Quote:
Originally Posted by pwalker8
I have the grandfathered membership, where I get the discount price without getting a monthly credit. It use to be there were a lot more special discounts for audiobooks when I bought the ebook, but I don't see those offers nearly as often as I once did. Deals like that can't go on for ever. Loss leaders are a short term thing.
For the most part, I'm satisfied paying the normal discount price with my membership. Over the space of a year, it pays for itself. I've always been a big believer in the idea that one should spend the money to make sure authors get paid enough to keep writing rather than being forced into a day job.
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It's not my personal responsibility to make sure a business model does what we need it to do; it's up to the business/industry to find viable parameters that work for all the participants, both providers and consumers. If Audible created unrealistic expectations regarding the price of audiobooks, I'm not obligated to dig into my pocket to make up the shortfall. It seems to me, all they can do is wait it out in the anticipation that people will change their expectations over time and work off their cheaper inventory.
I think an exact analogy is Kobo and the unlimited 90% coupons (well, OK, that's more extreme). In the immediate aftermath, once the coupons and contests dried up, they had to be selling fewer units and for less gross revenues. Presumably their gross profit margins went up. Where they stand in terms of their net profit, I have no idea, but I suspect they haven't got past the bubble yet. I know I've still got lots of cheep inventory that depresses what I'm willing to spend on an ebook.
I'm going to note that wee contradiction where you have a better deal than is available to us cheapskates who aren't willing to pay authors a living wage.