Paper book vs ebook price

[allp]

Hello,

Was recently looking for a book via inkmesh.com, found it was on sale at Amazon and Kobo (plus others), went to Amazon and discovered the Kindle version was at $15, the new paper book at $18, and used paper books started at $2.

I feel the delta between Kindle and new paper is just too small, they must save a fortune in printing, shipping, storing etc so the ebook should be cheaper, say around $10.

Is this common? What are people's thoughts on the subject?

[Quexos]

Use the darknet until they stop trying to rip you off and make decent pricing. Use it or be used by them, your choice.

Originally Posted by allp

Hello,

Was recently looking for a book via inkmesh.com, found it was on sale at Amazon and Kobo (plus others), went to Amazon and discovered the Kindle version was at $15, the new paper book at $18, and used paper books started at $2.

I feel the delta between Kindle and new paper is just too small, they must save a fortune in printing, shipping, storing etc so the ebook should be cheaper, say around $10.

Is this common? What are people's thoughts on the subject?

[JeremyR]

I know. Since Agency pricing started, I've found myself buying far more physical books than e-books. My Kindle is now used for oldies/freebies.

[taustin]

Originally Posted by allp

Hello,

Was recently looking for a book via inkmesh.com, found it was on sale at Amazon and Kobo (plus others), went to Amazon and discovered the Kindle version was at $15, the new paper book at $18, and used paper books started at $2.

I feel the delta between Kindle and new paper is just too small, they must save a fortune in printing, shipping, storing etc so the ebook should be cheaper, say around $10.

Is this common? What are people's thoughts on the subject?

According to authors and industry types I've seen talk about the business of publishing, the cost of putting ink on paper and getting it in to the store is about 10% of the retail price. So, really, no, they don't actually save all that much on ebooks.

Most of what a publisher should be doing has little to do with the final format. They should be editing - not copyediting, which is to say, spell checking, but actual editing, helping the writer put together a coherent story, and tell it in a compelling way, and marketing, both of which require a lot of time and expertise. (Mind you, I agree that most publishers do a crappy job at most of this these days, but they do an equally crappy job on the paper versions, so this isn't an ebook/pbook issue.)

Charlie Stross (who is an award winning SF author) estimated that his publisher put about as many-hours in to publishing his book as he did writing it - not counting printing costs.

The Agency pricing model is an attempt to retain a now outdated business model, where hard covers cost quite a bit more to make, and justify a significatly higher retail price, in an industry where profits are a percentage. In other words, if you make a 5% profit on any type of book, you make more profit on a more expensive book, and hard covers are more expensive. If ebooks are priced like paperbacks from Day One, it really, really seriously impacts the publishers profits (and not just from the lower retail price - it also reduces the number of hard cover sales by competing with themselves). There is a legitimate concern there, even if Agency pricing is a very stupid solution.

I suspect, in the long run, when paper books are a specialty market, and nearly all books are about as ebooks, the pricing will be fairly static, but will be around, or just above, what paperbacks cost today. That, or the industry will collapse, as an industry, and everyone will self publish through places like Amazon, and quality will get even worse than it is today.

[HomeInMyShoes]

So far this year I've bought 9 p-books and 12 e-books. It's starting to shift more to paper again as the deals are better on paper for some titles.

Originally Posted by taustin

According to authors and industry types I've seen talk about the business of publishing, the cost of putting ink on paper and getting it in to the store is about 10% of the retail price. So, really, no, they don't actually save all that much on ebooks.

I have a hard time believing that when one talks warehouse space versus server space. The incremental costs of adding another book to their list in e-format versus paper format isn't even comparable.

I do realize that books are relatively cheap to produce, but not so much to store and ship. I think all we are seeing is basic supply and demand. Demand for e-books has gone way up so the sellers are trying to reap more profits from them, trying to find that price level where they can maximize returns.

[Catlady]

I am beginning to think that when a new book is published simultaneously in hardcover and e-book format, the e-book should be priced higher than it is now--approximately equal to the discounted hardcover price, which is probably around $15 most of the time.

But then when the mass-market paperback comes out, the e-book price should drop to maybe a dollar below the paperback price. As it is now, at least for the books I buy, I am getting a great bargain on new books, and overpaying for older books.

[apbschmitz]

Originally Posted by taustin

According to authors and industry types I've seen talk about the business of publishing, the cost of putting ink on paper and getting it in to the store is about 10% of the retail price. So, really, no, they don't actually save all that much on ebooks.

Lord knows I'm no accountant, but I wonder about this. There's the cost of printing and shipping, warehousing, shipping to distributors who then ship to stores, receiving returns of unsold books, pulping, all the related accounting and other steps I'm probably not imagining. Seems like more than $2.50 or whatever per unit.

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by apbschmitz

Lord knows I'm no accountant, but I wonder about this.

So do lots of people. When the industry is blatantly ripping off their customers, they'll come up with all sorts of excuses to justify it.

[HarryT]

If you feel you're being "blatantly ripped off", the logical course of action would be not to buy the product concerned. There are many people, though, who don't share your viewpoint.

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by HarryT

If you feel you're being "blatantly ripped off", the logical course of action would be not to buy the product concerned.

And the industry wonders why "piracy" is so prevalent .

[Pinecone]

Originally Posted by apbschmitz

Lord knows I'm no accountant, but I wonder about this. There's the cost of printing and shipping, warehousing, shipping to distributors who then ship to stores, receiving returns of unsold books, pulping, all the related accounting and other steps I'm probably not imagining. Seems like more than $2.50 or whatever per unit.

Printing in quantity is not that expensive.

Shipping is bulk and even mail has a reduced price book rate.

For paperbacks, returns are the covers only, not the entire book. Which tells you how much the actual book is worth to the publisher.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

And the industry wonders why "piracy" is so prevalent .

You've lost me there. What does piracy have to do with it?

Personally, I'm fine with eBook prices. I typically buy 2-3 eBooks a week; they are generally around the £5 price mark. A typical paperback costs £8 in the UK, so even with the fact that the £5 eBook includes 20% VAT, and the paperback doesn't, I'm still only paying around 60% of the paperback price.

[Lazybones]

As the price of e-books goes up, I've been trying more independent authors at the $1-2 price point. And there's a lot of older content that is discounted much more than the current bestsellers. There are few authors that I'll pay $15+ for.

[Giggleton]

Pricing is irrelevant.

Perhaps the question should be why is the ebook available from different servers for different prices? It is the same file, just stored in different locations. Amazon and others are service providers for sure, and perhaps you feel a premium should be paid for decent service and you might be right.

But what about those who know what they want and simply want the book?

[Pinecone]

Because, as will all things (except Agency priced books) the seller sets the price based on what they need to make over their cost.

And yes, part of that ist eh amount of infrastructure they have to support.