paper, boxes, tape, shipping, handling, warehousing or any other physical item costs that have to be pulled out of the sales price of a pb/hb. Obviously from a seller pov getting the same price is a home run. Not so much as the consumer. More power to anyone who wants to pay that much but I just don't want to and have way too many in the TBR stacks to have to.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Krista D. Ball said:


> Logic doesn't hold up, since the means of purchase and delivery are the same for hardcover and paperback, whereas is different for ebooks.
> 
> ...unless you get instant paperback delivery at 2am at your house when you have insomnia. (also known as the makings of a great porno flick).


Indeed, with ebooks there are no distribution costs to retailers that need to be built into the cost of the book like with print books. Another reason why, from an industry point of view, ebooks should be cheaper. That logic DOES hold up.


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

history_lover said:


> Indeed, with ebooks there are no distribution costs to retailers that need to be built into the cost of the book like with print books. Another reason why, from an industry point of view, ebooks should be cheaper. That logic DOES hold up.


Most of the cost of a print book is also in the ebook.


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

Also, I happily - no, in fact, gleefully - pay $20-30 for history books. Some of those are over $100 to buy and have shipped to Canada, if I can even get my hands on them.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Krista D. Ball said:


> Also, I happily - no, in fact, gleefully - pay $20-30 for history books. Some of those are over $100 to buy and have shipped to Canada, if I can even get my hands on them.


History books are different, especially if they are textbooks - I have paid as much as $54.36 for a history book... it's not the high price that bothers me, it's when the ebook is more than the print book. In this case, the only print version was $67.95, so I was still getting it cheaper as an ebook.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

history_lover said:


> I understand that but I'm looking at it from an industry point of view, not from a personal one. You may not agree but that's how I see it.


I don't have strong feelings one way or another; if the book is more than I want to pay for it, I don't buy it, paper or ebook. Lots of options out there.

By the way, I'm not quite sure what makes this:


history_lover said:


> By that logic, paperbacks should be more expensive than hardcovers since they are more convenient and a lot of people don't like hardcovers.


more of an "industry point of view" than this:


Betsy the Quilter said:


> Perhaps, but the fact is that we do have members who think the added convenience of digital books is worth a premium.


but I'll agree we disagree.


Betsy


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

Heck, you got the first one for free - if it was good, the prices of the rest of the series shouldn't be an issue.  I mean, the author has to earn something back in royalties and $9.99 is hardly unreasonable...  Less than $10?  Not bad and still cheaper than your average paper/print book from a bookstore.


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## Meka (Sep 8, 2011)

LDB said:


> I got a book free a while back and read it last week. I really enjoyed it. It was the first in a series. I wanted to read more of them. I looked them up and the Kindle price is $9.99 each. Obviously they can charge any amount they want but whew, 25% more than full price for a paperback book. That's more of a request not to buy than to buy.


To me $9.99 for an eBook is not bad. I've paid $17 for an eBook *looks at Stephen King's 11/22/63*, if its something I really want to read I will press the buy button even if its a little pricey, but that's just me. YMMV 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


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## tahliaN (Nov 6, 2011)

I don't think that's too much to pay for an ebook, so long as you're sure of the quality. Most of the big publishers sell at that price or more because they have a lot of overheads, but at least you know their books are mostly properly edited - doesn't mean you'll like them, of course. Over $10 and you've lost me, but anything below that is fine by me. If it's an indie author charging that much, then they're just being greedy, because Indie's have less overheads, they can afford to charge less, in fact they should charge less; they're not running a huge corporation.

I tend to buy mostly indie books because they're usually less than $5 but you can't guarantee quality


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

Most of the overheads on an ebook are in the intial production stages. Publishers have to get the edited book into all the different formats, and they mostly do that by farming the work out to agencies. And they also have to spend a lot on advertising to have any hope of a new novel standing out from the general throng. But once that's done -- unlike print books -- they have no warehousing, no distribution costs, and no need to print a new edition if the book turns out to be succesful. So it's really a lose-win situation that, more often than not, balances itself out.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I won't pay 9.99 for an fiction ebook either. The paperbacks are still 7.99. At least all the ones I looked at. The Trade Paperbacks I think are 14.99. I base my willingness of pay on the 7.99 paperback. 
Here is why. A hardcover is nice, lasts longer and has larger pages. A Trade paper is a bit cheaper than a hard and still a bit bigger. A paperback is pocket sized and the cheapest of them all. So the 3 different paper versions have a different value. But yet the ebook that comes out at the same time than the hard cover for example, is always the same. It never changes its form. Yet it goes from 14.99 down to 7.99 to adjust to the paper version out. Doesn't make any sense to me. 

So for me personally, an ebook must be priced at the lowest paper form at the very least. And that is mass market. It should actually be slightly below mass market. That is my personal happy space.  

Also, an ebook in the majority of cases has some sort of DRM on it. Which means I only own the licence to read it, not the actual book, if one wants to drill down to it. I can't loan it to my neighbor. There is also the still not perfect formatting in many ebooks. I am talking things like no cover image in the file, missing squiggly thingies at chapter headings that are in the paper versions. Just still a bit lack of care for the medium. 
So the benefits that ebooks have (font size, weight) are leveled back down by its downsides. So back to even. 

Thankfully many of the published books are now going down a bit. With some of the agency being gone. And some just lowered their prices just because. So I have books now where the paperback costs 7.99 and the ebook of the same is 4.99-6.99. Me happy.  

If its over that, I go straight to my libraries. I have even started to read paper books again from the library for that reason. I don't like it as much, but it is what it is. I would have paid my personal limit on it, but instead I pay nothing and get it from the library. 

But everyone is different and everyone has their own personal limits.


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## LDB (Oct 28, 2008)

Those are the key points. Paper, which has more inherent costs, is $7.99 so ebooks should not be more than this and really should be less. There's also the lack of ownership of the ebook and the inflexibility to loan it to a friend. Ebooks are great but they do have warts and who wants to pay a premium for a wart?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

LDB said:


> Those are the key points. Paper, which has more inherent costs, is $7.99 so ebooks should not be more than this and really should be less. There's also the lack of ownership of the ebook and the inflexibility to loan it to a friend. Ebooks are great but they do have warts and who wants to pay a premium for a wart?


Or, one could argue that P-books are great -- but they do have warts (can be dusty, get yellowed, have tiny print) and who wants to pay a premium for a wart?


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

I hate the cheap paper feel of mass media paperbacks.


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## LDB (Oct 28, 2008)

Well, dusty books are one's own personal choice and shouldn't be factored in on the wart list. Yes, in a few decades they can yellow but that's not an absolute. Print size can be an issue alright but if so there are plenty of other books to choose from.

I realize some believe ebooks are perfect regardless but for others they have their warts and need to be adjusted appropriately.


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

LDB said:


> Those are the key points. Paper, which has more inherent costs, is $7.99 so ebooks should not be more than this and really should be less. There's also the lack of ownership of the ebook and the inflexibility to loan it to a friend. Ebooks are great but they do have warts and who wants to pay a premium for a wart?


I tend to agree with this. If people are happy to pay more, then I suppose that is part of what a free market is about, sure. But why ask them to pay more in the first place when it's far from justifiable?


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## Adele Ward (Jan 2, 2012)

I don't expect ebooks to be cheap and I'm happy to pay the price you quote. I don't buy ebooks to have a cheaper option, I buy them because I like them. They don't clutter up my home. They're easy to carry around and read whenever I have a moment. Books are incredibly cheap. I pay more for a cup of coffee and a slice of cake in a cafe than this, so I really don't mind.

Publishers have to be careful about devaluing the print book by pricing ebooks too cheaply. Also, when you consider that Amazon takes 30% and then there's VAT you have to allow some money left over to pay the author a decent royalty as well as paying the editor and the person who has done the Kindle conversion.


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

If you move frequently, ebooks save you a fortune on moving costs!


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## Tony Rabig (Oct 11, 2010)

I'm with Betsy -- I don't buy it if it's more than I want to pay.

That said, I look at paperback prices of 6.99, 7.99 and up, and remember when I first started buying paperback books. Way back in 1963, 50 cents was the most common price; Ace still had most of its sf line going for 40 cents, and you could still find the occasional title from Pocket Books at 35 cents. Heinlein quickly became a favorite of mine -- Signet was doing a lot of Heinlein reprints then and they were priced at 50 cents. I could usually scrounge up enough empty pop bottles in a day or two to buy a book if I'd already burned through my allowance. When Avon issued _Glory Road_ in paperback, they priced it at 75 cents, and I stewed for three days about spending that much on one paperback before buying it (Heinlein -- of course I bought it). When I started buying new hardcovers in bookstores rather than through the Science Fiction Book Club, you could still find hardcover fiction priced at 4.95 (Zelazny's _The Doors of His Face, The Lamps of His Mouth, and Other Stories_ for instance). These days I'd kill to find used books at prices like that anywhere but thrift shops and yard sales.

And finally, I don't have to price my ebooks at 9.99 and up to get people to not buy them, and I suspect I'm not unique...


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

LDB said:


> Well, dusty books are one's own personal choice and shouldn't be factored in on the wart list. Yes, in a few decades they can yellow but that's not an absolute. Print size can be an issue alright but if so there are plenty of other books to choose from.
> 
> I realize some believe ebooks are perfect regardless but for others they have their warts and need to be adjusted appropriately.


I don't believe ebooks are perfect. Neither are paper books. I believe they're both excellent ways to get information and stories into the hands of a lot of people. Each format has it's advantages and disadvantages -- which may not even be the same for everyone.

As to dust: have a book a few years and it's really hard to keep it dust free, in my opinion.  Perhaps I don't clean enough.  But I don't have the problem At ALL with ebooks. 

Only the most expensive books, in my experience, don't have yellowing pages after some time. . . I guess whether this is an issue depends on how much a person is willing to spend on paper books and how long he or she expects to keep them.

If the book I want to read has small print in paper, what good does it do me to read a different book?

Oh, and Krista mentioned the weight of paper books in connection with the extra costs if one has to move house. It's also a huge consideration for those with weak hands due to age or infirmity.

But, yes, I don't technically 'own' the e-book, simply a license. For me, this is a distinction without a practical difference. For others, it's an important point.

Loaning to friends: yeah, it's limited. Not something I do a lot. And, I have a spare kindle, so if I have a friend who wants to borrow something, I can just lend the kindle. Of course, not everyone wants, or maybe can afford to have, a spare kindle. So that could be an issue for those who are used to sharing books.  OTOH, if a bunch of folks frequently share with each other, they could all simply be registered to the same account. I share with my brother this way. 

It's also probably true that the production cost is higher for p- than for e-books. But I don't think it's as much so as many believe. I've not done a full study but, it seem to me that the BULK of the costs are in writing, editing, and formatting, and that's going to be the same for both. Only the printing and distro costs are add ons for p-versions. And, actually, there probably are distribution costs even for e-books, though they're certainly not as high as the shipping costs for p books. (There's that weight thing again.  )

Bottom line, what is a wart to one may not even be a visible blemish to someone else. Heck, it could even be a beauty mark. 

And vice versa.

So, again: each person is entitled to decide what appears a fair price to them for any given paper or e-book. And no one else is allowed to say that they're either wasting their money, or being overly cheap.


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

I agree 100% with that last statement, Ann. And indie authors should price their books how they want, without having to take flack. Free market.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Tony Richards said:


> I agree 100% with that last statement, Ann. And indie authors should price their books how they want, without having to take flack. Free market.


Agreed.

Of course, _that_ discussion, is one to have in the Writer's Cafe.


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## MLKatz (Sep 8, 2012)

It just depends. I guess a lot of people would pay a lot for any version of the next GOT book.

Would I? Well, I'd probably curse and feel bad... but maybe. But that book has Tyrion and dragons. 

_For those who don't read the genre, GOT=Game of Thrones.  --Betsy_


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Anyone selling any product has the right to set the price they want for it.  Period.  And potential customers have the right to complain (give flack) about anything about the product they don't like, including the price.  Take almost any feature of a product; some will like it, some won't, some won't care.  It's the customer's right to say what things make for a no-sale.  The seller can heed the flack or not.  Everyone has a choice.

I have few hard lines, it's a case by case basis.  I would be willing to pay more for any author I was familiar with and already had read than I would for an unknown, no matter who published it.

Betsy


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

Who are these crazy people who loan books? No one is allowed to touch my books.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Krista D. Ball said:


> Who are these crazy people who loan books? No one is allowed to touch my books.


I snuck in overnight and touched all of them.


Betsy


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

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I snuck in overnight and touched all of them.
> 
> 
> Betsy


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Actual photograph:










I wrote in them, too.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

O.K. _Writing_ in them is inexcusable. . . . . . . . 

(One would hope to not have that problem when loaning a Kindle.)


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> O.K. _Writing_ in them is inexcusable. . . . . . . .
> 
> (One would hope to not have that problem when loaning a Kindle.)


It was just an inscription to Krista saying how much I like her. 

Betsy


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




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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)




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## Adele Ward (Jan 2, 2012)

If hardcovers cost more than paperbacks because they last longer then there could be an argument that ebooks should cost even more....

However, the real point is that authors have to have a royalty and Amazon takes quite a chunk out of a low price. If publishers charge less than about $2.45, Amazon starts giving only 30% to the publisher, so it's really hard to pay the author much of a royalty, which would be unfair.

I can say, though, that publishers are now discussing whether it's a good idea to set a price of about $2.45 for ebooks. This tends to mean they sell more and make about the same income as if they set a higher price and earn less, but the books reach out to more people, which is good for the authors.

The worry was that a cheap ebook could devalue the print books, or the books and authors' reputations. But this doesn't seem to be the case. The odd thing is that book giveaways and low-priced ebooks seem to help publishers sell more print books. Who would have thought it?


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I don't expect ebooks to be $2.45. That's an odd price anyway. Publisher use the 2.99 or even 1.99 on a lot of sales lately, but I don't think or expect that to be a regular occurrence on new releases. Now backlist titles I would like to be lower of course. Some publishers charge the full new release price of 7.99 for them and others anywhere from 2.99-5.99. 

I look at it this way. The paperback version of most books I buy is 7.99. I am ecstatic if I could get the ebook version for 5.99-6.99. I don't expect the ebook version to be that much lower or super cheap.  I am talking about stuff that is new release from publishers. Some of them have even gone down to 4.99 on new releases. Again, I am very happy with that. If they have sales on stuff I am interested in, I go on a spending frenzy  

My ideal would the the equivalent of the buy 3 get one free that paperbacks have on a lot of them. I am hoping now with agency being all but done with at least 2 or 3 of the publishers, this gets more normal. 

But to be perfectly honest, I don't really care much about how many percentages who pays to whom or whatnot. I mean it crosses my mind since hanging around on this board. But in general, I just buy what I want to read. 


Oh and I have to wonder when Betsy snuck into Krista's place if she rubbed the books all over her............











arm.


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

*shudder*


I'm finding that $8.99 is my impulse buy price. After all, if I want to read the new Star Trek book trilogy at $8.99 each, no other book is going to fill that spot. I just want to read the books I want to read. End of discussion.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Krista D. Ball said:


> *shudder*
> 
> I'm finding that $8.99 is my impulse buy price. After all, if I want to read the new Star Trek book trilogy at $8.99 each, no other book is going to fill that spot. I just want to read the books I want to read. End of discussion.


I am guessing that your impulse buy price is a bit higher just based on that books cost you more to begin with in Canada. 9.99 for mass market and 17.99 for trade paper, right? At least that is what mine say on the back.

I have been in the US now for some time so sometimes I forget how it used to be for me. Of course that was before kindle books. I know books in Germany are not as cheap as they are here in the US. Or course we passed the books through the family. I remember when I was a member of the german Stephen King library. It hurt so bad when I had to leave all my books behind.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Atunah said:


> Oh and I have to wonder when Betsy snuck into Krista's place if she rubbed the books all over her............
> 
> arm.


Please...I wore gloves...

Betsy


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

Atunah said:


> I am guessing that your impulse buy price is a bit higher just based on that books cost you more to begin with in Canada. 9.99 for mass market and 17.99 for trade paper, right? At least that is what mine say on the back.


$9.99 and $10.99, though a lot are $11.99 and 12.99 now, especially anthologies! Which is very frustrating, considering that the Loonie has been on par more or less for years now. But the US publishers still think the CAD is 65% of the USD.

The ebooks, in many cases, are cheaper on Kobo than on Kindle for me, so I've been very happy to use my Kobo like crazy because they are priced based on the USD price, as opposed to some arbitrary Canadian one.


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## Adele Ward (Jan 2, 2012)

The price of $2.45 might sound odd, but it's actually quite hard to know what the final price will be when publishers do the settings and Amazon then adds a price for each download depending on file size, VAT and also their own 30% commission. Also we set the price on Amazon.com and they do the conversion for all the sites in other countries. So you can't get a very neat looking price around the world. As currency rates vary continually, so do the prices.

Publishers are actually still finding out the best way to go with pricing. The lowest price that wouldn't devalue the print book, or the reputation of the book, would be the best for virtual goods. It's always better to have a book reaching a high number of people than a lower number of people, even if the income is the same (ie a few books sold at a high price compared to a higher number sold at a low price).

The other thing is, as people are mentioning, that a price that's perceived as low in one country would be perceived as very high in another. Amazon sales to India, for example, are on the Amazon.com site. I know that the cost of living is much lower in India, as are income levels, and yet it's a huge market with many people really wanting ebooks.

The irony is that experimentation is showing that a very low price - say $2.99 - not only leads to more ebooks being sold, it also leads to more print books being sold at full price because so many more people notice the book and author. The books also get high in Amazon rankings for their categories which makes them more visible to so many new readers. So I do believe publishers will all be researching this and prices will come down, so long as they have other ways of showing their books are of value (good reviews, award shortlists etc). In the meantime I certainly feel books are already cheap. If I don't mind buying my coffee and cake in Costa, then I certainly don't mind having a new book for a lower cost.


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## brianrowe (Mar 10, 2011)

eBooks should never cost more than the paperback! I remember this last summer buying a mystery book at $9.99, when the eBook was $12.99! Who the hell made that call? Seems ludicrous to me.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

brianrowe said:


> eBooks should never cost more than the paperback! I remember this last summer buying a mystery book at $9.99, when the eBook was $12.99! Who the hell made that call? Seems ludicrous to me.


And that's a very popular opinion.

But it's also the case that there are many who see greater value in ebooks and might have been more than willing to pay the $3 premium to have the very same book for a variety of reasons already mentioned: convenience, weight, ability to enlarge print, etc.


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## David Anderson (Dec 15, 2012)

I'm a big fan of vinyl records (bear with me, this totally relates to ebooks). There's been a huge resurgence in vinyl lately, with new artists releasing their albums on vinyl quite frequently. Just about all of the new releases come with little cards--download cards for the digital version of the album. 

I'm waiting for the book publishing industry to catch on to this trend. If you buy the physical book, the ebook should be included! 

One hurdle to this could be that a vinyl record comes shrink wrapped, so you can't get the digital download unless you open that wrapping. Books are not wrapped, so are free to peruse on the shelf. This service would have to be offered using the proof of purchase or something like that. 

Just an idea, related to the whole debate about how much is a print versus ebook worth.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

An interesting idea, David.  

A number of folks have asked if there's any discount to buy the ebook if they already own paper.  AND, the latest thing from Amazon is that there IS a discount to buy the Audible audiobook if you have the Kindle ebook -- and they sync up so you can pick up where you left off either reading OR listening.

I can totally see a special edition shrink-wrapped version of books with something similar.  They could be specially marked to differentiate them from books NOT bundled with a downloadable e-edition -- and would be non-returnable if the wrapping was gone.  You'd enter a code from the purchased book to get the e-version.  

I can see this working, especially, with hardback books -- people sometimes want to collect them but then read the e-book.  Much like we used to make tapes of the music we liked so that we didn't wear out our vinyl records.  Or is that dating myself.


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## David Anderson (Dec 15, 2012)

Hey, I remember the days of the mix tape too. We're now in the age of the playlist. One of the reasons I love vinyl is you have a whole album, not just random songs. 

I agree that the free ebook download is viable. I'm wondering if there's a better way to do it other than shrink-wrapping the books, though. It's so...environmentally unfriendly. 

Maybe a little shrink wrapped "tag" or insert, which is inside the back cover, but is shrink wrapped. This would have to be opened, and maybe the code would be revealed by scratching it off (like a lottery ticket)? 

The only other thing I can think is that, if you purchase a book with a download, the receipt is somehow printed with a code on it. I'll give an example: a restaurant near my house has a promotion on, that if you eat there, and you fill out an online survey, you get free onion rings the next time you come in (these are gourmet onion rings!). Each receipt has a unique code added to it, which you enter into the survey front page to access the survey and prove that you ate at the restaurant. Anyway, I something like this could work for a free ebook download.

At least these two options would use less plastic.


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## Starry Eve (Mar 10, 2011)

I agree that people should be able to charge whatever they like for their books, but I will balk at paying more for an ebook than the paperback. I will buy a physical book along with the ebook if it's a personally special story for me.


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## David Anderson (Dec 15, 2012)

I have a question for you, Starry Eve.

Would you be more inclined to buy the physical book instead of the ebook more often (as in, not only when the book is special) if you knew you would get both versions at the same time?


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## Mandykins (Sep 24, 2012)

David Anderson said:


> I'm waiting for the book publishing industry to catch on to this trend. If you buy the physical book, the ebook should be included!


My husband mentioned this to me a few months ago. He refuses to give up his paper books and switch to Kindle even though he sees how awesome mine is and how much more convenient the Kindle is. He told me that he'd happily start using a Kindle when they include the ebook with the physical copy and he imagines that it's not too far off into the future of it happening.


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## Starry Eve (Mar 10, 2011)

David Anderson said:


> I have a question for you, Starry Eve.
> 
> Would you be more inclined to buy the physical book instead of the ebook more often (as in, not only when the book is special) if you knew you would get both versions at the same time?


Oooooh, if I could get 2 for the price of 1 yes, I would buy both! Kinda like buying a dvd and blu ray combo set <grins>... However, if there are 2 different prices for the physical vs the ebook, I'd buy the less expensive option. If they were both the same price, I'd probably buy the ebook if it's all narrative and the physical book if there were illustrations included.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Starry Eve said:


> Oooooh, if I could get 2 for the price of 1 yes, I would buy both! Kinda like buying a dvd and blu ray combo set <grins>... However, if there are 2 different prices for the physical vs the ebook, I'd buy the less expensive option. If they were both the same price, I'd probably buy the ebook if it's all narrative and the physical book if there were illustrations included.


I doubt you'd get two for the price of one. . . but you might get two for only a little bit more than the price of one.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I don't have any interest in getting a paper AND digital version of a book; part of the reason I went for a Kindle is to eliminate piles of books around the house.  

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I don't have any interest in getting a paper AND digital version of a book; part of the reason I went for a Kindle is to eliminate piles of books around the house.
> 
> Betsy


For most books I wouldn't either.

But I can see it being a really attractive option to the collectors and/or re-readers -- one to have on the shelf, and one to read repeatedly until it falls apart -- except, being a Kindle book, that won't happen.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I can, too.  I was speaking for myself, being the only person I can speak for.



Betsy


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

David Anderson said:


> I'm waiting for the book publishing industry to catch on to this trend. If you buy the physical book, the ebook should be included!


DC Comics does that; it's an extra dollar for the double set and then you have both.

ChiZine Books does it, too, if I recall. Or, they have some kind of group thing where you can sign up and get all of their books in print and ebook. They have a loyal readership, so do lots of fun things like that.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I can, too. I was speaking for myself, being the only person I can speak for.
> 
> 
> Betsy


As was I. 

Actually, I can speak for the Hubs as well -- he doesn't care at all.


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## kindlegrl81 (Jan 19, 2010)

I have no desire to read print books anymore but I would be interested in buying print book/ebook bundles.  My daughter has totally baulked at using a kindle and wants print only but we usually have similar interest in books (I'm a YA genre nut) and I have to buy (or check out) the print edition anyway.  If I could get a bundle like they do with Bluray/DVD/Digital Copy that would be highly convenient.


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

kindlegrl81 said:


> I have no desire to read print books anymore but I would be interested in buying print book/ebook bundles. My daughter has totally baulked at using a kindle and wants print only but we usually have similar interest in books (I'm a YA genre nut) and I have to buy (or check out) the print edition anyway. If I could get a bundle like they do with Bluray/DVD/Digital Copy that would be highly convenient.


*nod*

It would be a challenge, but I wonder... *puts thinking cap on*


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## David Anderson (Dec 15, 2012)

I think it's settled - people want digi/print combo packs. Wake up publishing houses of the world!

I'm willing to bet little indie publishers will do this long before the big ones do.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

David Anderson said:


> I think it's settled - people want digi/print combo packs. Wake up publishing houses of the world!
> 
> I'm willing to bet little indie publishers will do this long before the big ones do.


It's almost always the small guy that does things before the entrenched guys. But it would be so expensive, I don't think it would sell. Most indie margins are only 70 percent on the e-version. That means you have to account for the smaller margin on the book and shipping and still add in profit...any indie popular enough to sell at 15 to 20 bucks (rough estimate) is going to be selling enough to get picked up by the traditional houses...


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

Comic books who offer the digital content with the print charge an extra dollar for the combo. I think that's because each comic will need a unique code. There's no way that an indie or small press could do that using print-on-demand (which is how most run their print copies).

There would need to be another method.


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## David Anderson (Dec 15, 2012)

hmm....I've been thinking about this for the past few days and can't come up with a method that is actually doable. 

Hm....

Unless, somehow, the proof of purchase (which is usually an email for POD, I'm guessing), could be used somehow.

Or, perhaps it would only be for copies purchased at author events, in person (which could be stuffed with a unique promo code)?

Don't know. More thinking necessary...


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

It's easy to give the free download if the author or publisher is selling the book directly because an insert can be added. I've gotten ebook inserts with download instructions that way a few times at events. 

When ordering POD, however, that's coming from the printer and not the author or publisher. Hmm...Proof of purchase could work, though only for low sellers or big, big sellers who can afford the staff to help (either a self-pub author with an assistant or a publishing house with interns and assistants). 

I suppose it could be automated with a link on a website and...yeah, I'm still not sure.


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## edmjill (Dec 19, 2012)

I think I'd average out the free & the $9.99 and say each book was a bargain at $5.


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## Tensejim (Dec 21, 2012)

I am new to the author world, I do free publishing now and then also. Personally, as a new author my price will stay at or below $5.99 until I gain recognition and maintain a high rating for my books. I disagree that a ebook be more than a paperback and I will never do that myself. But yes, it is the choice of the author, but at the same time, there are publishers and agents out there that set the prices. In this case the author may not have a say so. Bottom line is this, if it is a really good book, one you want and your preference is ebook, then it is up to you to determine it's market value for your own personal preference. Considering how much we pay to go to a two hour movie, $9.99 is definitely a fair price for a favored book.  = )


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Gentle reminder:  Please note we're in the Corner so answers should be from the point of view of readers -- authors who want to discuss what they do, or pricing strategies in general, should head over to the Cafe. . . .

Thanks.


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

Ann in Arlington said:


> Gentle reminder: Please note we're in the Corner so answers should be from the point of view of readers -- authors who want to discuss what they do, or pricing strategies in general, should head over to the Cafe. . . .
> 
> Thanks.


Sorry, Ann. I was rather brainstorming aloud about what I'd want to see/how it could work. I wasn't thinking on my behalf as a writer, but rather just the mechanics of it.


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## Cloysterpete (Aug 21, 2010)

David Anderson said:


> I'm a big fan of vinyl records (bear with me, this totally relates to ebooks). There's been a huge resurgence in vinyl lately, with new artists releasing their albums on vinyl quite frequently. Just about all of the new releases come with little cards--download cards for the digital version of the album.
> 
> I'm waiting for the book publishing industry to catch on to this trend. If you buy the physical book, the ebook should be included!
> 
> ...


I bought the Marvel deluxe hardcover of Avengers Vs X-Men and it came with a digital redemption code inside so I can download the e-version for my iPad or whatever I didn't know it even came with the code as there's only one release of the book, some people have even sold the code online for $15-$20 as last I checked buying the e-release direct cost an eye watering $67. Compare that to the print book that cost $39 and included the digi title and you have some extremely bizarre e-book pricing.

Me I'm just as happy reading print as e-books so I'll never buy one that's stupid priced, if the ebook is decently priced like the mammoth new sci-fi novel Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton has only been out a few weeks and it's under $4 then I'll buy it in a heartbeat. But if publishers are going to take the Michael with pricing then I'll buy the hardback, if it's standard sized i'll read it, if it's a humongous heavy 800+ title then I'll just illegally download the retail release as I'm not paying twice for the same book.

Give it a year or two and publishers will eventually realise this is the way to go, similar to the blurays that also come with DVD and digital releases.


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## LDB (Oct 28, 2008)

Prices would obviously vary and in countries that have VAT that would be higher than in the US. My original thesis was and remains that charging more for the ebook than the paperback, at least in the US, is overpricing the ebook. I recently went to a BN store and noticed that some pb's are up to $9.99 now but many or most are still $7.99. My general rule of thumb on ebooks is $5.99 if it's a 5 on the 1-5 want list. Max pricing goes down from there as the want list position goes down. I'll pay over the $5.99 once in a great while when it's the rare rare book/author that scores over 5 on the 5 scale.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

LDB said:


> Prices would obviously vary and in countries that have VAT that would be higher than in the US. My original thesis was and remains that charging more for the ebook than the paperback, at least in the US, is overpricing the ebook.


And I maintain there's a valid argument against that, based on the value added people might perceive from the customization and convenience of ebooks relative to paper books.

But that's fine. No one ever said everyone has to agree on everything.


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## LDB (Oct 28, 2008)

I agree completely. Everyone has their own thoughts and their own priorities so everyone has to rate and rank as they feel best for themselves. This just was to voice my opinion and reasons.


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

pssst you might want to edit your personal publishing stuff out of that before Ann comes back


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## Adele Ward (Jan 2, 2012)

I buy all novels as ebooks now. I don't think I compare the price of the print book to the ebook - I just buy it (unless the price really looks startlingly high). I think there are always print book versions available at a cheaper price from resellers, but I actually prefer to read ebooks now. I wouldn't want a print book and ebook bundle as the main thing I like about ebooks is that they don't clutter up the house (but I suppose people could sell the print book....) I've been buying all the shortlisted books for the Man Booker prize and they were certainly expensive on Kindle but it's just so convenient. An ebook/print book bundle is probably tricky as Amazon would have to be part of arranging it as they don't allow books to be given away to individuals.


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