MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - The ebook windowing controversy has subtext

Lemurion · 12-13-2009, 10:57 AM

I read these articles and there's one glaring factor that always seems to be missing: and that's consideration of mass market paperbacks. Applying a delay to ebooks so that they come out between hardcover and paperback won't affect people who are using ebooks to replace paperbacks - though the ebooks may get lost in the shuffle by not being tied to either dead tree release. Applying the delay to ebooks of mass market paperback originals will simply kill sales: why buy an ebook for significantly more than the paperback cost when you may have already bought, read, and traded the paperback in at a used bookstore?

The real killer for ebooks in the long term is going to be pricing and availability. No one can buy an ebook that's not legally available, so any time the ebook isn't available is going to lead to lost sales whether it's through people obtaining the book from the darknet or simply buying a book that is available in place of one that isn't. As for price, in order for ebooks to succeed with all their limitations they can't be more expensive than dead tree - and that's too often the case. I'm not talking suggested retail either - the real price of most new hardcovers is about $18 - not the $25 SRP - because that's what people really pay for them.

Another problem is the value disconnect between publishers and consumers. Most publishers appear to think the value proposition of an ebook is the same as that of a hardcover and this disconnect is going to bite them. Hardcovers are generally perceived as being worth more than paperbacks because of the physical format (easier to read and more durable). Ebooks don't have this advantage; the ebook of a hardcover is no different than the ebook of a paperback.

Hardcovers are collectible reading, paperbacks are disposable reading - and ebooks are much more like paperbacks than hardcovers. People buy hardcovers for more than the content, not so with paperbacks and ebooks. Early release doesn't make up for that, especially when it's delayed in comparison to the hardcover.

None of these schemes are going to succeed in the long run as long as publishers fail to consider what consumers value.

12-13-2009, 10:57 AM	#17
Lemurion eReader Posts: 2,750 Karma: 4968470 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Note 5; PW3; Nook HD+; ChuWi Hi12; iPad	I read these articles and there's one glaring factor that always seems to be missing: and that's consideration of mass market paperbacks. Applying a delay to ebooks so that they come out between hardcover and paperback won't affect people who are using ebooks to replace paperbacks - though the ebooks may get lost in the shuffle by not being tied to either dead tree release. Applying the delay to ebooks of mass market paperback originals will simply kill sales: why buy an ebook for significantly more than the paperback cost when you may have already bought, read, and traded the paperback in at a used bookstore? The real killer for ebooks in the long term is going to be pricing and availability. No one can buy an ebook that's not legally available, so any time the ebook isn't available is going to lead to lost sales whether it's through people obtaining the book from the darknet or simply buying a book that is available in place of one that isn't. As for price, in order for ebooks to succeed with all their limitations they can't be more expensive than dead tree - and that's too often the case. I'm not talking suggested retail either - the real price of most new hardcovers is about $18 - not the $25 SRP - because that's what people really pay for them. Another problem is the value disconnect between publishers and consumers. Most publishers appear to think the value proposition of an ebook is the same as that of a hardcover and this disconnect is going to bite them. Hardcovers are generally perceived as being worth more than paperbacks because of the physical format (easier to read and more durable). Ebooks don't have this advantage; the ebook of a hardcover is no different than the ebook of a paperback. Hardcovers are collectible reading, paperbacks are disposable reading - and ebooks are much more like paperbacks than hardcovers. People buy hardcovers for more than the content, not so with paperbacks and ebooks. Early release doesn't make up for that, especially when it's delayed in comparison to the hardcover. None of these schemes are going to succeed in the long run as long as publishers fail to consider what consumers value.