Would you pay more for ebook than paperback?

[alanHd]

Having just finished the last Dresden files book and eagerly awaiting the release of Cold Days on amazon, i was just about to pre-order the ebook when i noticed it costs more than the paperback.

I know they can charge what the want but that just smacks of greed.
There is no way i am going to order it now, no matter how much i want to read it.

No way can they justify that. no shipping or materials.

one really pissed of customer......

[Apache]

Easy answer, NO.
Apache

[SteveEisenberg]

What Apache said.

Originally Posted by alanHd

I know they can charge what the want but that just smacks of greed.

What other possible motive is there for setting a price?

And they can't just charge what they want, then they would charge billions.

[jayne80]

err.... I would just like to point out at this moment in time you should be comparing it to the hard back price as the paperback doesn't come out until next year, by which time the kindle price will probably have dropped.

In answer to your question, it depends on how much I want to read the book NOW, and what the chances are of it coming down in price.

[DiapDealer]

I got over comparing the price of ebooks to any kind of print equivalent a long time ago. It's worth what it's worth to me; plain and simple. The price of an existing (or non-existent, pre-order) paperback book doesn't even factor in my decision (if I have no intention of actually purchasing the paperback, that is) any more.

[EowynCarter]

I dont look at paperback prices. Just looking at the e-book price and see if it's ok for me or not.

[pdurrant]

The only time I'd pay more for an ebook than the same edition in paper is if the ebook is released ahead of the paper.

But once the paper edition is available, no, I won't pay more for the ebook than for the paper edition.

If that means I don't buy the book at all, well, I do have over 300 ebooks on my TBR pile to read!

[xendula]

I sometimes do, because I much prefer reading the ebook. I also have preordered ebooks, and I obviously paid less than for the hardback in those cases. If the book is up to 9.99, I'll buy it if I want it enough, and if my local library does not have it. 12.99 is my absolute pain point, and it would have to be a darn good book for me to spend this kind of money on it.

With some books that are hot at the moment, I sometimes (very seldomly) purchase the dead tree version if it costs around the same as the ebook version, as much as I don't like reading on paper, so that I can donate the book to my local library after I read it. I wish there was a way for me to donate my already read ebooks to them....

[Matriarch]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I got over comparing the price of ebooks to any kind of print equivalent a long time ago. It's worth what it's worth to me; plain and simple. The price of an existing (or non-existent, pre-order) paperback book doesn't even factor in my decision (if I have no intention of actually purchasing the paperback, that is) any more.

This is exactly how I view e-book pricing. I don't view the lack of paper, the lack of weight, the lack of crispy book-smell as something that is indicative of a lesser product, and nor do I think that "but there were no production costs!" is a good reason to expect a steep discount for an e-book: any author worth his salt will tell you that blood, sweat and tears went into his work regardless of how it was printed, and any programmer worth his salt will tell you that clean coding isn't "no production cost".

To me, I'm paying for the words that I'm reading - I'm paying for the world that I'm being drawn into by the author. Whether his agency or the store has priced different formats strangely is the choice of that store or agency, and I don't compare the prices because at the end of day, it's the same product, no matter the format - so the price I pay is the price I choose. I've never really seen the point in comparing prices between hardcovers and paperbacks (I always go for whichever has a prettier cover), and I likewise don't see the point in comparing e-books to paperbacks.

It's all the same story, so I'll pay what I'm asked so that I have the privilege of exploring the creative fruits of somebody else.

[uebyn]

Originally Posted by Matriarch

It's all the same story, so I'll pay what I'm asked so that I have the privilege of exploring the creative fruits of somebody else.

Like your POV.

I read somewhere, though, that the cost of programming that goes behind the ebook is considerably high. Maybe that's why it translates into higher costs - not sure about the details, but in any case I suspect the cost of transport and printing for a single book is negligible anyway. Like they say in another thread, the best thing will be to be able to have both versions at once, at a reasonable price.

[miguel1626]

Originally Posted by Matriarch

It's all the same story, so I'll pay what I'm asked so that I have the privilege of exploring the creative fruits of somebody else.

Given that it's all the same story, I'll always take the lower price. Why pay more for the same amount of utility?

Otherwise, you'd be vulnerable to dutch book exploits, as demonstrated on the Allais paradox...

[Pomtroll]

Rarely does the price difference influence me anymore. I like reading on my e-reader. The only time I buy the paper version is if my book club chooses a book that is not digital or a book I really want to read is not digital.

[spindlegirl]

I wouldn't. There is more value in a 'real book' than in a drm-locked e-book (in my personal opinion). I would pay close to a physical book cost if the SELLER sold it pre-de-DRMED.

I get more of a sense of ownership with the physical book because I get total jurisdiction over what happens to it released into my hands.

I often see hardcover books that are cheaper than some e-books. People can justify the costs all they want with fancy wording, but I never will be duped.

[david_e]

I only shop for ebooks, so wouldn't know if I were paying more, nor would I care.

[DuskyRose]

For me, it depends on the series. A Dresden Files book is worth the pre-order price so I can read it on the day of release. Just like some movies I want to see on the day of theater release, in 3-D. I expect it's going to be worth the price.

Not a lot of authors will get first release price from me. If I feel its' too much, I'll wait. I have several books already on sites that will email me if the prices drop, and an Amazon Wish List entitled "Too Expensive". I'll peek at it once in a while to see if prices have dropped.

I don't care what the other formats cost. Not for that or any other book for that matter. I just care if it's a price I want to pay in the format of my choice. Odds are I'm not going to buy it in the other paper formats anyway, even if they're practically free.

Don't have the space.