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rhadin · 01-08-2011, 10:23 AM

As some have noted, the real question is simply "what is this particular book worth to you in this particular format?"

When it was first released, I bought Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years by Diarmaid MacCulloch for $28.80 (36% off the $45 list price) in hardcover. The book has been sitting in my TBR pile since it was purchased. Part of the problem is that it is so big (approximately 1200 pages), it is difficult for me to hold these days. The other half of the problem is that the more I use my Sony Reader, the less inclined I am to read a pbook; I really enjoy the ebook experience.

So what to do? I decided that I really want to read this book so it was worth my buying the ebook version at $29.99, which I did earlier this week. Bottom line is that this book was worth a total of $58.79 to me to get it in the 2 formats I wanted: hardcover for insertion into my permanent library and ebook for ease of and pleasurable reading.

I grant that my buying habits are not the norm. But neither are the buying habits of most people in this thread who complain about price. I think the reality is that most ebook buyers are not comparison shoppers. I think that most people who bought or were given a Kindle buy their ebooks at Amazon and do not consider whether the same book can be had elsewhere for less or more. Similarly, most of those who bought or were given a Nook shop at Barnes & Noble and do not comparison shop. If this were not true, there would be no economic justification for the proprietary formats/DRM schemes Amazon and B&N employ.

I also think that the reality is that most of these ebook buyers simply buy a book that interests them at the then going price without thinking twice about it.

I clearly have no objective data to support my beliefs, but I do know how my friends and neighbors who have bought or were given ebook-reading devices shop for their books. And this is why, regardless of the complaining about pricing done here on MR, publishers are able to successfully impose the agency model on the consuming public.

01-08-2011, 10:23 AM	#29
rhadin Literacy = Understanding Posts: 4,833 Karma: 59674358 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: The World of Books Device: Nook, Nook Tablet	As some have noted, the real question is simply "what is this particular book worth to you in this particular format?" When it was first released, I bought Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years by Diarmaid MacCulloch for $28.80 (36% off the $45 list price) in hardcover. The book has been sitting in my TBR pile since it was purchased. Part of the problem is that it is so big (approximately 1200 pages), it is difficult for me to hold these days. The other half of the problem is that the more I use my Sony Reader, the less inclined I am to read a pbook; I really enjoy the ebook experience. So what to do? I decided that I really want to read this book so it was worth my buying the ebook version at $29.99, which I did earlier this week. Bottom line is that this book was worth a total of $58.79 to me to get it in the 2 formats I wanted: hardcover for insertion into my permanent library and ebook for ease of and pleasurable reading. I grant that my buying habits are not the norm. But neither are the buying habits of most people in this thread who complain about price. I think the reality is that most ebook buyers are not comparison shoppers. I think that most people who bought or were given a Kindle buy their ebooks at Amazon and do not consider whether the same book can be had elsewhere for less or more. Similarly, most of those who bought or were given a Nook shop at Barnes & Noble and do not comparison shop. If this were not true, there would be no economic justification for the proprietary formats/DRM schemes Amazon and B&N employ. I also think that the reality is that most of these ebook buyers simply buy a book that interests them at the then going price without thinking twice about it. I clearly have no objective data to support my beliefs, but I do know how my friends and neighbors who have bought or were given ebook-reading devices shop for their books. And this is why, regardless of the complaining about pricing done here on MR, publishers are able to successfully impose the agency model on the consuming public.