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Originally Posted by DuckieTigger
Excuse me? Read again. I am saying that the ebook at its most expensive should be priced at the hardcover book MINUS the cost of printing and storing for that hardcover book. It is probably not costing a whole $5 to print a hardcover book, so the ebook is not quite reaching $9.99 at launch, but closer to about $11.50 when the hardcover is at $14.99.
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You're excused. Thanks, but I'll decline your kind invitation to read again. The point I am trying to make is that imho it is ridiculous to price an ebook by reference to a pbook, even with adjustments. I am not planning to buy any pbooks, and the hardcover price or the MMPB price should have no relevance to me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DuckieTigger
And I was comparing features of an ebook which makes its value a certain point. It also makes sense that after a while when the paperback comes out, that the ebook automatically becomes cheaper since it is old. It is still 100% exactly the same, except it does not smell new any more (metaphorically speaking).
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And once again, I don't give a damn about a paperback or when it comes out. It should be irrelevant to e-book pricing. We have this wonderful newfangled thing called an ebook. It doesn't require printing. It doesn't require pulping unsold copies. It doesn't even require a BWM publisher. It is much easier to produce and to distribute.
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Originally Posted by DuckieTigger
And, doh, of course I am against agency pricing. That is why I said suggested retail price. If it sells at that price (hardcover minus printing / storing), the publisher will make the exact same profit as the hardcover book per each unit. It is even better, as there is no risk - every ebook in stock that does not sell does not need to be pulped. Leftover pbooks have to be destroyed, since it is cheaper than trying to sell them. Otherwise you lose even more money on them.
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That is really great news! The BWM sell for the same price as a PBook (a totally different product) less some amount for printing and storage of that PBook, a likely ineffectice attempt to equate the two. It is certainly much better. For the BWM, who maintain a link between high-priced PBooks and EBooks. Isn't it time the warning flag bearers got out of the way and let the car live up to its potential?
And one final point. Amazon in its release said:
Keep in mind that books don't just compete against books. Books compete against mobile games, television, movies, Facebook, blogs, free news sites and more. If we want a healthy reading culture, we have to work hard to be sure books actually are competitive against these other media types, and a big part of that is working hard to make books less expensive.
This point seems to have been largely ignored, but it is nevertheless true. A market where the BWM imposes the same old business model and seeks to foster print books at the expense of ebooks does no favours to the cause of books in general.