Seriously, Amazon? 33% more for the Kindle version?

[djulian]

Don't know where else to post this, but seriously? Ayn Rand's Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged are $5-6 more on Kindle than as a hardcopy.

http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Shrugged...=AG56TWVU5XWC2

http://www.amazon.com/The-Fountainhe...=AG56TWVU5XWC2

First the Connelly book, now this? It's crazy...

[RockdaMan]

This price was set by the publisher

There is your answer.

Mine, in cases like these, is eBay or the public library.

[Ron.]

Penguin is the worst by far, they charge the most and the books are not proofread and are full of errors

Dune is 16.99
http://www.amazon.com/Dune-40th-Anni...3339085&sr=1-1

[SensualPoet]

Another example of the Penguin Group (under the imprint Plume) over-charging. It is this behaviour -- silly prices for books that have been in print for decades -- that inspires people to pirate.

Neither link works in Canada; but Atlas Shrugged is "available" for $17.79 at kobobooks.com in Canada. But the paperback edition of the ebook is $21.45 online at Chapters/Indigo and an astounding $32.50 in the bricks and mortar store. So ... the ebook is actually "a bargain".

[Piper_]

Originally Posted by Ron.

Penguin is the worst by far, they charge the most and the books are not proofread and are full of errors

Dune is 16.99
http://www.amazon.com/Dune-40th-Anni...3339085&sr=1-1

Penguin really is the worst of the worst.

I posted a comparison of prices for the three books in a trilogy by Sharon Kay Penman yesterday that really highlights crazy prices and the discrepancy between Penguin and, in that case, Macmillan.

I'll just paste it here too, since it's so relevant to the OP's question:

When Christ and His Saints Slept

First published
April 1995

Hardcover - $9.91
Paperback - $10.88
Kindle Edition: $11.99 (Came out last April, but was taken down until January.)

(Macmillan Published)

*******

Time and Chance

First published
February 2002

Hardcover - $8.69
Paperback - $10.88
Kindle Edition - $19.99 (Came over 2 years ago, taken down until a couple months ago.)

(Penguin Publishing)

*******

Devil's Brood

First Published
October 2008

Hardcover - $11.58
Paperback - $10.88
Kindle Edition - $19.99 (Came out over 2 years ago, and price still hasn't dropped, despite requests to publisher.)

(Penguin Publishing)

[CHunter_Author]

They are trying to drive the demand through print. Why show the author that he or she can make a killing by selling in e-book format. That would defeat the big publisher's purpose. The problem is bootleggers will have a feast.

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by djulian

First the Connelly book, now this? It's crazy...

Crazy, indeed. But as others have pointed out, it is not Amazon that should be asked your question.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by djulian

Don't know where else to post this, but seriously? Ayn Rand's Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged are $5-6 more on Kindle than as a hardcopy.

http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Shrugged...=AG56TWVU5XWC2

http://www.amazon.com/The-Fountainhe...=AG56TWVU5XWC2

First the Connelly book, now this? It's crazy...

All that Amazon have done is reduced the price of the hardback. Are you objecting to this?

[jbcohen]

I have some standards for electronic book prices:

1) Price may not exceed $9
2) Electronic book may not be => the dead wood book price
3) The lower the price the more likely I am to buy.

in your case would never buy the electronic book, costs too much I would preferr the bootleggers.

[Ron.]

Originally Posted by HarryT

All that Amazon have done is reduced the price of the hardback. Are you objecting to this?

I object to penguin charging 16.99 for a book that was released more then 5 years ago, is poorly scanned full of errors, not proofread etc... One book from penguin I bought was such a poor scan it still had the page numbers pricing 5$ more then the competition for a inferior product I object to. For 20.99 (the fountainhead) they could at least proofread before they release it.

[patrickt]

Congratulations, DJulian. You're the 50,000th poster to complain about prices.

My advice, don't buy the book. That's what I do if I think the price is unreasonable.

[Kali Yuga]

You do realize that Ayn Rand is the queen of radical capitalism, right? I'm pretty sure she'd say that "if you don't like the price, then go suck an egg, you un-American commie nihilist." Or something like that.

[bhartman36]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

You do realize that Ayn Rand is the queen of radical capitalism, right? I'm pretty sure she'd say that "if you don't like the price, then go suck an egg, you un-American commie nihilist." Or something like that.

Something very close to that, I'm sure.

I think there's something to the idea that people should vote with their wallets, but I understand the frustration. I think the publishers should feel more pressure over this than what they're getting. How best to accomplish that is another question. I think a tagging or forum campaign are the best ways to draw attention to the issue. The 9.99 boycott tag got a lot of attention to the issue in the past.

[ebusinesstutor]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

I have some standards for electronic book prices:

1) Price may not exceed $9
2) Electronic book may not be => the dead wood book price
3) The lower the price the more likely I am to buy.

in your case would never buy the electronic book, costs too much I would preferr the bootleggers.

My criteria are similar. I will go above $9 for an ebook for a reference book, but $9-10 is about my limit for an ebook and only then for a brand new book by a favorite author.

I expect backlist books to be less than that. And yes, a low price makes me more willing to buy. And a good way to hook me is to make the first book in your trilogy free. Then if it is good enough, I will buy the rest.

Truthfully, I think all relatively unknown authors should put one or two of their better ebooks out for free so we can try them. I found many great new authors at Smashwords and Baen Books that way.

I don't bother with bootleg ebooks though. If the price is too high, there are many other great books out there for better prices.

[Ron.]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

You do realize that Ayn Rand is the queen of radical capitalism, right? I'm pretty sure she'd say that "if you don't like the price, then go suck an egg, you un-American commie nihilist." Or something like that.

I think Ayn Rand would be against agency pricing