Quote:
Originally Posted by Harmon
If the publishers would release the hardback and an ebook version at the same time, at the same price, there would be little basis for complaint. Oh, some people would moan that the ebook should be cheaper because there aren't any printing costs, but in the general sense, it would be fair enough to issue pversion (ahem!) and eversion at the same time & price.
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I'd be one of those people moaning that ebooks should be cheaper than pbooks (I would go back to the music CD analogy). However, let's assume that the publisher was in fact paid the same amount for ebooks as they were for pbooks. Then surely they would offer both versions at the same time, right? Well, in fact,
Amazon is paying them the same amount for the pbook as the ebook.
Amazon is the one selling the two versions at a different price, and only Amazon is being affected by the different sales prices. The publishers and authors are paid the same amount regardless of the version sold. It is only Amazon that makes a different profit on each type of book.
Why should the publishers dictate to Amazon the price at which Amazon sells the ebooks? Amazon is trying to establish an ebook industry, and if Amazon is willing to sell books for a lower profit margin (or even a loss) then why should the publisher be able to dictate to Amazon that they can't do this? The publishers are afraid of what is going to happen in the future, but I don't think sabotaging the burgeoning ebook industry is going to be as helpful as they seem to think.