Quote:
Originally Posted by Zyzomys
I think we are now looking at a race for the cheapest eReader possible so they can be displayed in blister-packs and sold in every book and card aisle in America (outside of actual bookstores).
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There *is* a race to the bottom.
But what I'm talking about is list price for a *new* reader; not refurbs, not sale prices. The product's baseline.
An $80 list price is unlikely.
Even $99 list is questionable; these are B&M retail readers so they need plenty of "list price margin" to allow discounting. For example, the Sony PRS-300 came out at $229 list and was generally discounted to $199. Right now it lists for $149 and can occasionaly go on sale for $129 or so.
The problem with quoting sale and refurb prices is they aren't always available. Those $109 Kindles? They came and went twice in 3 days. Their price is more a reflection of Amazon's inventory and less of the state of the market.
Now, the JBM looks to be a B&M retail product, probably tied to a Target/Eveready promo. (A sign of things to come; product tying.) It's not going to do Target much good to say "list price $99---sale price $99". On the other hand; "List price $129. Now on sale $99" adds a sense of urgency to the deal. Consumers generally expect sales and will more often than not wait for one, unless they're in a rush.
The JBL is still listed as $149 which makes the regular retail prices of $99-129 look good. If the JBM is a replacement for the JBL, a $129 list would be about right and it could regularly go on sale for $99. Which is about right for today's retail market. Beyond that, it's anybody's guess. (At least until K3 ships.)