MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Why should authors not have some control over the price their books are sold for?

Kali Yuga · 12-07-2010, 10:00 AM

I see absolutely no reason why an author or publisher should not be allowed to set the price of their goods.

When Smashwords, Scribd (remember them?) and Amazon's self-publishing services got started, they clearly said "authors set the price, we get a set percentage." No one complained.

Thousands of people sell their hand-made tchotchkes on Etsy. The maker sets the price, and Etsy takes a tiny slice. No one complains about "price fixing" or how "immoral" it is for the creator to set the price.

If you want to buy a Dell laptop, Dell is manufacturing and setting the price, period. No one complains about how "unfair" this system is.

If Penguin decided they would no longer sell ebooks via retailers, and will only sell via their website, would this be "fair" -- even though the upshot would be identical?

For years, Apple set a blanket price of $1 per song download. This is clearly a form of "price fixing," just by the retailer rather than the music label. Is it OK to force every vendor to the same price, because it's the retailer doing it instead of the publisher/music label? Would it still be OK if Apple had set the price at $2?

Many authors and publishers intentionally price their books at $0.00 for promotional purposes. The retailers aren't selecting which books to promo. Is this also an example of "unfair" behavior or "price fixing?" Is it only OK for the author/publisher to set the price, if and only if that price is zero?

And let's not forget, several powerful retailers asked for this system and/or several key features. Well over a year ago, Google offered publishers power over pricing. Apple also required that no other competing retailers would be allowed to undercut them on price, and voluntarily offered them agency pricing.

Retail is changing. I, for one, find it rather amusing that people insist that retailers and publishers "get with the times" and stop treating ebooks the same way as paper -- and then blast them because they aren't treating ebooks like paper. Almost as amusing as seeing people promote Smashbooks one day as the type of business that will destroy the big publishers, only to see them get railed the next day for making life simpler for their authors/contributors.

12-07-2010, 10:00 AM	#30
Kali Yuga Professional Contrarian Posts: 2,045 Karma: 3289631 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 4 No Touchie	I see absolutely no reason why an author or publisher should not be allowed to set the price of their goods. When Smashwords, Scribd (remember them?) and Amazon's self-publishing services got started, they clearly said "authors set the price, we get a set percentage." No one complained. Thousands of people sell their hand-made tchotchkes on Etsy. The maker sets the price, and Etsy takes a tiny slice. No one complains about "price fixing" or how "immoral" it is for the creator to set the price. If you want to buy a Dell laptop, Dell is manufacturing and setting the price, period. No one complains about how "unfair" this system is. If Penguin decided they would no longer sell ebooks via retailers, and will only sell via their website, would this be "fair" -- even though the upshot would be identical? For years, Apple set a blanket price of $1 per song download. This is clearly a form of "price fixing," just by the retailer rather than the music label. Is it OK to force every vendor to the same price, because it's the retailer doing it instead of the publisher/music label? Would it still be OK if Apple had set the price at $2? Many authors and publishers intentionally price their books at $0.00 for promotional purposes. The retailers aren't selecting which books to promo. Is this also an example of "unfair" behavior or "price fixing?" Is it only OK for the author/publisher to set the price, if and only if that price is zero? And let's not forget, several powerful retailers asked for this system and/or several key features. Well over a year ago, Google offered publishers power over pricing. Apple also required that no other competing retailers would be allowed to undercut them on price, and voluntarily offered them agency pricing. Retail is changing. I, for one, find it rather amusing that people insist that retailers and publishers "get with the times" and stop treating ebooks the same way as paper -- and then blast them because they aren't treating ebooks like paper. Almost as amusing as seeing people promote Smashbooks one day as the type of business that will destroy the big publishers, only to see them get railed the next day for making life simpler for their authors/contributors. Last edited by Kali Yuga; 12-07-2010 at 12:43 PM. Reason: doh ;)