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Old 01-09-2008, 08:55 PM   #1
waptap
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Why is the Sony eBook store rasing prices?

I got a Sony 505 last month based solely on the fact that they have a pretty good library of old science fiction novels for low prices. Specifically, the older Star Trek novels were $1.75 (same price as Kindle was and still are for the same ebooks). However, when I went to buy my third of these novels in as many weeks, they have all been raised in price to $3.38! That's almost double!!! Why? This is terrible and really makes me regret ever trusting Sony.
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Old 01-09-2008, 08:58 PM   #2
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Wow..."regret every trusting sony" I dont know how much one can trust a HUGE company like Sony...lol I've noticed price drops on some of the books I've been eyeballing. Sorry bout your luck but It's just like any other store, "prices subject to change" I certainly dont think it was a case of Sony trying to stick it to you.
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Old 01-09-2008, 09:04 PM   #3
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According to most ebook shops, the publishers set the price.
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Old 01-09-2008, 09:06 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by ndskyz View Post
Wow..."regret every trusting sony" I dont know how much one can trust a HUGE company like Sony...lol.
Too true. Lots of people aren't laughing... ATRAC, Minidisk, Memorystick, UMD, BBeB, etc, etc...

Figured I could at least rest comfortably in that 25 year old books wouldn't suddenly double in price.
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Old 01-09-2008, 09:07 PM   #5
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According to most ebook shops, the publishers set the price.
Guess Amazon.com didn't get the memo.
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Old 01-09-2008, 09:13 PM   #6
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If you want the BEST prices on Star Trek books, go to http://simonsays.com, purchase in MS Reader format, use ConvertLIT to remove the DRM, convert to LRF using lit2lrf and enjoy. Cheaper then Amazon and Sony.
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Old 01-09-2008, 09:23 PM   #7
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If you want the BEST prices on Star Trek books, go to http://simonsays.com, purchase in MS Reader format, use ConvertLIT to remove the DRM, convert to LRF using lit2lrf and enjoy. Cheaper then Amazon and Sony.
Yep, just figured some of that out too. The actual publisher of these books offers them for $2.27. Not as cheap as Amazon or the old Sony price, but still quite a bit off of the sudden doubling in price by Sony. If, as you mentioned, the publisher sets the price, this is a great move! I'll only be buying from the publisher rather than Sony.

Appreciate the help on this one!
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Old 01-09-2008, 11:29 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by waptap View Post
Yep, just figured some of that out too. The actual publisher of these books offers them for $2.27. Not as cheap as Amazon or the old Sony price, but still quite a bit off of the sudden doubling in price by Sony. If, as you mentioned, the publisher sets the price, this is a great move! I'll only be buying from the publisher rather than Sony.

Appreciate the help on this one!
Yeah that's the best way to go on Trek Books without a doubt, and it's something you can't do with the Kindle
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Old 01-10-2008, 02:30 AM   #9
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Yeah that's the best way to go on Trek Books without a doubt, and it's something you can't do with the Kindle
Of course you can do it with the Kindle - please don't spread "misinformation"!

Use "convertLit" to "explode" the LIT book into its Open eBook (OEB) source.
Use "MobiPocket Creator" to convert the OEB to MobiPocket.

The Kindle reads MobiPocket books.
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Old 01-10-2008, 03:44 AM   #10
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I would also add here that Amazon may be taking a loss on many of the books it's selling below Sony prices, in an effort to drive more people to buy the Kindle. It's as old as the hills, this business practice of taking small losses to entice customers to your brand and hopefully to lure them away from the competition in the hope that the competition will die out and you'll be left owning the whole field. Then you can raise the prices back up even higher than the competition had them and make much more profit than you lost in the first place.

Amazon has been a proven leader in recent years in the ability to sustain year after year of operating losses and still attract venture capital to keep itself going and grow and eventually turn a profit. So Jeff Bezos is no stranger to the concept of losing money to attract customers.

And while the leap from $1.75 to $3.38 may mathematically be "almost double" the price increase is only $1.63, hardly enough to break your bank account. And how much are the paper books? You're still ahead of the game, even if you stick with the Sony books.

As for "trusting Sony" the only advice I have for you is, never trust any corporation, period. They only have a loyalty to their shareholders these days, never to the customers. Always approach any corporation (including Amazon and the Kindle) knowing that they don't give a s#*t about you and won't include your best interests in any decision they make. Unless you own stock and have enough shares that your vote actually counts for something at the annual shareholders' meeting!
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Old 01-10-2008, 07:52 AM   #11
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Of course you can do it with the Kindle - please don't spread "misinformation"!

Use "convertLit" to "explode" the LIT book into its Open eBook (OEB) source.
Use "MobiPocket Creator" to convert the OEB to MobiPocket.

The Kindle reads MobiPocket books.
I was'nt aware of that converter, sorry bout that and that's good to know in case I ever get a kindle..
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Old 01-10-2008, 08:52 AM   #12
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No problem. Yes, MobiPocket creator (a free tool from MobiPocket) creates Mobi-format books from OEB - basically HTML and an XML "package file" which contains the metadata for the book. Works very well indeed - it's what I use to create all the Mobi books I post to MR. Given the OEB output from convertLit, it's literally a case of double clicking the "opf" package file to open it in Mobi Creator, then clicking the "Build" button to create the book. A matter of seconds.
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Old 01-10-2008, 09:16 AM   #13
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Does anyne here remember the TI-994a computer? Texas Instruments sold it at a loss and was hoping the peripherals/software would make up for it. That did not work and the TI-994a stopped being sold. If Amazon is doing the same with their ebooks, then you can expect Amazon to one day stop selling them.
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Old 01-10-2008, 10:30 AM   #14
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Does anyne here remember the TI-994a computer?
Yes, I do remember it. It was the first home computer I bought for my kids because it had a couple of very good educational games for them. I remember buying the computer for $99. It was a good buy for a couple of years then the software for it dried up.
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Old 01-10-2008, 11:04 AM   #15
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Does anyne here remember the TI-994a computer? Texas Instruments sold it at a loss and was hoping the peripherals/software would make up for it. That did not work and the TI-994a stopped being sold. If Amazon is doing the same with their ebooks, then you can expect Amazon to one day stop selling them.
pretty much all video game consoles are sold at a loss. the profits are made back in licensing fees for the software. most printers are sold at a loss and the profits made back in the ink. this is far from an unsustainable business model
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