MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Publishers still missing the point on e-book prices

HansTWN · 12-17-2011, 09:10 PM

I think all this talk about a "monopoly" for each book makes little sense. Except for a few bestsellers or non-fiction books that may be needed by some people for their studies there really is no "need" to buy a particular book.

Different books from the same genre from different authors compete with each other for the same book buyers. It is just that we are in the early stages of the ebook market. Many people just received their first devices and haven't realized yet how bad the quality of some ebooks is. Quality issues will be fixed as production methods are being streamlined.

The problem for consumers is that the agency agreement has eliminated competition on price.

12-17-2011, 09:10 PM	#52
HansTWN Wizard Posts: 4,538 Karma: 264065402 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Taiwan Device: HP Touchpad, Sony Duo 13, Lumia 920, Kobo Aura HD	I think all this talk about a "monopoly" for each book makes little sense. Except for a few bestsellers or non-fiction books that may be needed by some people for their studies there really is no "need" to buy a particular book. Different books from the same genre from different authors compete with each other for the same book buyers. It is just that we are in the early stages of the ebook market. Many people just received their first devices and haven't realized yet how bad the quality of some ebooks is. Quality issues will be fixed as production methods are being streamlined. The problem for consumers is that the agency agreement has eliminated competition on price. Last edited by HansTWN; 12-17-2011 at 09:14 PM.