MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Interesting article on book pricing and why it might rise

Sil_liS · 11-26-2010, 11:41 PM

The people on this forum are divided into different categories:
1. The publishers are right - the rest of you just don't understand the process of publishing
My guess is that these people work in the industry. They never give a quote for what they just know makes the cost of books and they always relate to the cost of hardcovers.

2. It's not about the costs, it's about the value - the rest of you weren't going to buy hardcovers anyway
The general idea seems to be that if it is worth the price, you should just buy it and stop complaining. And always keep in mind that buying used books means no money to the author.

3. Ebooks are worth more than pbooks - the rest of you can just stick to paperbacks if you don't like it
They like to list the advantages of going digital, and think that it is normal to pay more even if you already paid for those advantages by buying an ereader. There are different sub-groups depending on their opinion on DRM.

4. Ebooks are worth less than pbooks - the rest of you should stop encouraging the publishers
This is where I am. I expect that any shop that sells both pbook and ebook should have a 10-20% lower price for the ebook. If there is DRM the price should be even lower.

5. The prices of ebooks will go down in time - the rest of you can pay as much as you want, but I can wait for the price to drop
They have long lists of unread books, a library pass, and the addresses of several used books stores. They can wait.

6. We should only give money to the author - ebooks mean that we don't need publishers anymore
They consider that self-publishing is the way of the future and that the publishing industry is going to go down anyway.

7. Ebooks should cost as much as I am willing to pay
There are a couple of people around here who think that the cost of ebooks should be much lower, and essentially want to pay as much as I usually give a street performer.

8. Change the system or I will pirate
Geo restrictions, DRM or high prices can be circumvented by pirating.

9. Will pirate anyway
Look: free ebooks as far as the eye can see!

11-26-2010, 11:41 PM	#21
Sil_liS Wizard Posts: 4,896 Karma: 33602910 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: PocketBook 903 & 360+	The people on this forum are divided into different categories: 1. The publishers are right - the rest of you just don't understand the process of publishing My guess is that these people work in the industry. They never give a quote for what they just know makes the cost of books and they always relate to the cost of hardcovers. 2. It's not about the costs, it's about the value - the rest of you weren't going to buy hardcovers anyway The general idea seems to be that if it is worth the price, you should just buy it and stop complaining. And always keep in mind that buying used books means no money to the author. 3. Ebooks are worth more than pbooks - the rest of you can just stick to paperbacks if you don't like it They like to list the advantages of going digital, and think that it is normal to pay more even if you already paid for those advantages by buying an ereader. There are different sub-groups depending on their opinion on DRM. 4. Ebooks are worth less than pbooks - the rest of you should stop encouraging the publishers This is where I am. I expect that any shop that sells both pbook and ebook should have a 10-20% lower price for the ebook. If there is DRM the price should be even lower. 5. The prices of ebooks will go down in time - the rest of you can pay as much as you want, but I can wait for the price to drop They have long lists of unread books, a library pass, and the addresses of several used books stores. They can wait. 6. We should only give money to the author - ebooks mean that we don't need publishers anymore They consider that self-publishing is the way of the future and that the publishing industry is going to go down anyway. 7. Ebooks should cost as much as I am willing to pay There are a couple of people around here who think that the cost of ebooks should be much lower, and essentially want to pay as much as I usually give a street performer. 8. Change the system or I will pirate Geo restrictions, DRM or high prices can be circumvented by pirating. 9. Will pirate anyway Look: free ebooks as far as the eye can see!