Quote:
Originally Posted by Boston
If the publishers are making as much on e-books as p-books (with the sellers taking the loss on e-books), why the delays in releasing e-book version for many recent bestsellers?
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1) Although the article has some minor errors, there is a lot of expectation (which predated this article) that Amazon and other retailers will try to force publishers to reduce the wholesale prices on ebooks. In which case, in theory the publishers will end up making less money. (The precise effects are actually unknown, as people may use the savings to buy more books -- but could also spend that money on other items, or just not spend it.)
2) Publishers do not want the perception of the price of a book to permanently decline. They want to preserve the value of what they offer.
3) Margins in the book industry are pretty thin. (The analysts' figures are most likely off, as it's pretty well understood that most books don't break even, let alone turn a profit.) Naturally, the publishers are concerned about the potential threats of a disruptive technology like ebooks, just as they were concerned about print on demand, online book sales, various consolidations (including B&N's attempt to merge with Ingram), audio books, paperbacks etc.