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Originally Posted by dugong
I would like to know if anyone has any insight into why some B&N ebook prices do not come down when a book comes out in the paperback edition. They remain at the level set when the hardbound edition was release. This seems to be a frequent case among Sci Fi titles. For example for two books, Weaver by Stephen Baxter and Maelstrom by Taylor Anderson, the paperbacks are in B&N stores for $7.99, but the ebook prices are still $18.99. I've watched the prices on these books for three weeks now.
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Supposedly the problem is that the paperback is published by a different publisher than the hardback.
In the case of Weaver:
Hardback is published by Gollancz, which is owned by Orion
Paperback is published by Ace (part of Penguin group).
Ebook is published by Penguin
Not available for the Kindle at any price.
So the paperback is sold by Ace, who uses the Agency model and sets the price at a particular point.
HOWEVER, it looks like it is available at the Sony store for $6.99. Very confusing. The sony store version WILL WORK on your nook without violating the DMCA.
In the case of Maelstrom by Taylor Anderson
Roc publishes all copies. Roc is once again, Penguin.
Amazon does have this for the kindle, at a greatly reduced cost. Go figure. If I were not a law abiding U.S. citizen, I would buy it from Amazon and then convert it.
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I wrote an email inquiry to Ebooks.com about this and they said they couldn't make changes because the prices are set by the publisher. Could it also be the case that they Ebooks.com does not have a mechanism to flag titles when they come out in paperback to bring it to the attention of the publisher.
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This is likely true. However, the fact that the price is different at every store suggest that the agency model is BROKEN. They must not have a way of informing the bookstores in an automatic way that the price needs to be changed. BLAME THE PUBLISHERS FOR THIS.
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Amazon generally brings down the prices sooner than B&N. Are they taking a loss, or are they negotiating better prices from the publisher?
In cases like this, I won't buy an ebook if there is a cheaper paperback price. If necessary, I will abandon the Nook and buy a Kindle.
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This is the case for Random House and independents. The other big publishers are either forcing Amazon to raise the price, or in the case of Penguin, refusing to allow them to sell many books.
In the end, there are very few books that Amazon has significantly cheaper than everyone else. Maelstrom is an example of this. In other cases, like with Weaver, Amazon doesn't have the book at all.
It's a wild ride for ebooks right now. I thought that agency model pricing would make it more consistent, and more affordable. I was very wrong. They have made a mess out of everything.