Thread: Why are e-books so expensive?
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Old 01-13-2010, 12:02 PM   #7
pdurrant
The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kirbinster View Post
Why are e-books so expensive?
Because publishers are terrified of the possibility that their paper book sales will collapse, without there being sufficient ebook sales to make up the difference.

One other reason is that they're still giving on-line retailers the same sort of discount that they give bookshops for physical books. This is insane.

Eventually, on-line retailers will be taking 15-30% of RRP, instead of the current 50-65%, and publishers will be setting ebook RRPs lower than paper RRPs.

Some publishers & retailers are already working this way - i.e. webscription.net with Baen Books, Night Shade Books, E-Reads and Subterranean Boooks.


However, it's not all doom and gloom. Because online retailers are getting such big margins, they can afford to discount ebooks quite heavily. If you choose your retailer and purchase times well, you should be able to get your average ebook cost well below $4, even with some new releases in the mix.
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