Quote:
Originally Posted by Daithi
Rhadin,
If I go to Amazon's site, and view the books section (not the Kindle section), I see that in the first 3 pages or so of newly released books that the price for hardbacks is between $13 and $16. Even at my local Barnes & Noble, Borders, Target, and Walmart, I rarely see books at the $26 range that publishers often indicate they receive. Whenever I actually buy a fiction hardback it is almost always between this $13 to $16 price point (usually at Walmart or the grocery store). The only time I've paid in the $26 range is for non-fiction.
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I understand what you are saying but you are asking the wrong question. Your question is whether Amazon is losing money. To that the answer is yes.
If your question is are the publishers losing money, the answer is no. The publisher receives its 50% of the retail price regardless of what price Amazon sells the book at. When Amazon sells a $26 list price hardcover book for $13, it is breaking even if the discount is 50% and making a few dollars if the discount is 60% (i.e., publisher receives 40% of list price).
If the publisher is charging Amazon $15 for the ebook and taking a 50% discount, then Amazon would be making money on the ebook at $10. But the publishers claim and no one has proven otherwise (and the analysts agree) that the ebook price is the same as the hardcover price. Consequently, it is a loss leader for Amazon.