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Old 04-15-2013, 08:26 PM   #31
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That's only because publishers right now see ebooks as a way to prop up their failing print businesses. There's no valid reason for an ebook to be as expensive as a print book.
Sure there is. People want the various benefits that ebooks give them.

Charging what people will pay for the value they get is completely valid.

Publishers are not charities or public utilities required to pass on their product at absolute cost.
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Old 04-15-2013, 09:25 PM   #32
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Sure there is. People want the various benefits that ebooks give them.

Charging what people will pay for the value they get is completely valid.

Publishers are not charities or public utilities required to pass on their product at absolute cost.
If someone expects me to pay more for an e-book than for a paper copy, I move on. Plenty of books other books to choose from. Just because a publisher charges more for the e-book than for the paper book doesn't mean they have actually set the price at the level which gives them the maximum return. Publishers can make mistakes.
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Old 04-15-2013, 09:39 PM   #33
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If someone expects me to pay more for an e-book than for a paper copy, I move on.[...] Publishers can make mistakes.
Amazon does not appear to be struggling to keep it's ebook revenues up, so it looks like you do not speak for the bulk of the market.

You are of course free to 'move on' for any reason you like. You can move on because the cover image clashes with your living room decor.
To me, that would be just as valid a reason as arbitrarily and presumptive deciding that a product is priced too high, not because of the value that product offers you, but only by comparing the price to a different product.
If you wanted to see a movie in a theater, would you refuse to buy a movie ticket if the ticket price was higher than the paperback price for the novel?
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Old 04-15-2013, 11:18 PM   #34
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Amazon does not appear to be struggling to keep it's ebook revenues up, so it looks like you do not speak for the bulk of the market.
Amazon doesn't set the prices. They just sell the books. In any case, when I look at the best selling books, the overwhelming majority cost less than the paper version. This would seem to indicate that readers in general aren't willing to pay more for the e-book than for the paper book. Sure, some people are, but they are the minority.

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You are of course free to 'move on' for any reason you like. You can move on because the cover image clashes with your living room decor.
To me, that would be just as valid a reason as arbitrarily and presumptive deciding that a product is priced too high, not because of the value that product offers you, but only by comparing the price to a different product.
I'm not comparing it to a different product. I'm comparing it to the same product in a different format. Why shouldn't we compare prices? Is that really so presumptuous? I'm simply choosing not to be a sucker.
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Old 04-16-2013, 12:07 AM   #35
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Amazon does not appear to be struggling to keep it's ebook revenues up, so it looks like you do not speak for the bulk of the market.
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Originally Posted by QuantumIguana View Post
Amazon doesn't set the prices. They just sell the books. In any case, when I look at the best selling books, the overwhelming majority cost less than the paper version. This would seem to indicate that readers in general aren't willing to pay more for the e-book than for the paper book. Sure, some people are, but they are the minority.
You beat me to the punch in answering this... but I'd like to point out that many of these are at veeeeeeeeery nearly the Hardcover price. And when you consider the cost of producing them, nearly all ebooks could make a very nice profit at half the current price.
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Old 04-16-2013, 12:18 AM   #36
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Changes Kindle price=$9.99; Hardcover=$4.79
Cold Days Kindle Price=$14.99; Hardcover=$16.06
And Another Thing... (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) Kindle Price=$12.82; Hardcover=$10.40

Just a few I've been looking at recently. These are pretty popular books by the way.
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Old 04-16-2013, 08:30 AM   #37
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I'm not comparing it to a different product. I'm comparing it to the same product in a different format.
Surely you realize that the difference in format makes it a different product, just as hardcovers and paperbacks are. Why are you not complaining that hardcovers and paperbacks should be the same price?

Ebooks and pbooks have different properties, offering different value.
Can the hardcover be delivered instantly on demand? Replaced for free if forgotten and read in multiple locations at once? Carried among hundreds or thousands of others with no additional weight or volume consumed? Have it's font changed on instant whim?

If those properties don't offer value to you, then it would certainly be dumb to pay for them, but to claim they are the same product is...what word would be allowed here...disingenuous, I think.

And what does Amazon's not setting of the prices have to do with their success and growth reports being an indicator of market behavior?

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Old 04-16-2013, 09:21 AM   #38
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Originally Posted by QuantumIguana View Post
If someone expects me to pay more for an e-book than for a paper copy, I move on. Plenty of books other books to choose from. Just because a publisher charges more for the e-book than for the paper book doesn't mean they have actually set the price at the level which gives them the maximum return. Publishers can make mistakes.
Fair enough, although I would have to ask how many people (in general - not here) even bother to look how much the paper copy is when buying an ebook.

Most of my purchases were from Kobo or, alas, BOB so I never saw the paper price. I also never look at the price of a CD when getting an mp3. I suspect I am not alone in this, or even in the minority, many people buy it depending on if the price is right for them - not if they can get it in a different format for less.

There is probably a discussion going on at TreeRead Forums (made up name) how people refuse to buy a paperback if the ebook is cheaper.
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Old 04-16-2013, 09:33 AM   #39
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If it is worthwhile to you to pay more for an e-book than for the same book in a paper format, by all means, feel free to do so.

A hardcover book costs more to produce than a paperback, so I expect the hardcover to cost more. An e-book costs to produce than a paper book, so I expect it to cost no more than for a paper book. I realize it isn't tremendously cheaper to produce, but it is

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And what does Amazon's not setting of the prices have to do with their success and growth reports being an indicator of market behavior?
If publishers are losing sales because they have priced their e-books higher than the paper copy, that doesn't hurt Amazon, it hurts the publisher. People will simply buy some other publisher's book - still on Amazon.
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Old 04-16-2013, 09:42 AM   #40
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Fair enough, although I would have to ask how many people (in general - not here) even bother to look how much the paper copy is when buying an ebook.

Most of my purchases were from Kobo or, alas, BOB so I never saw the paper price. I also never look at the price of a CD when getting an mp3. I suspect I am not alone in this, or even in the minority, many people buy it depending on if the price is right for them - not if they can get it in a different format for less.

There is probably a discussion going on at TreeRead Forums (made up name) how people refuse to buy a paperback if the ebook is cheaper.
When I buy a book from the Amazon web page, it shows not just the price of the Kindle version, but the price of the paper version as well. It may well be that posters on a forum dedicated to e-books may be willing to pay more for an e-book than for a paper book, but that's not necessarily a representative sample of readers. It's become largely a moot point, a significant majority e-books cost less than the paper book.
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Old 04-16-2013, 10:13 AM   #41
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A hardcover book costs more to produce than a paperback, so I expect the hardcover to cost more.
Perhaps, but unless you've seen the publisher's financials, you're guessing, and I really can't see how their internal costs (in this sense anyway) effect you one whit anyway.
Are you buying a book to moderate the financials workings of the publisher, or are you buying a book because you want a book?

For myself, I'd pay more for a hardcover only if the better paper, better binding, better cover, etc, is worth it to me. I am not concerned at all by the publishers/authors/retailers/distributors margins unless they result in requiring me to pay too much for the value I'm getting. That a format exists elsewhere that costs less doesn't not effect my value at all if that format doesn't deliver what I want. If a cheaper paperback meets your needs, then buy the paperback. If you want the ebook for it's benefits over the paperback, what is the valid reason for not being willing to pay for that added value?

It reminds me of the old joke:
"How much is hamburger?"
"50 cents a pound."
"Lou's across the street sells it for 30 cents."
"So go buy it from Lou's."
"He doesn't have any."
"If I didn't have any, I'd sell it to you for 30 cents, too."

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Old 04-16-2013, 10:37 AM   #42
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You make your own purchasing decisions, and I'll make mine.
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Old 04-16-2013, 10:38 AM   #43
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You make your own purchasing decisions, and I'll make mine.
That was the opener. Not a great public forum discussion contribution, though.

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Old 04-16-2013, 11:02 AM   #44
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You are obviously very upset that I don't make the same purchasing decisions that you make. If people are willing to pay more for the e-book than for the paper book, then publishers will continue to charge more for the e-book. Conversely, if people are not willing to pay more for the e-book than for the paper book, publishers will not charge more. By declining to pay more for the e-book, I am casting a vote for lower prices. Given that the majority of e-books cost less than the paper copy, a lot of other people are making similar purchasing decisions. I have many books to choose from when I am considering a purchase. I've given you my reasons, and if you don't find them satisfactory, that doesn't indicate a flaw in my reasoning. By all means, use your own criteria, I am not attempting to tell you how to make your purchasing decisions.
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Old 04-16-2013, 11:16 AM   #45
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You are obviously very upset that I don't make the same purchasing decisions that you make
How'd you get that? I'm refuting the statement that there is no valid reason for ebook to cost as much as paperbacks.

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If people are willing to pay more for the e-book than for the paper book, then publishers will continue to charge more for the e-book. Conversely, if people are not willing to pay more for the e-book than for the paper book, publishers will not charge more.
And ebooks are selling well. Lots of people seem to see the value.

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By declining to pay more for the e-book, I am casting a vote for lower prices.
And by buying ebooks that I want, I'm casting my vote for authors and publishers to offer more ebooks like those I want at a price I find acceptable.

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Given that the majority of e-books cost less than the paper copy, a lot of other people are making similar purchasing decisions.
No telling from that. Those books may have sold if they were priced higher.

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that doesn't indicate a flaw in my reasoning.
No flaw in not buying something you feel is priced too high. I'm all for lower prices, as long as quality doesn't degrade with it.
But I've been pointing out the flaws in your reasoning for making that judgement based on price of a paperback.

Not trying to say at all that you can't make a decision based on flawed reasoning. Nothing personal.
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