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Originally Posted by abookreader
Even if you accept the fact that the only or primary goal of a Publisher is to maximize profits
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Immaterial. A book priced too high won't sell in a competitive environment. Doesn't matter how smart the publisher is or how stupid. People buy or do not buy an ebook completely independant of how much the publisher makes.
How much the publisher makes -- well that means a lot to the publisher. So their ability to price in such a way so as to make money is well within their power. But SHOULD a publisher put too high a price on an ebook, they cannot possibly force people to pay that price.
Quote:
Originally Posted by abookreader
a completely free market economy will still always have a level of inefficiency.
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True, but that doesn't lead to a publisher being able to SUCCESSFULLY price a book higher than the market is willing to pay.
Quote:
Originally Posted by abookreader
Publishers might think their prices are maximized at the $14.99 price point, but they might be wrong.
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Exactly. That's my point. I have not said $14.99 is the proper price for a mass market ebook. Only that we need not fret so much. It is impossible for any company to successfully sell a product at a price TOO HIGH. Of course "TOO HIGH" is not what you individually, or I individually think.
We need not say one word. We need merely carry on as we always do, buying books we find desirable at the prices we find acceptable and pass on those books we MIGHT have though desirable, but are CURRENTLY priced higher than we wish.
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Originally Posted by abookreader
In the case of Publishers, it could very well be the optimal price of novels #1 thru #3 is quite a bit lower even though it doesn't maximize their profit - in order to build the customer base required to make novels #4 thru #10 blockbusters.
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If they succeed, then they haven't priced too high.
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Originally Posted by abookreader
Besides which, if customers don't communicate to Publishers why they aren't buying the eBook ... price, lousy cover art, not interested in the topic, bad formatting ... then how will the Publishers know why a book isn't successful?
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Ranting and raving on this forum is hardly "communicating to the publishers".
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Originally Posted by abookreader
There might be better ways to communicate that information, but if one star reviews is what customers choose then maybe the Publisher/Author need to work on developing better and more efficient ways for their customers to make themselves heard.
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It's just silly actions by folks with little appreciation for how markets work.
Lee