Quote:
Originally Posted by barryem
Whether you think it's reasonable to compare prices of ebooks and paper books or not, I'm sure you're aware that many people do make this comparison. That's what this discussion and a LOT of earlier discussions are about. People think that way even if you think that's not reasonable.
On Amazon's page for a book someone is looking at if people see the price of the ebook is higher than the price of the paper book, and Amazon, who is supposed to know how their customers think and feel, has the paper book cheaper than the ebook, that's bad marketing. That's what I'm saying. It's dumb.
Again, I realize that in a capitalist society cost doesn't necessarily dictate price. But when a customer does something like this they're giving their customers a bad feeling about them. They aren't generating trust.
I realize that in most cases this is the publishers doing. Amazon doesn't set the prices. But it's happening and it's very foolish marketing.
I'm not saying it's dishonest. I'm saying it gives the impression of dishonesty and that's nearly as bad. I'm not saying publishers don't have the right to do this. They do. But they're hurting themselves when they do it.
Barry
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I agree 100%. Yes, there are people who have a strong preference for one format or another, but there are also plenty of people who will read either format happily...I'm one of them. I think this is especially apparent with backlist books. If I discover a series or author that I want to catch up with, the ebook and new book are not only in competition with each other, but they're also competing with used copies both local and online. Why the heck would I spend $8.99 for a 15-20 year old book when I can probably get a used copy for two bucks? But at two bucks (or more likely $1.99) I'll make an impulse purchase for an ebook by an author I enjoy.
Take Watership Down - published in 1972, the Kindle version is $13.99. But I could walk into any used bookstore and probably find a half dozen copies for cheap. It might even be in the quarter bin. It would take a REALLY strong preference for ebooks to make me ignore the difference in price.
Barry is right - it's not immoral or anything, they can price the books they own for whatever they want. But it's really stupid marketing.