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I'm a first time poster here. And here's my take on this subject.
In order for e-books to become popular, publishers need to offer SUBSTANTIAL discounts to e-customers. 20-35% off just doesn't cut it. I wouldn't expect to see widespread adoption unless e-book prices were no more than 25-35% of paperback prices.
Right now, the computer reading experience is tiring, so most people won't read at a computer the way they will with a paper book. And electronic ink readers are still EXPENSIVE. If I'm expected to foot the bill for the reader independently of the book, I'd better get a HUGE discount on the book. I can get paper books from the library, and can pick up paperback fiction for under $10 per book new. I can also get them used, and sell them or pass them on when I'm done. Since I can't do any of the above with an e-book, I expect to pay a lot less.
Even if I read 100 books a year, a $300 reader works out to $3/book. I'd have to get a better discount than that to justify my investment. And if most readers are like me, they'll only read twenty or thirty books a year. It generally takes me 1-2 weeks to finish a book. At that price, I'd have to get a rebate on a reader and get the books for free.
With the $60 offer from Sony, I'm going to try out the reader anyway (if they'll ever ship it...), but I'm primarily hoping to use it for those situations where I currently print out a substantial amount of paper documentation. If it saves me a large amount of printing, it will (hopefully) be worth it. I don't expect to use it for most of my pleasure reading, but I might be pleasantly surprised.
It seems to me that the best ways of promoting something like the reader are by hooking commuters who ride buses, subways, etc., and who bring along the current newspaper or magazine. If these were offered in a Reader format, it would be MUCH simpler to page through the newspaper in electronic format than in paper format in this type of environment.
One other thing to note is that with the high price of these devices, people have to be much more careful than with regular books, magazines, or newspapers. You don't want to get them wet or drop them. Where you might read a trashy novel at Starbucks or on the beach, with your Reader, you might be worried about spilling your latte or getting sand or salt water splashed on it.
With all the potential negative issues, the main potential positive issue I can see is price. Publishers using e-media avoid printing, materials, and shipping costs by having the consumer foot this bill. In addition, they don't have to worry about the potential price dilution from ending up in the discount bin. There'd be no reason that books would have to end up there if they were only sold electronically. Finally, there'd be no reason for e-books to go out of print. Once the format is ready, you can keep on selling it as long as people keep buying. For all these reasons, publishers should be eager to make e-books succeed, but to do that, they need to offer customers better incentives. Cheap prices are the key to this.
One possible marketing approach to maximize profits would be to gradually lower the price as the book aged. If you wanted the latest book right away, you'd know that you'd pay more, but if you're willing to wait a bit, you can get a much better price. If you're looking for new authors, and the books are really cheap, you're far more likely to take a chance if the price is minimal.
Phrodod
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