Future Ebook Price Point - Page 10

StokieSam · 10-21-2011, 06:08 AM

New poster here, so hi!

Maybe I'm unusual, but I believe that publishers have ebook pricing completely wrong compared with print. I seldom read any book more than once (if we limit this argument to fiction or non-fiction other than instructional books). I also cannot remember the last time I bought a new book in those categories. If I want to read a new(ish) book, I borrow it from the library. If I want to buy a book, I buy it second-hand, usually at a price point around £2.50 to £3.00. I can then sell that book back to the dealer for half the price I bought it for, resulting in a net price of £1.25 to £1.50.

I cannot buy a used ebook, nor can I sell it when I have finished with it, so I have an expenditure of maybe £6 or £7 for an item that I will read and, essentially, discard!

I refuse to do this, largely because I am a voracious reader and I would be penniless in a very short time. For example, if I go on a 2 week holiday in the summer, I would typically take around 8 paperbacks with me. (Obviously, the ereader is a massive boon to me!) When I get back, I take these books back to the bookstall and hand them in at 50% part-exchange against some more.

Where is the economic sense in me paying the prices asked for ebooks? I realise that publishers need to make a profit, and authors need to make a living, but the business model needs to change massively before they make a penny from me.

Once ebooks can be traded in exactly the same way as paper books, with prices to match, then that is fair. To charge almost the same price as for a paper book for something that essentially has absolutely no value the moment you download it is tantamount to robbery for me.

kennyc · 10-21-2011, 06:31 AM

Welcome Sam. I mostly agree, but the issue with 'used' ebooks is that there is no method in place to provide you with a unique copy of the product which can be used and treated in the same manner as a physical product. Thus the manufacturer must rely on trust to treat it as a product and that just simply isn't there in the current environment.

StokieSam · 10-21-2011, 06:45 AM

Thanks Kenny, but that doesn't alter the fact that I am asked to pay £6 or £7 for a book that I will, in all probability, read in 2 or 3 days and will then be useless. I would have to be crazy to even contemplate such a thing.

kennyc · 10-21-2011, 06:49 AM

I know, I'm not making excuses. Just stating the 'obvious' and the arguments the dinosaur publishers make...

murraypaul · 10-21-2011, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

Welcome Sam. I mostly agree, but the issue with 'used' ebooks is that there is no method in place to provide you with a unique copy of the product which can be used and treated in the same manner as a physical product. Thus the manufacturer must rely on trust to treat it as a product and that just simply isn't there in the current environment.

Amazon (and others) already have DRM solutions that allow an eBook to be loaned. No technical reason this couldn't also allow them to be resold. Obviously not in their interests to allow that to happen though.

StokieSam · 10-21-2011, 07:00 AM

It's obviously a more difficult task to arrange for a trade in used ebooks. With a printed book, you have bought a discrete copy which is yours to do with as you will, whereas an ebook is just bytes stored on a reader and possibly a hard disk and is more difficult to make discrete'

None of this, however, alters the fact that publishers are not taking this into account when they set their price points and are, essentially, taking the mickey!

kennyc · 10-21-2011, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Amazon (and others) already have DRM solutions that allow an eBook to be loaned. No technical reason this couldn't also allow them to be resold. Obviously not in their interests to allow that to happen though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by StokieSam

It's obviously a more difficult task to arrange for a trade in used ebooks. With a printed book, you have bought a discrete copy which is yours to do with as you will, whereas an ebook is just bytes stored on a reader and possibly a hard disk and is more difficult to make discrete'

None of this, however, alters the fact that publishers are not taking this into account when they set their price points and are, essentially, taking the mickey!

Yes. Clearly they could provide a "used book sell/exchange" for their products that would remove the product from the original purchaser and re-assign it to the new owner....but.....hmmmm....

twowheels · 10-21-2011, 01:18 PM

They could even work out a deal where the used ebook sale gives a small chunk of the money to the publisher... say $.50... so, when a book first comes out, the MUST HAVE NOW pre-order people order a bunch of copies... then over time the used market price could go down... so...

eBook released for $20 when new to maximize the profit on the MUST HAVE NOW crowd. After 2-6 months the new price drops to a more reasonable $10 to reflect the paperback price, and the used market is opened up and the used price could be $5. Amazon keeps $.50 for their trouble (keeping track of licensing), and the publisher gets $.50. People who must have it and can't find a used copy online could get it for $10.

Each used copy could foreseeably be resold 100 times, meaning that the publisher gets the original sale, plus $50, whereas with paper books now they only get the original sale. This should help account for the fact that an easier to use used market would impact new sales.

Moreover, the new buyer is out $14 at most, more likely $6. The used buyer is only out $1 and has sufficient budget to buy more books than they already do! At this price point most downloaders would probably say that it wasn't worth the trouble to torrent the book and worry about quality/legal issues. Even if they implemented a "wear and tear, 25 resells" this would be better for everybody, but it seems that the last buyer should get an even better price since they can't resell it.

treadlightly · 10-21-2011, 02:56 PM

I agree with the sliding scale for the ebook price - $15-20 when the hardcover is released, going down to $10 when the paperback is released and then settling at $5-$6 after a year or so. A price of $10 for an ebook that is a few years old when the paperback is $6.99 is wrong. What are the ways to protest this other than to write the publisher?

allinhi/ · 10-21-2011, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twowheels

They could even work out a deal where the used ebook sale gives a small chunk of the money to the publisher... say $.50... so, when a book first comes out, the MUST HAVE NOW pre-order people order a bunch of copies... then over time the used market price could go down... so...

eBook released for $20 when new to maximize the profit on the MUST HAVE NOW crowd. After 2-6 months the new price drops to a more reasonable $10 to reflect the paperback price, and the used market is opened up and the used price could be $5. Amazon keeps $.50 for their trouble (keeping track of licensing), and the publisher gets $.50. People who must have it and can't find a used copy online could get it for $10.

Each used copy could foreseeably be resold 100 times, meaning that the publisher gets the original sale, plus $50, whereas with paper books now they only get the original sale. This should help account for the fact that an easier to use used market would impact new sales.

Moreover, the new buyer is out $14 at most, more likely $6. The used buyer is only out $1 and has sufficient budget to buy more books than they already do! At this price point most downloaders would probably say that it wasn't worth the trouble to torrent the book and worry about quality/legal issues. Even if they implemented a "wear and tear, 25 resells" this would be better for everybody, but it seems that the last buyer should get an even better price since they can't resell it.

I think you are on the right track. The transaction price is to low to satisfy some of the parties. How would you keep the original buyer from keeping a copy on a SD card etc? Perhaps a transfer/license charge? How would it be collected? Which party is responsible to pay the fee? What about transfers of a book I receive second hand and wish to transfer again? Clearly all this is possible, but with so many players involved it would require a separate org. I just don't believe there will be agreement by everyone limiting their autonomy and additional levels of complexity.

10-21-2011, 01:18 PM	#143
twowheels Wizard Posts: 1,795 Karma: 13412766 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kobo Clara HD, iPad Pro 10", iPhone 15 Pro	They could even work out a deal where the used ebook sale gives a small chunk of the money to the publisher... say $.50... so, when a book first comes out, the MUST HAVE NOW pre-order people order a bunch of copies... then over time the used market price could go down... so... eBook released for $20 when new to maximize the profit on the MUST HAVE NOW crowd. After 2-6 months the new price drops to a more reasonable $10 to reflect the paperback price, and the used market is opened up and the used price could be $5. Amazon keeps $.50 for their trouble (keeping track of licensing), and the publisher gets $.50. People who must have it and can't find a used copy online could get it for $10. Each used copy could foreseeably be resold 100 times, meaning that the publisher gets the original sale, plus $50, whereas with paper books now they only get the original sale. This should help account for the fact that an easier to use used market would impact new sales. Moreover, the new buyer is out $14 at most, more likely $6. The used buyer is only out $1 and has sufficient budget to buy more books than they already do! At this price point most downloaders would probably say that it wasn't worth the trouble to torrent the book and worry about quality/legal issues. Even if they implemented a "wear and tear, 25 resells" this would be better for everybody, but it seems that the last buyer should get an even better price since they can't resell it. Last edited by twowheels; 10-21-2011 at 01:23 PM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
'What Price Liberty' available pre-publication as variable price ebook	garygibsonsf	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	2	11-04-2010 10:38 PM
What does the new Kindle and its price point mean ...	rogue_librarian	PocketBook	77	08-11-2010 08:30 AM
Amazon: New $189 Price Results in Tipping Point for Growth	kjk	News	67	07-23-2010 09:37 AM
Color E-ink, and the price tipping point	Phogg	News	13	03-30-2009 09:23 AM
eBook price vs pBook price--is that fair??	rlparker	Amazon Kindle	11	10-06-2008 11:55 AM

10-21-2011, 06:08 AM	#136
StokieSam Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Sony eReader	New poster here, so hi! Maybe I'm unusual, but I believe that publishers have ebook pricing completely wrong compared with print. I seldom read any book more than once (if we limit this argument to fiction or non-fiction other than instructional books). I also cannot remember the last time I bought a new book in those categories. If I want to read a new(ish) book, I borrow it from the library. If I want to buy a book, I buy it second-hand, usually at a price point around £2.50 to £3.00. I can then sell that book back to the dealer for half the price I bought it for, resulting in a net price of £1.25 to £1.50. I cannot buy a used ebook, nor can I sell it when I have finished with it, so I have an expenditure of maybe £6 or £7 for an item that I will read and, essentially, discard! I refuse to do this, largely because I am a voracious reader and I would be penniless in a very short time. For example, if I go on a 2 week holiday in the summer, I would typically take around 8 paperbacks with me. (Obviously, the ereader is a massive boon to me!) When I get back, I take these books back to the bookstall and hand them in at 50% part-exchange against some more. Where is the economic sense in me paying the prices asked for ebooks? I realise that publishers need to make a profit, and authors need to make a living, but the business model needs to change massively before they make a penny from me. Once ebooks can be traded in exactly the same way as paper books, with prices to match, then that is fair. To charge almost the same price as for a paper book for something that essentially has absolutely no value the moment you download it is tantamount to robbery for me.

10-21-2011, 06:31 AM	#137
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Welcome Sam. I mostly agree, but the issue with 'used' ebooks is that there is no method in place to provide you with a unique copy of the product which can be used and treated in the same manner as a physical product. Thus the manufacturer must rely on trust to treat it as a product and that just simply isn't there in the current environment.

10-21-2011, 06:45 AM	#138
StokieSam Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Sony eReader	Thanks Kenny, but that doesn't alter the fact that I am asked to pay £6 or £7 for a book that I will, in all probability, read in 2 or 3 days and will then be useless. I would have to be crazy to even contemplate such a thing.

10-21-2011, 06:49 AM	#139
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	I know, I'm not making excuses. Just stating the 'obvious' and the arguments the dinosaur publishers make...

10-21-2011, 07:00 AM	#141
StokieSam Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Sony eReader	It's obviously a more difficult task to arrange for a trade in used ebooks. With a printed book, you have bought a discrete copy which is yours to do with as you will, whereas an ebook is just bytes stored on a reader and possibly a hard disk and is more difficult to make discrete' None of this, however, alters the fact that publishers are not taking this into account when they set their price points and are, essentially, taking the mickey!

10-21-2011, 02:56 PM	#144
treadlightly Wizard Posts: 1,370 Karma: 6957792 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Ottawa, ON Device: Kobo H2O	I agree with the sliding scale for the ebook price - $15-20 when the hardcover is released, going down to $10 when the paperback is released and then settling at $5-$6 after a year or so. A price of $10 for an ebook that is a few years old when the paperback is $6.99 is wrong. What are the ways to protest this other than to write the publisher?