[darryl]

I'm afraid that the worst fears of the Large Publishers have come true. The plethora of books available at the lower price points have, as they so prophetically feared, devastated the perceived value of their product. Where I once though $9.99 was reasonable value for a new release by an established best selling author, alas, I now think twice at anything over $5.99. And this is the upper end of the range! Most of my purchases have been in the $2.99 to $4.99 range. I don't generally take much notice of the publishers, but a quick look reveals that I am purchasing far fewer books published by the large players, and even then only those titles where they are meeting new market prices. The most I have paid for a book in the last 2 years is $9.99. That was for a Baen title and is by an established author I like very much, and is about $2.00 more than my next highest priced purchase in this period.

There are some authors who I like but simply don't purchase their books any more. For instance, I love John Sandford's Prey series, but now borrow new ones from the library rather than pay the outrageous prices demanded. Sometimes this is a nuisance, as I am forced to read a paper copy. One of the reasons I love ereaders is because they are so easy on my slowly deteriorating eyesight. I hadn't read a Stephen King in years until I recently read Mr Mercedes on a friend's device. But even these authors I can do without, and would rather do so than pay the ridiculous prices demanded by their publishers.

Yes, I have fallen for a couple of Indie published titles which were absolutely appalling. Then again, I have come across some that are truly excellent. But highs and lows aside, I find the general standard of books I am purchasing or sometimes “borrowing” on Kindle Unlimited to be comparable to the standard of Big 5 published paperbacks that I once used to buy. So I really see no need to pay double or triple the price for the questionable benefit of the “curatorship” provided by the large publishers.

I am interested in what others are doing? Are you still purchasing new releases from the large publishers at prices up to $16.99 or even more? If not, are you obtaining these books by other means, legitimate or otherwise? How are you finding the quality of the books at the new lower price points of $0.99 to $6.99? What steps are you taking when purchasing to avoid the real dregs?

One final point regarding the apparent attempted return to full agency pricing. I for one will not be validating this appalling behaviour by purchasing these books at the ridiculous prices demanded.