Quote:
Originally Posted by Scarpad
I mean I love Ebooks, I love my Readers. But I can preorder the Paperback version of my Latest Star Trek Novel in paperback for $5.92 plus Free shipping, or I can preorder the Kindle version for $6.99. Both have a RSP of $7.99. I'm left scratching my head. Should'nt it be the other way around ? I mean it costs them nothing to push it to my kindle. It makes no sense
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It's the way it is because Amazon buy the paper books from the publisher at a discount (for paperbacks that's 55% or more) on the retail price, and are free to sell them on at whatever price they wish. For the Kindle books, their agreement with the publisher may mean that the publisher gets to set the retail price, and Amazon just get a fixed percentage (often 30%) of that. ("Agency pricing" - Amazon is acting as an agent for the publisher, rather than as an independent retailer).
And yes, it makes no sense. The publishers give a bigger discount on paperbacks, yet also have to pay the print/store/ship costs for paperbacks. It's crazy.