Quote:
Originally Posted by BooksForABuck
Most hardback publishers release hardbacks first at a high price because there are customers who don't want to wait and who are willing to pay more. It isn't like a hardback costs twenty dollars more to make than a paperback, after all. Unless Penguin decides to release hardback and paperback simultaneously, they'll want to price eBooks relative to whatever paper books they have available. As we saw with The Da Vinci Code, when paperbacks become available, the eBooks can then be discounted.
As I've mentioned on Mobileread before, BooksForABuck.com offers fairly dramatic discounts on eBooks relative to pBooks for two reasons: (1) the POD technology we use for pBooks is expensive per book; and (2) we don't have a huge network of retailers who could sabotage our core business if they thought we were underselling them by directly offering eBooks at a discount. In an earlier life I worked distribution channels and believe me, this is a huge issue. (It's still an issue in the eBook world. Fictionwise, Mobipocket, etc. require that publishers not systematically undercut them with eBooks).
Rob Preece
Publisher, www.BooksForABuck.com |
I do understand this, however i still think ebooks should be priced significantly lower than pbooks. i could accept the idea that the ebook would have a higher price when the book was first published (just like the high price of the hardcover book), and then be discounted appropriately when the cheaper paperback was available. however even when it is a "new" book, there is no justification for selling ebooks at the same price as pbooks. the ebook could start at half the price of the hardcover, and then when the paperback is published be reduced to half the price of the paperback. that way, publishers still take advantage of the "impatience factor" in their market, but also make a concession to the customer to pass along the savings on the production cost. there's "making money", and then there's "highway robbery". a show of goodwill on the part of the publishers will probably do miracles for the ebook industry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vivaldirules
An excellent idea to write Penguin, ZP. I have followed your lead and have emailed them, too.
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brilliant !! wonderful !!
: i hope you won't be last. oh, i should mention : anyone may feel free to plagiarise any or all parts of my email, if they are feeling lazy but still civically inclined
. consider it to be in the public domain.