Quote:
Originally Posted by tompe
No, they are not the same. E-book are much better. They take no space, you can search them, you can comment in the book and let your friends see the comment and so on.
I find it very strange that people have a strong opinion about what the price should be based on the value to them. I do not understand why people think so strongly that the ebook should be cheaper.
I also do not understand why the ebook market is so different from the paper book market. What is the difference that makes it impossible to use the model with selling books at a higher price in the beginning and later lowering the price?
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Just to recap.
Some people don't care about the price as long as they can afford it. They have other things to worry about.
Some people think the prices should be windowed to maximize profit and they are happy to check back every couple weeks until the price drops to their price point.
Some people accept windowing for physical products because they understand the economics of supply and demand or the efficiencies of mass production but recognize that these don't apply to digital media. These people think windowing is stupid.
Some people just want it now, they have more entertainment then they know what to do with so if someone doesn't want to sell the product to them now at a "fair price" they can go blow.
Some people automatically compare the costs and recognize that ebooks don't have the enormous distribution costs, brick & mortar costs, retail staff costs, return costs etc... and expect them to always be cheaper the physical books.
Some people think ebooks have more value to them because they don't take up space and have benefits like search ability and the ability to change fonts so they're OK if they cost more.
Some people think that ebooks can't be resold so they have less value.
Some people think that ebooks are just rentals, can't be passed to their family and friends and will be incompatible with future hardware so should cost less.
Did I miss any?
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Pricing is about understanding all of the above and setting a price that satisfies the most people and drives away the least. Amazon did a good job of this and they were be rewarded by the marketplace.
If you think that the price has to be x and everyone else just has to learn to accept it then you should be running a BPH (into the ground).