I keep wanting to jump into this convo and then pulling back... here goes...
A major problem with this kind of discussion is that people's preferences are, well,
different. You take something like, say, the "value" of an eBook. Is it MORE valuable than a paper book because you can back it up indefinitely, mark it up as much as you want and then erase all your markings later, and it weighs practically nothing? Yes! Is it LESS valuable than a paper book because you can't sell the book second hand, it's not easy to loan to a friend, and you can't take it in "risky" situations without fear of losing $100s instead of $6.99? Yes!
So you get all these arguments about whether eBooks have "more value" than pBooks, which is a fallacious question anyway, because nothing has inherent value -- value is determined by the consumer.
Books DO have inherent COST, but even that is variable by author, cover artist, publishing house, etc. but at the very least you can probably draw a parallel between the inherent cost of the SAME book between pBook and eBook formats. Should there be a flat rate for ALL copies of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", regardless of format? Probably not -- that would seem a little arbitrary to me, and potentially a huge loss to the seller (in the case of a high-cost, low-price hardback) or a huge loss to the buyers (in the case of a low-cost, high-price eBook).
Another thing you see is people arguing the high hardback price because of its immediacy, and the extrapolation that "release day" eBooks should be priced comparably high. And that's one theory, but not all "release day" people want to pay for the immediacy -- they want to buy because they heard the hype about the book and they're interested. If they balk at the high price, you've lost their money for TODAY; if they lose interest down the line or are turned off by negative reviews, you've lost their money FOREVER.
For me, it seems reasonable to offer "release day" eBooks at a fairly cheap ($9.99?) price to take advantage of the wave of publicity. My reasoning is that people who were going to buy the high price books for the immediacy are a much SMALLER group than the people who would buy at the lower price for the impulse buy. Can I prove that feeling, though? No. As far as I know, there have been no case studies on this -- and imho the industry is flawed because no one seems to want to test it. Not wanting to evolve or change into something better is a flaw, and the change process requires taking a small risk for a potentially huge payoff.
Saying "oh, just keep a list!" isn't an answer to the loss of impulse buyers; it's an answer to helping buyers track their interests over time. The problem of snagging impulse buyers is VERY crucial to the industry, and every negative review that goes up on your book (and quite a few positive reviews that don't fit the readers interest: a review like "The Best Christian Erotica Novel Ever!" is going to lose you a few readers, I think.
) DECREASES the chance that a potential impulse buyer will hit that button. And the further they get away from the release day hype, the more likely they are to remember that "Eh, I've got 500 titles in my To Read list already."
eBooks are potentially a VERY impulse friendly environment. The WiFi/3G readers advertise that you can buy and read in seconds. The cheaper titles are perfect for compulsive collectors and impulse buyers. I'm firmly of the opinion that impulse buying made Amanda Hocking quite a bit of money -- I KNOW *I* bought her first book based on the pretty cover and low price, and I STILL haven't read it. (Keep meaning to.) But she's got my money, along with countless other >$5 authors. Don't publishing companies want my money?
I'd like to get Rapture Ready in eBook form. I own the hardcover and loved it. But... it's been sitting at ~$16 for months in eBook form. And... you know... I just haven't bought it. Maybe I never will. I'm okay with that. The publishing company SHOULDN'T be.
