How long until Connect prices reflect paperback prices?

[Kilarney]

I am very interested in purchasing "An Ordinary Man" from the Sony Connect store.

The problem is that the book is currently out in paperback. Sony's price reflects the hardcover price.

Any idea on how long it typically takes Sony to drop its price to reflect the paperback price?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Kilarney

I am very interested in purchasing "An Ordinary Man" from the Sony Connect store.

The problem is that the book is currently out in paperback. Sony's price reflects the hardcover price.

Any idea on how long it typically takes Sony to drop its price to reflect the paperback price?

What I would do is give Sony Connect Store a call and tell them of this so they can adjust the price. But the real prob;em is the paperback edition is trade and going for about $14. That's still ridiculous in my opinion. There's no need for this book to be in trade format at such a high price. It's just another way to get mony from our poickets when they don't need to.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by Kilarney

Any idea on how long it typically takes Sony to drop its price to reflect the paperback price?

It seems to be directly proportional to how long it takes someone to point it out to the -- they don't seem to have a reliable mechanism for tracking price drops automagically.

I'd second JSWolf's suggestion that you contact them and ask about it.

[HarryT]

Are the prices set by Sony or by the publisher? I had a vague feeling that it was the latter.

[NatCh]

It is the latter. I hadn't really considered how that might impact the ConnStore's response time ....

[JSWolf]

I found the same issue on Fictionwise and contacted them. They then in tern contacted the publisher who then sorted the problem.

Maybe the same will happen with Sony and this book.

[dhbailey]

And I am hopeful that as this happens more and more, both the issuance of ebook formats and the back-and-forth between the vendors and the publishers, that there will develop a more automatic mechanism for this to happen. After all, it isn't as if the publishers have to do anything other than change the amount the ebook vendor has to pay them for copies sold.

We're still in the infancy of this ebook marketplace, despite it having been around for quite a few years now, and I think we're still a ways away from having it achieve critical mass were the distribution and pricing is what we all hope it will become.

[LaughingVulcan]

It doesn't really speak to the hardcover/paperback differential, but there are books on Connect which are far cheaper than the paperback price, also. Recently I picked up some classic Trek novelizations which were far cheaper than the paperback retail. Caveat emptor: two of the three had formatting problems from mild to extreme.... But they're out there, anyway.

[angelyne]

Slightly out of topic : What's the difference between a trade paperback and a mass papeback

[NatCh]

Trades have bigger pages and cost more.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by NatCh

Trades have bigger pages and cost more.

Trades were created to bilk the public out of more money for a book.

[Andanzas]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Trades were created to bilk the public out of more money for a book.

And mass paperback editions were created to make us all go blind.

I prefer trades.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Andanzas

And mass paperback editions were created to make us all go blind.

I prefer trades.

Simple Solution, just read books on your Sony.

[monkeywrench]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Simple Solution, just read books on your Sony.

That would be the ideal solution if all books were available on the Sony Reader.

I am currently working on two trade paperbacks that aren't available in ebook format. I have to agree with Andanzas, I find it much more comfortable to read trades than mass market paperbacks. I do agree that they are priced higher than they should be. Heres hoping that ebooks continue to gain popularity and availability becomes a non-issue.

~Marty