Quote:
Originally Posted by DuckieTigger
That is funny. You are just giving the perfect example why the publisher is mostly interested in keeping the prices high. The higher the price, the bigger the profit margin as a smaller percentage needs to go to the author in royalties.
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Also, the contract described seems to be outside the norm, or some other relevant terms not discussed. It was as I understand it normal for such contracts to provide for either no royalties or much reduced royalties if books were sold at a discount. Certainly this was the case with deep discounts. I'm sure the contract described would have some provision to ensure that the publisher is not paying royalties in respect of heavily discounted sales.
On the more general question more eloquent posters than myself have expressed the situation very clearly. "Value" to an individual is very different to price. To the extent that perceptions of value, be it to individuals or large groups is a factor in pricing, it is but a single factor amongst many and not necessarily a particularly important one. It is perfectly legitimate and rational for a prospective purchaser to assess value for money by comparing other products with even peripheral relevance should they so choose, let alone the same product in different formats. A book is a book. The product is the combination of words, be they expressed in print, electronically or in the spoken word. Imagine that a print book is priced at $20, and the corresponding ebook is priced at $1,000. The very idea that the price of the print book is irrelevant in assessing the price of the ebook because one has no intention of buying the print book in these circumstances seems to me to be somewhat difficult to defend. The result of the comparison is that I would not purchase the book in either format, irrespective of other factors.