Is this greedy?

Sydney's Mom · 04-19-2011, 03:28 PM

I have rediscovered an author I loved as a teen. Although deceased, the books have been rereleased as ebooks. These are fluff, and only about 200 pages. These are being sold for $6.99.

Now, I know I am cheap (penny wise and pound foolish my mother used to say). But that seems ridiculous. I would have thought $2.99.

I know the seller can charge whatever they want. I want personal opinions on the price, please.

I ordered 5 from the library.

DiapDealer · 04-19-2011, 04:38 PM

Speaking strictly about backlist ebook titles:
If I absolutely loved the books, I'd consider $6.99 a bargain. Anything less than absolute love... I'd probably need the price to be around $4.99 to bite on them.

I vote exactly half-way between option 1 and option two.

Worldwalker · 04-19-2011, 04:57 PM

It depends on the book. $6.99 for an O'Reilly tech book would be a great deal. $6.99 for a fluffy beach read (where you normally get out all those odd books that you got at bag day at the library book sale) would be exorbitant. It really depends on the book, and what you're going to do with it.

It still should not, in my opinion, be higher than the MM paperback price (at least past any blackout dates imposed by HC publication, if the publisher is really that bound and determined to defend its dinosaurs). If it's DRM-locked it should be a lot less, since you're getting so little for your money.

abookreader · 04-19-2011, 05:07 PM

IMHO - it is pretty steep for 200 pages of light fluff. Are they the Nancy Drews? I used to buy them here and there before agency pricing when I could apply discount codes etc. But maybe they had significant cost in proving digital rights and getting an eBook formatted and produced. Or maybe they just want to gouge us all, who knows?

Have you seen the Cherry Ames books? $9.99!!!!

If they were reasonably priced I'd click the whole darn series but not at $10 each.

Worldwalker · 04-19-2011, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abookreader

Have you seen the Cherry Ames books? $9.99!!!!

If they were reasonably priced I'd click the whole darn series but not at $10 each.

Are they even being sold by the rights owners? I've seen a number of cases where old series books are scanned and sold by Joe Schmoe who's betting that the owners will never hunt him down, and most of the time he's right. Not to mention people taking Horatio Alger books from the 1800s, claiming copyright, and slapping DRM on them. It makes my quest for data from the last pages of said books (the listings of other series) difficult indeed.

wvcherrybomb · 04-19-2011, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abookreader

Are they the Nancy Drews?

I used to love Nancy Drew mysteries as a kid. I had completely forgotten about them.

For 200 pages $6.99 is a lot. Even so, if they were books that meant something to me I would buy at that price.

RainingLemur · 04-19-2011, 05:38 PM

I would say yes, mainly because of how short they are. But, if it was a book that I REALLY REALLY wanted, I'd suck it up and pay the price.

Catlady · 04-19-2011, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

Are they even being sold by the rights owners? I've seen a number of cases where old series books are scanned and sold by Joe Schmoe who's betting that the owners will never hunt him down, and most of the time he's right. Not to mention people taking Horatio Alger books from the 1800s, claiming copyright, and slapping DRM on them. It makes my quest for data from the last pages of said books (the listings of other series) difficult indeed.

The Cherry Ames books published by Springer are 100 percent legit. Author Helen Wells's copyright was held by her brother after her death, and he assigned it to a nurse educator who was a fan of the books in her youth and wanted to get them reissued for young girls today.

Catlady · 04-19-2011, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abookreader

IMHO - it is pretty steep for 200 pages of light fluff. Are they the Nancy Drews? I used to buy them here and there before agency pricing when I could apply discount codes etc. But maybe they had significant cost in proving digital rights and getting an eBook formatted and produced. Or maybe they just want to gouge us all, who knows?

Have you seen the Cherry Ames books? $9.99!!!!

If they were reasonably priced I'd click the whole darn series but not at $10 each.

Considering what it cost me to collect them in hardcovers, the prices for the reissues--both e-books and paper--are a bargain.

EDITED TO ADD:
Kobo's just added the Cherry Ames books to its inventory ($13). Now, the next time there's a big fat coupon, I'll go on a shopping spree!

abookreader · 04-19-2011, 06:04 PM

eh, I'm not sure you can even compare the price of a collectible hard back to a new eBook. They are completely different purchases. I have about the first 10 initial issue Trixie Beldens that are in fabulous condition. I think those were put out about 1959 to mid-1960s. Obviously the price I paid is far more reflective of their collectible nature than the story itself. I'd barf if they tried to price an eBook off of what they go for on EBAY.

Poppaea · 04-19-2011, 06:17 PM

Its Cathrine Cookson, isn't it? I read somewhere her books where to be released by Amazon due to a deal her estate executor made and would be sold by 2.99$ each. I went immediately to Amazon to buy some. Turned out they are 6.99$ and 7.99$.

Catlady · 04-19-2011, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abookreader

eh, I'm not sure you can even compare the price of a collectible hard back to a new eBook. They are completely different purchases. I have about the first 10 initial issue Trixie Beldens that are in fabulous condition. I think those were put out about 1959 to mid-1960s. Obviously the price I paid is far more reflective of their collectible nature than the story itself. I'd barf if they tried to price an eBook off of what they go for on EBAY.

Oh, true enough, but the last few books in the CA series were rare and pricey even in poor condition, and the reissues were the first chance for a lot of fans to get to read the stories. And the reissues were put together with a lot of care.

Do you know that Julie Campbell who wrote the Trixie books is Julie Tatham who wrote some of the Cherry Ames books (but hers weren't reprinted, as that copyright wasn't obtained).

The Terminator · 04-19-2011, 07:00 PM

Well of course you could get them from the E-library and............

Piper_ · 04-19-2011, 07:36 PM

Backlist pricing is where I get fussy, too. From everything I've seen, it depends mostly on the publisher.

For example, Roberta Gellis' backlist of Fantasy Fiction is sold at Baen for ~$5.00.
But her backlist of Historical Fiction and Romance are sold by Ellora's Cave (I know, go figure) for $9.99. They came on sale last week for $9.39.

Here is the one that makes me chew my lip the most, because I love Sharon Kay Penman and want these books on Kindle, but the insulting prices are so friggin typical of Penguin Publishing, it kills me to cave into them:

(This is a trilogy about the wars, etc., over the succession of Henry I, in the 12th-century.)

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)

Anyway, yes, I think a lot of backlist pricing is greedy, and it's the sort of practice that seems the most piggish to me.

ATDrake · 04-19-2011, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piper_

For example, Roberta Gellis' backlist of Fantasy Fiction is sold at Baen for ~$5.00.
But her backlist of Historical Fiction and Romance are sold by Ellora's Cave (I know, go figure) for $9.99. They came on sale last week for $9.39.

Gellis' Ellora's Cave reprint titles are available as DRM-free ePub via Kobo. They're 9.29 to begin with at the "standard" discount, but you can apply coupons to take the price down further.

Although I do agree that they seem kind of overpriced to begin with, considering the age and the original printing format/prestige range and the target audience and all.

And the pricing on those SKPenman titles is absolutely delusional. I bet they're also typo-riddled and don't come with the cover art.

View Poll Results: Is $6.99 too much?
Yes. The estate is greedy	57	55.88%
No. You are cheap	19	18.63%
I'm sick of whining about ebook prices!	26	25.49%
Voters: 102. You may not vote on this poll

04-19-2011, 03:28 PM	#1
Sydney's Mom Wizard Posts: 2,895 Karma: 6995721 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Idaho, on the side of a mountain Device: Kindle Oasis, Fire 3d Gen and 5th Gen and Samsung Tab S	Is this greedy? I have rediscovered an author I loved as a teen. Although deceased, the books have been rereleased as ebooks. These are fluff, and only about 200 pages. These are being sold for $6.99. Now, I know I am cheap (penny wise and pound foolish my mother used to say). But that seems ridiculous. I would have thought $2.99. I know the seller can charge whatever they want. I want personal opinions on the price, please. I ordered 5 from the library.

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04-19-2011, 04:38 PM	#2
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 27,549 Karma: 193191846 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	Speaking strictly about backlist ebook titles: If I absolutely loved the books, I'd consider $6.99 a bargain. Anything less than absolute love... I'd probably need the price to be around $4.99 to bite on them. I vote exactly half-way between option 1 and option two.

04-19-2011, 04:57 PM	#3
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	It depends on the book. $6.99 for an O'Reilly tech book would be a great deal. $6.99 for a fluffy beach read (where you normally get out all those odd books that you got at bag day at the library book sale) would be exorbitant. It really depends on the book, and what you're going to do with it. It still should not, in my opinion, be higher than the MM paperback price (at least past any blackout dates imposed by HC publication, if the publisher is really that bound and determined to defend its dinosaurs). If it's DRM-locked it should be a lot less, since you're getting so little for your money.

04-19-2011, 05:07 PM	#4
abookreader Wizard Posts: 1,516 Karma: 2567610 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindles - Keyboard, Fire, 2-US, iPhone, iPAD	IMHO - it is pretty steep for 200 pages of light fluff. Are they the Nancy Drews? I used to buy them here and there before agency pricing when I could apply discount codes etc. But maybe they had significant cost in proving digital rights and getting an eBook formatted and produced. Or maybe they just want to gouge us all, who knows? Have you seen the Cherry Ames books? $9.99!!!! If they were reasonably priced I'd click the whole darn series but not at $10 each.

04-19-2011, 05:38 PM	#7
RainingLemur Spork Connoisseur Posts: 2,355 Karma: 16780603 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Nook Color	I would say yes, mainly because of how short they are. But, if it was a book that I REALLY REALLY wanted, I'd suck it up and pay the price.

04-19-2011, 06:04 PM	#10
abookreader Wizard Posts: 1,516 Karma: 2567610 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindles - Keyboard, Fire, 2-US, iPhone, iPAD	eh, I'm not sure you can even compare the price of a collectible hard back to a new eBook. They are completely different purchases. I have about the first 10 initial issue Trixie Beldens that are in fabulous condition. I think those were put out about 1959 to mid-1960s. Obviously the price I paid is far more reflective of their collectible nature than the story itself. I'd barf if they tried to price an eBook off of what they go for on EBAY.

04-19-2011, 06:17 PM	#11
Poppaea Lucifer's Bat Posts: 2,536 Karma: 19491715 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Earth/Berlin Device: Kobo Libra 2	Its Cathrine Cookson, isn't it? I read somewhere her books where to be released by Amazon due to a deal her estate executor made and would be sold by 2.99$ each. I went immediately to Amazon to buy some. Turned out they are 6.99$ and 7.99$.

04-19-2011, 07:00 PM	#13
The Terminator Retired Posts: 2,552 Karma: 37638420 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Vancouver Island Canada Device: Kobo Touch, Optimus One (2.3), Nexus 7 (4.2)	Well of course you could get them from the E-library and............

04-19-2011, 07:36 PM	#14
Piper_ ~~~~~ Posts: 761 Karma: 1278391 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: USA Device: Kindle 3, Sony 350	Backlist pricing is where I get fussy, too. From everything I've seen, it depends mostly on the publisher. For example, Roberta Gellis' backlist of Fantasy Fiction is sold at Baen for ~$5.00. But her backlist of Historical Fiction and Romance are sold by Ellora's Cave (I know, go figure) for $9.99. They came on sale last week for $9.39. Here is the one that makes me chew my lip the most, because I love Sharon Kay Penman and want these books on Kindle, but the insulting prices are so friggin typical of Penguin Publishing, it kills me to cave into them: (This is a trilogy about the wars, etc., over the succession of Henry I, in the 12th-century.) 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) Anyway, yes, I think a lot of backlist pricing is greedy, and it's the sort of practice that seems the most piggish to me.