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Originally Posted by jament
People keep making the "hardcover vs paperback" comparison for this pricing model but I don't think it's valid.
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Au contraire, it's entirely appropriate.
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Originally Posted by jament
When you pay a premium for the hardcover version, you get a premium "hardcover" version of the book. It comes with a slip cover. It's more durably bound. The page format is larger. It's superior in every way to the paperback.
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Not really. It's more rugged, but it's heavier, bulkier and more expensive. Slip covers are just another thing to lose or damage. Hardcover's "superiority" depends entirely on personal preferences.
More importantly, it's really just a thin veneer over demand-based pricing. You're not really paying extra because you're getting a better product; you're paying more because the book is new and is in high enough demand to justify a higher price. I suspect the cost to print and ship a hardback is a fraction of what the general public presumes.
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Originally Posted by jament
Yet, when I pay $15.00 for an e-book right now, it is the exact same version as the $10 version available three months from now. Exactly the same.
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Yes, except demand is lower.
This type of demand-based pricing is not in any way unique to books. Half-Life 2 was $50 or more when it came out; you can now get it bundled with 2 modules and 2 other games for $20. Audio, video, games, electronics, clothes, food, art... When demand is high, price goes up; when demand is low, price falls.
Demand-based pricing is the norm, not an unethical exception. Take a Macroeconomics 101 class one of these days, if you don't believe me.
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Originally Posted by Elfwreck
I have no idea why publishers think they should be equivalent to hardcovers in market value.
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Actually, as far as the publishers are concerned, they're slashing initial cover prices almost in half. It's just that retailers are usually absorbing a lot of that cost.
At any rate, the answer is that it's a question of demand. Plus, many consumers are almost obstinately refusing to include shipping costs, sales tax, or costs of driving to the store (an obscure one of course) in their calculations, when comparing ebooks to paper.