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Old 10-17-2008, 12:38 PM   #57
DMcCunney
New York Editor
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Danny Fekete View Post
First, there's the idea that the publisher decides how much to charge because it determines what is economically viable; under circumstances where the publisher is seeking to do more than break even on the costs (which themselves may be variable), the profit margin is arbitrary and I don't think that the publisher necessarily has to have the sole right to determine what it is.
Unfortunately, the profit margin is not all that arbitrary.

The usual error is asking "How much profit can we make?" The correct question is "How much profit do we have to make, to remain in business?". The answer is simple -- enough to equal the marginal cost of capital. And sometimes that number is higher than the best the most profit we can make estimate of the company, in which case they have trouble right here in River City.

And even assuming there is "room for negotiation" between customer and publisher on the profit margin, how much difference do you expect that to make in the price the customer pays? I suspect it will be far less than you might hope.

Textbooks are a special case of publishing. As Harry comments, they have much higher production costs, a limited market, and in some areas, fast obsolescence. (Last years hot computer title is this year's bargain table item.)

Textbooks in digital form will help because you won't have printing, binding, warehousing, and distribution costs, but they still won't be cheap.
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Dennis
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