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JSWolf · 11-27-2007, 05:19 AM

As we all know, ebook prices are usually based on the price of the paper edition be it hardcover or paperback. But, when a hardcover only book is released in paperback, sometimes we see the ebook prices missing this shift from the more expensive hardcover price to the paperback price.

I have emailed some of the ebook shps in the past about mismatched pricing and have gotten the standard canned reply of "the publishers set the price". It's like they didn't even bother to contact the publisher and point of the discrepancy of the ebook price vs. the in print price.

Is there something we consumers can do about this? Do we have to put up with unfair ebook pricing? I just posted a message on the Mobipocket forum and sent an email to BooksOnBoard. An ebook I am interested in is set at the hardcover price and not the paperback price. I basically said "Yes, I know the publisher sets the price. But would you mind going back to the publisher and reminding them that the book is not in hardcover and is in paperback so they can lower the ebook price". I did this so hopefully I would not get the standard canned answer. If I do get the standard canned answer, I will reply asking if they went to the publisher to mention this.

If we take this lying down, then ebooks will fail as people see that not only do the eink readers cost about $300 on up, but if the ebooks are more expensive then the same in-print versions, then they will never recoup the initial cost of the device based on cost savings on ebooks.

What is it that causes ebook pricing to be so fouled up when a books goes from hardcover to paperback? Cannot there be a mechanism in place that alerts the ebook sellers to this and tells them it is time to lower the price?

If we see prices that are incorrect like this, we need to let the ebook shops know so they can hopefully do something about it. If we do nothing, then this sort of thing will continue to happen and we we just end up with prices that are out-of-whack and too high and will eventually cause the downfall of ebooks.

11-27-2007, 05:19 AM	#1
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 80,591 Karma: 150249619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	ebook prices HC to PB can be a problem As we all know, ebook prices are usually based on the price of the paper edition be it hardcover or paperback. But, when a hardcover only book is released in paperback, sometimes we see the ebook prices missing this shift from the more expensive hardcover price to the paperback price. I have emailed some of the ebook shps in the past about mismatched pricing and have gotten the standard canned reply of "the publishers set the price". It's like they didn't even bother to contact the publisher and point of the discrepancy of the ebook price vs. the in print price. Is there something we consumers can do about this? Do we have to put up with unfair ebook pricing? I just posted a message on the Mobipocket forum and sent an email to BooksOnBoard. An ebook I am interested in is set at the hardcover price and not the paperback price. I basically said "Yes, I know the publisher sets the price. But would you mind going back to the publisher and reminding them that the book is not in hardcover and is in paperback so they can lower the ebook price". I did this so hopefully I would not get the standard canned answer. If I do get the standard canned answer, I will reply asking if they went to the publisher to mention this. If we take this lying down, then ebooks will fail as people see that not only do the eink readers cost about $300 on up, but if the ebooks are more expensive then the same in-print versions, then they will never recoup the initial cost of the device based on cost savings on ebooks. What is it that causes ebook pricing to be so fouled up when a books goes from hardcover to paperback? Cannot there be a mechanism in place that alerts the ebook sellers to this and tells them it is time to lower the price? If we see prices that are incorrect like this, we need to let the ebook shops know so they can hopefully do something about it. If we do nothing, then this sort of thing will continue to happen and we we just end up with prices that are out-of-whack and too high and will eventually cause the downfall of ebooks.