I meant that if both are available at the same time, I'm not happy paying the same (or sometimes more) for an eBook as for a hardback. However, if the ebook is available some months before the hardback, then I feel it is reasonable, which is why I don't mind Baen's eARC pricing.
On hardback vs paperback, there's a big difference in the object, apart from the timing.
Baen's pricing works like this for books that are eARC, Hardback/ebook, Paperback/ebook:
-3 months: eARC, $15
-2 weeks: ebook, $6
Publish date: Hardback: $25 (discounted to $16.50)
+1 year: Paperback: $8
If only all publishers did this, with no DRM. Come to that, bearing in mind that Baen's ebook prices are solid with no discounts built in for retailers like fictionwise, I'd be very happy enough with
Publish date: Hardback: $25 discounted to $16.50, ebook: $10 discounted to $8
+1 year: Paperback: $8, ebook: $6, discounted to $5
I'm really not happy with
Publish Date: Hardback $25 discounted to $16.50
+1 month: eBook $25, discounted to $21.25
+1 year: Paperback $8
+1 year and some random time: ebook: $8, discounted to $7.50
[Perhaps I should have put this in the vent and rant thread!]
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
But isn't that also true of pBooks? One can buy the hardback at a higher price, or wait a year and buy the paperback at a lower price. The choice is yours.
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