Hi everyone
I am assuming almost everyone agrees that ebooks are (generally) way too expensive: it is common to find ebooks at the same price of the printed edition - some even hard covers! And it is also very frequent finding e-books more (sometimes even much more) expensive than the same paper books. A good example are the prices you can find at Mobipocket's ebooks and Amazon's paper books (as you know, Amazon owns Mobipocket).
Why is this?!
I have a theory: publishing houses are really not interested in the ebook market; in fact, they are afraid of it.
The reason seems quite simple: they fear that once the ebook market "explodes", the piracy will take over and (as happen with the music industry) their profits - and the industry - will free fall. So they prefer not incentivate it.
(I heard recently a well known publishing house defending - off the record - that they believe ebooks and paper books should have the same price. The SAME price!!! The same price with very diferent costs it should have been said!!! And when asked about those diferent cost, that same house said that ebooks will have bonnus features... - please, do not insult readers inteligence! - with or without "bonnus", the costs are not just little but immenselly diferent!
).
I believe they are going the wrong path.
High prices will incentivate piracy - precisely what they want to avoid. It will take much longer that it took in the music industry because ereaders are expensive, a diferent experience not everyone is willing to take and the public is a very diferent one, but it will happen. And then publishnig houses will no longer dictate anything anymore...
I really do hope thinhs change fast: being able to buy any ebbok with a reasonable disconut over the printed edition: the publisher will still be able to take a bigger profit, and literally everyone would benefict.
But quire frequently I believe it won't happen in the next decade or so.
What do you think about this issue?
Regards!
Nelson