Quote:
Originally Posted by daffy4u
Maybe someone posted this already in the thread. Please forgive me if I'm repeating.
I've noticed that Amazon is trying to compensate for the delays by deeply discounting the price if you purchase a delayed book as a pre-order. I paid $7.20 for Under the Dome as a pre-order and I see Impact is now $8.87 and will probably drop lower as the King book did. This may work for me as Amazon will automatically drop the price if they go lower. |
Yeah, I'll use this quote to start off a major question to everyone discussing in this thread....
Why are you all ignoring what the publishers, news outlets, big box stores, and just about everyone
else on earth already knows about this issue? The eBooks are being delayed because Amazon is selling them for $9.99 and to compete, Wal-mart is marking down the
hardcover to the same prices, and Target is doing the same to compete with Wal-mart.
That's the reason, there's nothing more to it. The rest is simple economics and the impact it will eventually have on which books are sold, and how much money retailers will be willing to pay for them over time. Publishers/distributors are slaves to the retailers and have very little actual influence on what they can do other than to delay releases or vary their wholesale prices.
So basically, pubs/distros are afraid the price war will kill their artificially inflated hardcover prices, especially on blockbuster books, and consequently deflate their only effective source for profit generation for most books releases. As has been clearly stated by representatives of publishers, the concern is that over time, this deep discounting process will lead retailers to pressure distributors for lower prices as well, and up the chain it goes, slicing off profit margins for everyone. All it takes is one major publisher to succumb to the pressure and then they all have to just to appease the retailers who now have a rock under their lever.
Of course, Amazon's deeply discounting the pre-order price is clearly an action in response to the publishers. It's a straight up battle for pricing and profits in the publishing business, and frankly I think it's fun to watch.
I hope that clears it up for you. And to all you indignant complainers: the ones who somehow think publishing, writing, retail, authors, and everyone else involve are somehow interested in your personal feelings about what is fair and right are absurd. They only care if they make money. If they make less money by making these changes, they will stop doing it. So quit acting like a bunch of self-righteous babies and simply don't buy from the publishers that do things you don't like. However, since publishers make so much more money off of inflated hardcovers than they do on any other format, I doubt they'll notice your impact for quite a while. And when every publisher makes this practice normal, I'm sure you'll all get over your pride, or maybe stop reading? That is the overarching trend these days anyway...
Afterall, in the end, what difference could it possibly make that you end up waiting for the eBook? Just because someone can do something doesn't make it the best decision. Just because there isn't a technical limitation for releasing eBooks on day one doesn't mean it makes sense to the business. And besides, delays happen often regardless of format simply to better position the sale against competition and retail hot periods (like holidays). Are you going to get your panties in a twist when you learn that the James Patterson novel you've been pining over for 3 whole weeks since you finished the last one won't come out for an extra 2 months, even though it was finished before the last novel was released, just because the latest Dan Brown novel barely came out? I mean, there's no technical reason they couldn't release it in that scenario, right?
Don't forget that at the end of the day, every single publisher, and nearly every popular writer are in it for the payday, and that is what motivates these actions, not some bizarre ethereal unwritten code of consumer-pleasing ethics.
As for me? I've never once in my whole life been remotely interested in buying a hard cover. I've also never cared that I had to wait for the paperback. It's not like the story will get less interesting or I have too little to do, or there aren't enough other books to read in the meantime. Also, I haven't bought a "new" eBook since I began reading electronic texts, and so personally I've got no real concerns here, especially if the results are ultimately that I pay less for eBooks. As it is, all too often eBooks are priced well above paperbacks even for books that have been out for years. Some reality checking is sorely needed in this industry.
But that said, if you really just need a place to point your fingers, then look no further than our dear friend: Amazon.com.