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Timboli · 03-29-2019, 09:58 AM

As mentioned earlier, here is an example of odd pricing going on.

Alexander McCall Smith is one of my favored authors, though not in my Top 100. I have been buying his books for many years, ever since I saw an interview with him on a book show. His style and content seemed interesting, and his humbleness impressed ... and he reminded me a bit of my dad. Most of his books I have in physical format. Of the 60 plus books I have bought, around 15 are ebooks and some of those novellas or short stories.

Like many fans, his No. 1 Ladies Detective novels are my favorite. After reading a few, I convinced my mum to try them, and she has been lapping them up ever since. In fact, she is way ahead of me, as I have only read about a half dozen in that series.

Of course, it was easy early on, I just lent her my physical copies. Now years later, I only buy ebooks generally. My mum has an iPad, which she does use to read sometimes. She is also 83 years old, and an eye operation a couple of years ago, went wrong, with a claimed Eye Stroke, which means she has lost something like 95% vision in that eye, so basically useless. So if she can't get Large Print books, she needs to use a large font with her iPad.

I very much enjoy sharing the books with her, one of the few things we read in common.

I have been buying ebooks in that series, since number 16, which I got at a fair price. Number 17 however, has never been at a fair price and I have been watching it for a few years now. During that time, I have bought number 18 and number 19 and others of his ebooks at fairish prices.

Starting at number 11, here are their current prices for me. $USD.
11. $8.49
12. $9.20
13. Not Available to me currently.
14. $8.56
15. $8.77
16. $8.77
17. $11.95 ($16.85 AUD)
18. $8.61
19. $10.74

All the earlier ebooks in the series, are around $9.20, except for first which is $8.49.

Now I know it is only just over 1 USD compared to what I paid for number 19, but there is a principle and a fear at stake going on. In fact, you could say I bought number 19 at that price due to the fear of its cost rising. However, it did fall around my $10 USD limit. And if not for my mum, I would have waited.

When you look at these novels, none are very long, so a small word count compared to the majority I buy. Word count and file size between 16, 17, 18 and 19 is not that different, so why is number 17 so much more in price?

Is it due to some kind of experiment (ties into one of my fears) or did the book make a loss somewhere down the line (publishing or editing error etc of physical version)?

I could just spend what amounts to about $3 USD ($4.18 AUD) more than I want to, and make my mum happy, but I am holding out because I don't want to encourage the publisher to start charging this sort of price for all.

This is a sort of mildish difference in price. The next ebook is vastly different.

EDIT
I added number 17 to my Wishlist on the 1st May 2016. At that time, it was $13.11 USD. Since that time, it has gone both up and down in price, highest was $13.78 and lowest is current price of $11.95. It has been at the price since 29th December 2018. Most of the time since adding to my list, it has been around the $12.40 mark.

03-29-2019, 09:58 AM	#111
Timboli Sharpest Tool On Shelf Posts: 661 Karma: 2587836 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Downunda Device: Kindles, Kobo & Samsung Tablet	As mentioned earlier, here is an example of odd pricing going on. Alexander McCall Smith is one of my favored authors, though not in my Top 100. I have been buying his books for many years, ever since I saw an interview with him on a book show. His style and content seemed interesting, and his humbleness impressed ... and he reminded me a bit of my dad. Most of his books I have in physical format. Of the 60 plus books I have bought, around 15 are ebooks and some of those novellas or short stories. Like many fans, his No. 1 Ladies Detective novels are my favorite. After reading a few, I convinced my mum to try them, and she has been lapping them up ever since. In fact, she is way ahead of me, as I have only read about a half dozen in that series. Of course, it was easy early on, I just lent her my physical copies. Now years later, I only buy ebooks generally. My mum has an iPad, which she does use to read sometimes. She is also 83 years old, and an eye operation a couple of years ago, went wrong, with a claimed Eye Stroke, which means she has lost something like 95% vision in that eye, so basically useless. So if she can't get Large Print books, she needs to use a large font with her iPad. I very much enjoy sharing the books with her, one of the few things we read in common. I have been buying ebooks in that series, since number 16, which I got at a fair price. Number 17 however, has never been at a fair price and I have been watching it for a few years now. During that time, I have bought number 18 and number 19 and others of his ebooks at fairish prices. Starting at number 11, here are their current prices for me. $USD. 11. $8.49 12. $9.20 13. Not Available to me currently. 14. $8.56 15. $8.77 16. $8.77 17. $11.95 ($16.85 AUD) 18. $8.61 19. $10.74 All the earlier ebooks in the series, are around $9.20, except for first which is $8.49. Now I know it is only just over 1 USD compared to what I paid for number 19, but there is a principle and a fear at stake going on. In fact, you could say I bought number 19 at that price due to the fear of its cost rising. However, it did fall around my $10 USD limit. And if not for my mum, I would have waited. When you look at these novels, none are very long, so a small word count compared to the majority I buy. Word count and file size between 16, 17, 18 and 19 is not that different, so why is number 17 so much more in price? Is it due to some kind of experiment (ties into one of my fears) or did the book make a loss somewhere down the line (publishing or editing error etc of physical version)? I could just spend what amounts to about $3 USD ($4.18 AUD) more than I want to, and make my mum happy, but I am holding out because I don't want to encourage the publisher to start charging this sort of price for all. This is a sort of mildish difference in price. The next ebook is vastly different. EDIT I added number 17 to my Wishlist on the 1st May 2016. At that time, it was $13.11 USD. Since that time, it has gone both up and down in price, highest was $13.78 and lowest is current price of $11.95. It has been at the price since 29th December 2018. Most of the time since adding to my list, it has been around the $12.40 mark. Last edited by Timboli; 03-29-2019 at 10:29 AM.