Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonist
LOL, if you are so honest about gouging consumers, how about this:
Pretend I am a consumer interested in a book. I see a chance to buy it, but the publisher wants $27 for it, and because of the Agency Model, I can't find it discounted.
$27 is a lot of money, so I decide to check out a couple of file sharing sites. Oh-oh! It's there! No DRM, so I can keep it forever, and it's mine for free.
The fact that you (the publisher) will not get a penny will not sway me, because now I feel justified (rightly or wrongly), since you tried to gouge me.
You want to gouge me. I want the book, but don't want to feel ripped off. So, I get the book for free. Guess which will trump? And guess who will be out of business?
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The fly in that ointment is that I'm
not gouging you. I'm simply trying to stay in business.
I publish a book at $27 that you can't find discounted, so you pirate it. I don't get
your sale. I'm betting that enough
other people will find the book of sufficient value that they
will spend $27 to buy it, and that I'll make money on the title.
You are assuming you are representative of the market for that book. I'm assuming you are not.
"Gouging" != "A price higher than
I'm willing to pay", regardless of what you might like to believe. Value is relative. A thing is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. If enough people are willing to pay the higher price to make my numbers, I have no particular incentive to cater to your idea of the value. You pirate it. I don't get
your sale. I may not
care.
Lower pricing may lead to more sales, but the question becomes one of trade-offs. If I choose to set a lower price, I am making a bet that I'll get enough additional sales at the lower price to not only make up what I lose by not charging the higher price, but to make
more revenue and profit overall than if I had stuck with the higher price. Before I'll make that bet, I'll want evidence I
will get that benefit from lowering the price. How likely I'll be to do it will depend in large part on what I think the total market for the book is. For a book I expect might be highly popular with a lot of people who will want to read it, I might make the bet. For a niche-market title with a limited audience, I won't.
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Dennis