One of the things I've found telling about this thread (and others before it) is that even here on MobileRead, amongst people who 'get' the whole ebook concept, we can't actually agree on what features we want for the concept to reach critical mass - or rather, perhaps, everybody's ideal feature set is different.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phrodod
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.
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Why? A book is a book; if it's a book I
really want to read, I'll pay the asking price for it. I may have a quick hunt around to see if I can pick it up cheaper elsewhere, but if I want it I'll buy it. If it was available as an ebook, and I didn't want a hard copy for posterity, then I'd happily buy that at the asking price - who wouldn't?
Most of my reading 'for pleasure' is fiction, and I can usually contain myself long enough for the paperback edition of a title to come out; half the price of the hardback,
and it's exactly the same words! Publishers produce hardbacks first, because it's seen as a premium product, that can command a higher price.
Of course, it would be nice if publishers responded to logic and reduced the cost of eBooks to correspond to their reduced production cost - but why would they? Music downloads from iTunes Music Store aren't cheaper than buying a whole CD, are they? Publishers are in business to make profit, and if they can maximise profits for little extra cost, they will.
Here's a thought (unpleasant); what if publishers decided to pitch eBooks as the premium product, published 6 months ahead of hardbacks; what would people be prepared to pay for that? Hardback price? Hardback price plus 25%? Who knows - and I suspect (hope) we'll never get to find out for real.
My two-penneth.
Cheers,
Pete.