MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Penguin: Publishers need the e-book to survive

GregS · 11-04-2007, 05:30 PM

Steve Jordan while I am advocating micro-cash, and while experiments in pricing are as a whole a good thing I recommend caution. The net is a thick wood where many good things are practically lost in a forest of shoddy trees.

The determinate will not be isolated actions, but a major lead taken once e-ink (good cheap and robust readers rather than just the technology) becomes an established device capable of going into the educational market - that s a little way off at the moment. Device prices at, or just below, the $100usd would be a good sign.

I don't believe that is long off perhaps 3-5 years, or one mass purchase away (ie adopted by one Educational system somewhere in the world).

The critical bit is when we see high quality text books commissioned for e-book production, textbooks of such quality that they bestow a tangible educational benefit on their readers (very different to the poor quality of many textbooks in use today in the English language).

The price that this can come in on can materially determine prices elsewhere (they will be low for the textbooks because of the amount of sales they can generate). If these substantial works came in at the 10-20cents level, then well written and popular novels would probably settle in at the $5 level, and the bulk of the rest of fictional writing, at a couple of dollars or less. Naturally public domain works may well shift down to less than 10 cents.

That structure in general uses a commodity of definite advantage (hefty, expert written Maths and Science texts), capable of arranging other prices around it - a centre of gravity.

The fact that education is dragging its feet, shows two things; one is conservative reservation, but the other is that the technology, and the content, needs to develop further.

The last part is the more important factor.

The fact is that education is the largest single market (bigger ones exist for the reader technology, but in terms of content there is an inherent similarity that exists nowhere else).

Well written textbooks of the highest quality, is the one section of digital content capable of pegging prices around itself naturally.

My feeling is, for many buyers, a new novel (not a known best seller) priced at 20 cents would at the moment look like the price of rubbish and have no real effect. A centre of value is needed first.

11-04-2007, 05:30 PM	#40
GregS Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 308 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Perth Australia Device: EZ Reader 5", Iliad	Steve Jordan while I am advocating micro-cash, and while experiments in pricing are as a whole a good thing I recommend caution. The net is a thick wood where many good things are practically lost in a forest of shoddy trees. The determinate will not be isolated actions, but a major lead taken once e-ink (good cheap and robust readers rather than just the technology) becomes an established device capable of going into the educational market - that s a little way off at the moment. Device prices at, or just below, the $100usd would be a good sign. I don't believe that is long off perhaps 3-5 years, or one mass purchase away (ie adopted by one Educational system somewhere in the world). The critical bit is when we see high quality text books commissioned for e-book production, textbooks of such quality that they bestow a tangible educational benefit on their readers (very different to the poor quality of many textbooks in use today in the English language). The price that this can come in on can materially determine prices elsewhere (they will be low for the textbooks because of the amount of sales they can generate). If these substantial works came in at the 10-20cents level, then well written and popular novels would probably settle in at the $5 level, and the bulk of the rest of fictional writing, at a couple of dollars or less. Naturally public domain works may well shift down to less than 10 cents. That structure in general uses a commodity of definite advantage (hefty, expert written Maths and Science texts), capable of arranging other prices around it - a centre of gravity. The fact that education is dragging its feet, shows two things; one is conservative reservation, but the other is that the technology, and the content, needs to develop further. The last part is the more important factor. The fact is that education is the largest single market (bigger ones exist for the reader technology, but in terms of content there is an inherent similarity that exists nowhere else). Well written textbooks of the highest quality, is the one section of digital content capable of pegging prices around itself naturally. My feeling is, for many buyers, a new novel (not a known best seller) priced at 20 cents would at the moment look like the price of rubbish and have no real effect. A centre of value is needed first.