07-01-2013, 06:22 PM | #1 |
Member
Posts: 18
Karma: 9084
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Chicago, IL
Device: Sony prs-950 daily edition
|
Clear overview of price war lawsuit
Laura Miller's overview of Amazon, Apple & publishers lawsuit is in today's Salon, "Everything You Need to Know about the E-book Price War."
|
07-01-2013, 06:36 PM | #2 | |
monkey on the fringe
Posts: 45,476
Karma: 158151390
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Seattle Metro
Device: Moto E6, Echo Show
|
Quote:
|
|
07-01-2013, 07:02 PM | #3 |
Resident Curmudgeon
Posts: 73,897
Karma: 128597114
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
|
07-01-2013, 08:21 PM | #4 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 7,195
Karma: 70314280
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Atlanta, GA
Device: iPad Pro, iPad mini, Kobo Aura, Amazon paperwhite, Sony PRS-T2
|
Interesting article. I tend to agree that the publishers came out ahead.
|
07-01-2013, 08:38 PM | #5 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
That one sounds like a (premature) celebration of all the ways they got to screw over consumers.
And it is so blinded by Amazon-hate it attributes to the price fix something that had happened *before* the conspiracy. 30% Amazon losses due to Agency? Baloney! Nook was running well over 20% *before* Agency kicked in. http://mashable.com/2010/06/29/barnes-and-noble-4q/ From June 2010, reporting 2009 sales: Quote:
All the added "competitiveness" the BPHs claim to see from the Apple side is coming out of the Nook and indie side of the ledger, not Amazon. |
|
07-01-2013, 09:14 PM | #6 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 7,032
Karma: 39379388
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: near Philadelphia USA
Device: Kindle Kids Edition, Fire HD 10 (11th generation)
|
AFAIK they are, on average, paying less, in real dollars, than in the past, and are getting the books in a form factor they prefer.
Now, it is also true that the publishers are doing well profit-wise, with Random House having a record fifteen percent margin last year. The authors may be the ones who are doing the worst: http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-n...ook-royalties/ ` |
07-01-2013, 10:18 PM | #7 | |
You kids get off my lawn!
Posts: 4,220
Karma: 73492664
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Device: Oasis 2 and Libra H2O and half a dozen older models I can't let go of
|
Quote:
I think the consumers who - on average - are paying less are the ones who gave up on the Big 6 books and started buying the indi crap. |
|
07-01-2013, 10:28 PM | #8 | |
Resident Curmudgeon
Posts: 73,897
Karma: 128597114
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
Quote:
When you take into account B&N, Sony, Kobo, and other Readers (no tablets), I would think (IMHO) that they would total to more then 30% (in just the US but add in Canada and the Amazon numbers are most likely lower). |
|
07-02-2013, 12:36 AM | #9 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
Quote:
The point isn't the numbers per-se, but rather the apologists' repeated attempt to portray Apple as having taken market share (from Amazon, instead of the epub crowd) through conspiracy as a *good* thing. They've got Amazon on the brain and willfully ignore all the evidence that Amazon is the *only* player (besides Apple) that *wasn't* hurt by the conspiracy. Consumers buying the agency titles were ripped off to the tune of 30-50%, authors got lower royalties, and the publishers have the legal fees and five years of federal oversight over their heads; no amount of spin and FUD is making that into a good thing for *anybody*. |
|
07-02-2013, 01:04 AM | #10 | ||
Resident Curmudgeon
Posts: 73,897
Karma: 128597114
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
||
07-02-2013, 07:30 AM | #11 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 7,032
Karma: 39379388
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: near Philadelphia USA
Device: Kindle Kids Edition, Fire HD 10 (11th generation)
|
Quote:
In 2002, the average hardcover fiction price paid* by Michigan public libraries was $26.86. I presume those sales were mostly of recently released books. If you compare to the consumer price of recently released fiction, in a form factor (eBook) that people on this board commonly say they like a lot more, I'd say prices have gone down alot. Now, the price the library pays hasn't gone down, which is a separate (although more important to me) issue. The reason I mention hardcover in the paragraph above is that, in 2002, there was more of a gap in time between hardback and paperback release. The fact that you can now get a paperback of a fairly new bestseller is another indication of declining book prices for consumers. If your starting point is when loss leader pricing, presumably to goose eReader adoption, was common, it will look different. But loss leader pricing can't last. ______________ * I may be misinterpreting the chart, as it is unclear to me if it reflects common discounts. But I think the point -- that eBooks have lowered consumer prices -- holds. Also, the real comparison point for many would be the historical price of a large print paper book, making the price reduction from the eBook revolution even more impressive. Last edited by SteveEisenberg; 07-02-2013 at 07:34 AM. |
|
07-02-2013, 07:51 AM | #12 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
The primary way that ebooks have lowered the cost of reading is through indie and backlist titles. With 20-25% of all indie sales running in the $2.99-6.99 range it brings the oft-quoted average selling price for ebooks down. As the feds showed for the trial, once you exclude Indie titles from the tally, ebook prices *increased* as a result of the price fix conspiracy and stayed higher for the duration of the fix.
Now, the average retail prices of BPH titles *have* declined... ...in the last nine months, *after* they dropped Agency. There will be a further decline now that the Random Penguin Solutions merger has kicked in and the Random House titles are set to leave Agency. Agency did no favors to buyers of BPH titles but it did wonders for many indie publishers. |
07-02-2013, 08:40 AM | #13 | ||
Interested Bystander
Posts: 3,725
Karma: 19728152
Join Date: Jun 2008
Device: Note 4, Kobo One
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
||
07-02-2013, 09:43 AM | #14 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
Posts: 35,872
Karma: 118716293
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire
|
|
07-02-2013, 09:50 AM | #15 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
Posts: 35,872
Karma: 118716293
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire
|
BTW, a link to the article mentioned in the O.P. - http://www.salon.com/2013/07/01/ever...ook_price_war/
I'm not sure how "Clear" it is but there it is. I'm kinda sick or hearing about it all and all the arguments and finger pointing. I'm just hoping the judge makes her decision and announces it soon.... Last edited by kennyc; 07-02-2013 at 09:53 AM. |
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Ebook Price War | TGS | News | 53 | 09-24-2012 04:28 PM |
1934 Price-fixing and US DOJ lawsuit | 6charlong | General Discussions | 5 | 04-14-2012 02:22 PM |
Seems Amazon have caused an epub price war in the UK | ceebee_uk | General Discussions | 11 | 09-27-2010 04:20 AM |
Has the price war for eBook Readers begun? | Dark123 | General Discussions | 8 | 08-26-2010 08:20 AM |
The coming price war? | A J Edwards | Which one should I buy? | 59 | 12-07-2007 04:08 AM |