MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Pain threshold on e-book prices

Jeff Kirvin · 01-13-2005, 01:53 AM

Let's think about this for a minute. True, ebooks don't have some of the costs that print books have, like printing, distribution, etc. But they do share other costs, like paying the publisher, the author, the editor, the PR firm and all of their coworkers. They also have to help fund the company's legal department, administrative staff, etc. Plus, ebooks have costs that print books *don't* have. Thinks like tech support, server maintenance and bandwidth.

Given the above, the prices should balance out, with ebooks costing about the same as paper, maybe a little bit less. Also keep in mind that in capitalism, prices are based not on the cost of production (though this does tend to set a minimum price) but by what the market will pay. In that light, I'd say any price that sells a sufficient number of copies to make a good profit is a good price.

01-13-2005, 01:53 AM	#5
Jeff Kirvin Member Posts: 20 Karma: 2271 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Aurora, CO Device: Sprint Treo 650	Let's think about this for a minute. True, ebooks don't have some of the costs that print books have, like printing, distribution, etc. But they do share other costs, like paying the publisher, the author, the editor, the PR firm and all of their coworkers. They also have to help fund the company's legal department, administrative staff, etc. Plus, ebooks have costs that print books don't have. Thinks like tech support, server maintenance and bandwidth. Given the above, the prices should balance out, with ebooks costing about the same as paper, maybe a little bit less. Also keep in mind that in capitalism, prices are based not on the cost of production (though this does tend to set a minimum price) but by what the market will pay. In that light, I'd say any price that sells a sufficient number of copies to make a good profit is a good price.