Hachette is Australian for Ripoff

[Blue Tyson]

"The French company, Hachette Livre, which owns publishers of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy interest – Orbit and Orion – has recently become worse than the Grinch, instituting massive price rises for Australian readers.

My particular interest is science fiction and fantasy, so those subgenres I have looked at due to greater familiarity. Anyone wanting to do the same thing for crime, for example will find the same results."

See :-

http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/ha...by-blue-tyson/

[sabredog]

Yep. read that article a few days back and could not agree more. Before I started reading ebooks, I would buy a lot of my genre of choice from wherever I could get hold of them, as well as specialist bookstores.

I watch prices slowly increase at rates well over the CPI increases normally expected, until a single paperback begun to exceed AU$15. At that point it was cheaper to purchase paperbacks from online bookstores or eBay. The price differences where quite considerable and I saved a lot of money, even with postage.

Compared to Australia, it was a different world.

Even recently as early October, I wanted to purchase paperback veriosns of books 2 and 3 of the Princesses series by Jim C Hines for my youngest and oldest daughters (my wife has ebook versions from Amazon). I thought it was worth trying locally, but typically, Dymocks had never heard of the author or series. Collins wanted AU$21.95 per book, but they had to be ordered.

In the end it was eBay to the rescue. I got the books (new) for $7.95 each with free postage. The books were from an Australian seller.

When ebook estores arrived in Australia the price differences for ebooks were just as bad as the paperback versions and the range available was far smaller due to Geographic descriptions. No change, move along folks....

I am with you, great article.

[JeremyR]

The truly sad thing is they are already pretty much gouging people with their e-book prices. Why they are really sticking to Australians is beyond me...

[sabredog]

Nothing new I am afraid. Australians are used to being ripped off on prices.

More and more consumers are buying online and the constant bleating from retail companies and their front pieces, billionaires Solomon Lew and Gerry Harvey, demanding the government protect their businesses from the growing savvy consumer using online stores is growing. I am not even sure the government is listening.

However the government is not doing didley squat to look at why Aussie consumers are being ripped off. Nothing is going to change soon.

[Ken Maltby]

Perhaps I'll get the moderators on me again but I thought that the
Australian economical system was more "free market" than that. What is
preventing new retailers from undercutting the established retailers?

Luck;
Ken

[sabredog]

Import controls and tariffs in the main, for many things. These were designed to "protect" Australian based businesses many years ago and have not been removed.

For instance, there is no parallel importing of books permitted. This allows companies like Hatchett to essentially "price gouge" the consumer here. Locally based publishers and authors are still bleating loudly for this to remain in place, whilst some book sellers are keen to see the market opened up.

Either way the consumer plays second fiddle to all this ballyho

[Blue Tyson]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

Perhaps I'll get the moderators on me again but I thought that the
Australian economical system was more "free market" than that. What is
preventing new retailers from undercutting the established retailers?

Luck;
Ken

Copyright is the opposite of a free market, given it is a monopoly.

[Blue Tyson]

Originally Posted by sabredog

Nothing new I am afraid. Australians are used to being ripped off on prices.

More and more consumers are buying online and the constant bleating from retail companies and their front pieces, billionaires Solomon Lew and Gerry Harvey, demanding the government protect their businesses from the growing savvy consumer using online stores is growing. I am not even sure the government is listening.

However the government is not doing didley squat to look at why Aussie consumers are being ripped off. Nothing is going to change soon.

Actually, an MP brought up the Apple and Dell and other Australian Technology Tax ripoffs in parliament not so long ago. As you say, doubt they will do anything, but at least gets the lies told by the various companies in reply into Hansard.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by Blue Tyson

Actually, an MP brought up the Apple and Dell and other Australian Technology Tax ripoffs in parliament not so long ago. As you say, doubt they will do anything, but at least gets the lies told by the various companies in reply into Hansard.

Was there not a high powered government committee into parallel importing of books set up at some stage a year or so ago? Did that ever report or finish?

[Blue Tyson]

Yeah, they recommended it be scrapped. The publishers lobbied against it. So the government said, fine 'on your own head be it, you'll get no help from us.'

Two book chain collapses later....

Be very entertaining if Dymocks says 'xmas was pretty bad' we just might have to close a lot, sorry.

[sabredog]

Our local Dymocks was very quiet the last couple of afternoons. I have been picking up my wife from work and we have done some last minute shopping at the centre she works in.

Dymocks were a big proponent on the side of removing parallel importing I seem to recall. Mind you, I am not overly impressed with them as a bookstore regardless.

[Blue Tyson]

Yeah, I have encountered the uselessness of the help there as you mention above. Haven't been in one for a long time. No need.

[caleb72]

It's sad because I wouldn't usually wish any dire straits on Australian businesses, but these days, every time I think of the amount of protectionism applied to Australian businesses, I strongly picture myself playing a fiddle while they all burn.

As it is I buy all my paper books from Book Depository.

[sabredog]

No, not when you hear the "woe is me" stories from Gerry Harvey.

[Blue Tyson]

It is also amazingly arrogant when people like Harvey complain that they are no longer making 35% profit margins and are down to only 16% or something still huge.

It staggers me when so-called captains of industry are so ignorant of history and probability they expect record good times to be the norm and plan as though they will be.