Quote:
Originally Posted by HoraceWimp
As far as I'm aware, Amazon still buy their e-books on the same basis they buy conventional paper based books—on the sale or return system rather than the agency commission system.
So if that trade paperback you mention has a RRP of 34.95, Amazon would be buying that for 34.95 minus the 20% cost of paper book printing and distribution, minus 50%. So 34.95 minus 6.99 = 27.96, minus 50% = 13.98.
So Amazon buy that e-book from the publisher at 13.98. You don't think selling that e-book at 9.34, making a loss of 4.64 is predatory pricing in any way?
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I don't know that your precise breakdown of what Amazon pays for print books is strictly accurate; my own experience in the industry is that all retailers work on a straight discount off cover, usually ranging between 45 and 55%. Still, I do think your final figure is close to what Amazon pays the publisher for the book, though I would expect it to be a dollar or two higher.
Ebooks, on the other hand, are not bought on the return system, for obvious reasons, although the listed price is clear evidence that the book in question is not being sold on the agency model.
Where I think you're going wrong is in conflating the amount Amazon pays for print editions with the amount they pay for eBook editions. The two are governed by different agreements, and so there is no reason why Amazon would be paying the same price for both. Yes, the eBook price is compared to the print list, but that's something Amazon always does, regardless of whether there is a different list price for the eBook. It magnifies the apparent savings.
Since we can't know how much Amazon pays for the eBook, there's no way to tell if it's predatory pricing.