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lybrary · 11-01-2009, 01:27 PM

Here is a very recent example of a mis-priced ebook we researched. It clearly shows that the problem lies primarily with the publisher.

About 2 weeks ago a customer contacted us regarding an ebook on our website. We had the ebook priced at $110 as had several other ebook retailers. However, the same work was available as printed book from Amazon for $42.95. So we contacted the ebook distributor who in turn contacted the publisher, in this case Wiley. It took a couple of emails until they understood our question. Finally they lowered the price from $110 to $92.95. Well, at least that was a reduction but not quite the reduction I was looking for. After another inquiry why the ebook is still more than twice as expensive as the paper book the anser from Wiley:

"The price for STMS (one of our three Divisions) e-books is pegged with the price of the cloth format, which is $92.95. The customer is looking at the PAPER format, which is priced at $42.95. Remember these are SRP and e-tailers, like Amazon can vary the price a bit."

I was stunned by the response. The only reply I could muster was "the last time I checked ebooks don't come with cloth". Particularly condescending was the last sentence like a retailer could offset a 2.16x higher price. Even if I lower the price to the wholesale price it would be more than the printed book. It clearly shows that most publishers have no clue how to price their ebooks.

Best,
Chris
[Promotional link deleted - MODERATOR]

11-01-2009, 01:27 PM	#37
lybrary Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: none	Here is a very recent example of a mis-priced ebook we researched. It clearly shows that the problem lies primarily with the publisher. About 2 weeks ago a customer contacted us regarding an ebook on our website. We had the ebook priced at $110 as had several other ebook retailers. However, the same work was available as printed book from Amazon for $42.95. So we contacted the ebook distributor who in turn contacted the publisher, in this case Wiley. It took a couple of emails until they understood our question. Finally they lowered the price from $110 to $92.95. Well, at least that was a reduction but not quite the reduction I was looking for. After another inquiry why the ebook is still more than twice as expensive as the paper book the anser from Wiley: "The price for STMS (one of our three Divisions) e-books is pegged with the price of the cloth format, which is $92.95. The customer is looking at the PAPER format, which is priced at $42.95. Remember these are SRP and e-tailers, like Amazon can vary the price a bit." I was stunned by the response. The only reply I could muster was "the last time I checked ebooks don't come with cloth". Particularly condescending was the last sentence like a retailer could offset a 2.16x higher price. Even if I lower the price to the wholesale price it would be more than the printed book. It clearly shows that most publishers have no clue how to price their ebooks. Best, Chris [Promotional link deleted - MODERATOR] Last edited by Dr. Drib; 06-09-2014 at 09:26 AM.