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Originally Posted by DMcCunney
The problem is, that statement is largely true. One of the pressures publishers are under is that many are units of larger outfits, with an expected contribution to the parent's revenue and profit. They are expected to make a 10% return on investment minimum. Good luck. Historically, publishing's returns have been maybe half that.
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But the problem starts with the fact that they sell the books half-price, or rather that they double the "value" to be able to give a discount to the big retailers. They don't mention the profit they make from selling to small retailers. It should be considerably more / book.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
Correct. Value has nothing to do with cost. If the buyer buys a print edition of a PD work, it's worth it to them, or they wouldn't have bought it.
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But they make a bigger profit than they would for new authors. And I don't see any publisher commenting on that, as they aren't commenting on the fact that with ereaders, people aren't going to need them for PD books.
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Originally Posted by DMcCunney
Hardcovers cost more to manufacture than paperbacks (and paperbacks exist to be a cheaper alternative). But in most cases, I think buyers buying hardcovers are paying the premium to read the book now instead of waiting for the PB edition. The fact that it's a hardcover is secondary.
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But it has an effect on buyer psychology, making bigger = more expensive. And now we have the really tiny ebooks, and publishers are just shocked that most buyers aren't going for the ebook = hardcover value idea.
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Originally Posted by DMcCunney
Who told you hardcovers don't cost all that much more to make? "Trade paperbacks" exist to provide a cheaper edition than the hardcover, because there are costs in hardcover binding.
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You're joking, right?
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Originally Posted by DMcCunney
Manufacturing costs are generally about 50 cents - $1.00 for PBs, and perhaps $2 for HCs.
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Did you miss the fact that I quoted you? You say that it costs $1 more to manufacture a HC, and since the other costs are the same, it would mean that HC would cost $1 more to make than the PB. To me $1 difference means that it doesn't cost that much more to make.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
And the point of printing hardcover editions of PD titles? Easy enough: there are people who will buy them.
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Well, if the publishers want people to stop associating the physical appearance of the book with the price, they should really stop doing that.