Inkmesh Pricing Question

[SonDan1]

I used my one hour free Nook reading session at B&N checking out a mystery I saw while browsing the shelves today. After my session expired I was hooked and ready to make the purchase, but did not right then and there.

To DL the eBook from B&N was the same cost as the paperback -- $7.99. I felt that price was too high so waited until I got home to check out pricing online using Inkmesh.

Inkmesh showed a cheaper price at Amazon, and yet when I clicked through to the Amazon site both the paperback and the eBook were $7.99 just like at B&N and Borders and Sony and Kobo Stores.

Any clue why Inkmesh had a lower price listed? If I clicked through and made the purchase at Amazon.com would the price and dropped in my cart? Could this have been a one day or two sale and Inkmesh just had not updated their system yet? Anyone have any experience or knowledge in this area?

Thanks for reading.

BTW the book is "Ghost Ship" by PJ Alderman!

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by SonDan1

Any clue why Inkmesh had a lower price listed? If I clicked through and made the purchase at Amazon.com would the price and dropped in my cart? Could this have been a one day or two sale and Inkmesh just had not updated their system yet? Anyone have any experience or knowledge in this area?

I can't remember the last time I got an accurate price from InkMesh, not sure why. It often shows pre agency pricing for books that have been agency priced for quite a while.

BTW the book is "Ghost Ship" by PJ Alderman!

That's an Agency priced book, so the price is going to be the same no matter where you go (at least from the US pub).

[SensualPoet]

Odd ... it's showing $6.39 for me as a Kindle e-book and $6.29 as a Kobo e-book.

But I do see the $7.99 price at B&N as a Nook e-book.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Odd ... it's showing $6.39 for me as a Kindle e-book and $6.29 as a Kobo e-book.

But I do see the $7.99 price at B&N as a Nook e-book.

But you're not subject to Agency pricing in Canada right? (B&N wouldn't matter since it's US only last I checked).

[rogue_librarian]

I've found inkmesh pricing extremely unreliable as well. Depending on your location (I'm in Europe) it's usually a higher price they're asking (in addition to the usual "f*ck off, we're not selling to you" issues). Either way, the Ghost Ship is listed at £4 at whsmith.co.uk which is about $6.5 at current rates.

[SonDan1]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

I can't remember the last time I got an accurate price from InkMesh, not sure why. It often shows pre agency pricing for books that have been agency priced for quite a while.

That's an Agency priced book, so the price is going to be the same no matter where you go (at least from the US pub).

Thank you all for you replies about the known inaccuracies in Inkmesh pricing. I wasn't aware.

Later last night I went to Kobo to make the purchase intending to use a coupon I had only to be thwarted again with the message that "the publisher does not allow promo codes" Argh. Needless to say I just bit the bullet and paid full price.

Is there a thread you can point me too that explains the poiltics of "Agency Pricing" situation. I need to be schooled in this.

Thanks again to all that replied.

[GeoffC]

If you notice any inaccurate pricing then email Inkmesh so they can remedy it - I've done that on a couple of occasions and they've sorted the out any irregularity ....

[Catlady]

What bugs me about Inkmesh is that they seem to neglect to include Barnes & Noble on a lot of titles that are indeed available there.

[NightBird]

Originally Posted by SonDan1

Is there a thread you can point me too that explains the poiltics of "Agency Pricing" situation. I need to be schooled in this.

Thanks again to all that replied.

Macmillan CEO John Sargent on the agency model, availability and price

New John Sargent blog post on e-book pricing

In a nutshell, in the US this includes the 6 major publishers: Random House, Macmillan, Hachette, HarperCollins, Penguin and Simon & Schuster. The publishers set the price at all stores and no coupons, rebates, sales or discounts are allowed on their books. In most cases prices were raised. This started on April 1, 2010 (very appropriate timing), except for Random House, who held back until March of this year. Gradually spreading now to other countries as well. Retailers are still allowed to discount paper books, so many times the paper book will be less than the ebook for the same title.

Well explained by Macmillan CEO in his blogs:

Starting at the end of March, we will move from the “retail model” of selling e-books (publishers sell to retailers, who then sell to readers at a price that the retailer determines) to the “agency model” (publishers set the price, and retailers take a commission on the sale to readers). We will make this change with all our e-book retailers simultaneously.

Will retailers have flexibility to price books at a discount? No, the sale price will be fixed by Macmillan. Retailers will promote and market books, but we will control the price for the book.

[rdfry]

Originally Posted by NightBird

Macmillan CEO John Sargent on the agency model, availability and price

New John Sargent blog post on e-book pricing

In a nutshell, in the US this includes the 6 major publishers: Random House, Macmillan, Hachette, HarperCollins, Penguin and Simon & Schuster. The publishers set the price at all stores and no coupons, rebates, sales or discounts are allowed on their books. In most cases prices were raised. This started on April 1, 2010 (very appropriate timing), except for Random House, who held back until March of this year. Gradually spreading now to other countries as well. Retailers are still allowed to discount paper books, so many times the paper book will be less than the ebook for the same title.

Well explained by Macmillan CEO in his blogs:

Yea he forgot to mention thanks to the deal we made with Apple.

[SonDan1]

Thanks very much for the links. I aslo found this one below just before checking in for replies: it gave me an overview.

http://dmarron.com/2010/08/03/three-...-and-antitrust

[demingite]

I too have found Inkmesh prices to be extremely unreliable lately. I don't know how they get them, but for a book I purchased yesterday, it showed prices ranging from $7.69 to $14.99, but when I clicked through, it was $9.99 in very store I checked.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by Catlady

What bugs me about Inkmesh is that they seem to neglect to include Barnes & Noble on a lot of titles that are indeed available there.

I've noticed this too, but am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt - the B&N search engine is NOTORIOUSLY unreliable. It doesn't even allow you to search by ISBN, which is........ odd for a site that sells largely books. (Unless they've changed that in the last couple of months since I checked.)

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

I've noticed this too, but am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt - the B&N search engine is NOTORIOUSLY unreliable. It doesn't even allow you to search by ISBN, which is........ odd for a site that sells largely books. (Unless they've changed that in the last couple of months since I checked.)

True enough, it could be BN's issue. I've sometimes seen BN's hardcover/paperback listing for a book say the title isn't available for Nook, but if I search within "Nook Books," voila, there it is.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by Catlady

True enough, it could be BN's issue. I've sometimes seen BN's hardcover/paperback listing for a book say the title isn't available for Nook, but if I search within "Nook Books," voila, there it is.

I've seen this too. One suspects they aren't being careful to link the ebook/pbook listings.