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Originally Posted by pwalker8
Another aspect to consider is prices of books that are out of print and not available as an eBook.
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These types of books are, of course, scarce, and the price set by the market.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pwalker8
Overall, the publishers have done a reasonable job of establishing price points to maximize their profit, using a pricing model that has been successful for a long time. They have really done a better job than the music industry or movie industry, in that regard.
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I once thought that the Big 5 strategy on e-book prices was ridiculous. This was based on what seems to be my assumption that those only willing to buy at lower price points would lose interest in the book and not buy it later at a lower price. However, consider the results of this poll:
Mobileread Poll on E=Book pricing
Flawed as the questions were, 56% of people would be prepared to buy the e-book later at a lower price. Combined with those who would pay the full e-book price, buy the print book etc. the assumption is hard to justify. In fact, it appears that the traditional publishers lose very few sales with their initial high e-book prices. In this case their pricing is totally understandable and rational.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Apache
A friend in the text book publishing business told me that they used to pay professors if they required students to buy their books. And that professors also change books every couple of years to prevent the students from using used text books.
Apache
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I can vouch for your comments, at least as of about 15 years ago, with the exception of paying academics. This is a practice I never encountered, though Publishers were always generous, liberally providing "desk copies" of books and establishing and maintaining amiable relationships.