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Worldwalker · 08-03-2010, 11:52 PM

@Nathanael,

(long replies on a netbook are getting to be a real pain, so I'm going to hit a few high points; more of a reply when I either dig out the real keyboard for this thing, or at least have some more sleep)

Thanks for the link; I spent entirely too long poking at all the wrong things trying to find it.

Normally, one doesn't buy a pbook directly from the publisher. One buys it from a retailer, who can set whatever price they choose for it. If they want to sell all NYT bestsellers for 20% off cover, for instance, they're free to do so. So the buyer has multiple options for where to buy that book, and those retailers can compete on price. With the "agency model" that is no longer true.

Why is $10 for an ebook "unsustainably" low when a pbook can be sold for $8 (or less), despite the cost of goods sold being so much higher? Why is it necessary for a publisher to make profits an order of magnitude higher on an ebook than on a pbook for it to be sustainable?

I'd ramble on some more but most of me hurts (an issue with the inflexibility of furniture and Honda Civics) and, as I whined, I'm on the netbook. Maybe after I've had sleep and ibuprofen.

08-03-2010, 11:52 PM	#105
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	@Nathanael, (long replies on a netbook are getting to be a real pain, so I'm going to hit a few high points; more of a reply when I either dig out the real keyboard for this thing, or at least have some more sleep) Thanks for the link; I spent entirely too long poking at all the wrong things trying to find it. Normally, one doesn't buy a pbook directly from the publisher. One buys it from a retailer, who can set whatever price they choose for it. If they want to sell all NYT bestsellers for 20% off cover, for instance, they're free to do so. So the buyer has multiple options for where to buy that book, and those retailers can compete on price. With the "agency model" that is no longer true. Why is $10 for an ebook "unsustainably" low when a pbook can be sold for $8 (or less), despite the cost of goods sold being so much higher? Why is it necessary for a publisher to make profits an order of magnitude higher on an ebook than on a pbook for it to be sustainable? I'd ramble on some more but most of me hurts (an issue with the inflexibility of furniture and Honda Civics) and, as I whined, I'm on the netbook. Maybe after I've had sleep and ibuprofen.