Paperback Much Cheaper Than Ebook - Bah!

pdurrant · 11-14-2016, 06:01 AM

For the first time I've come across a book where the ebook is much more expensive than the (new) paperback.

The Girl on the Train

Paperback : £3.85
Kindle ebook: £4.99

Since I'm a prime member it's actually worse than it looks. I can order the paperback with no-rush shipping, and get £1 credit to spend on ebooks. Making the net cost of the paperback £2.85!

Is this a sign of things to come?

HarryT · 11-14-2016, 06:15 AM

A case of the paperback being heavily discounted. RRP is £7.99. Not all that unusual - it's something I've come across a few times. I don't think I've ever seen a case where the non-discounted price of the paperback is lower than that of the ebook.

Cinisajoy · 11-14-2016, 11:21 AM

Paul,
I have seen that many times. It is not uncommon or new.
Amazon can discount the paperbacks. They cannot discount the ebooks.
Paperbacks the publishers get a set price, ebooks the publishers get a percentage.
Hence why price set by seller.

ottdmk · 11-14-2016, 11:42 AM

I'm impressed with the price. Here in Canada, The Girl on the Train is $17.97 for the paperback (which I can only assume is in the Trade Paperback format, not Mass-Market Paperbound). It's an Agency book, so both Kindle and Kobo versions are $9.99.

It's annoying when a p-book gets discounted below the price of the e-book. But I've reached the point that if the e-book is competitive with the normal price of the p-book, I'm ok with it. (Most of the time these days I find the e-book is priced the same or slightly cheaper than the SRP of the MMPB).

JKenP · 11-14-2016, 03:09 PM

Going back in time, Amazon had the 4 for 3 pricing. You could get 4 books for $18-21. That was everyday pricing wo. other discounts.

It isn't hard to find book pricing like described. Publishers get more for a lower production cost item. No wonder piracy is on the increase.

I've kept my paperbacks over time and the boxes abound with $0.35 paperbacks. That's a contrast. Authors can get 30% of the cost. Publishers recover editing easily in paperback sales. You could get remaindered copies for a reduced price. Today ebooks provide a much longer shelf-life/distribution and the prices usually stays the same. That is greed.

GeoffR · 11-14-2016, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The Girl on the Train

Paperback : £3.85
Kindle ebook: £4.99

According to the price history on luzme.com, the ebook version has previously been on sale at £0.99.

nabsltd · 11-14-2016, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I can order the paperback with no-rush shipping, and get £1 credit to spend on ebooks.

Being in the UK, you can do this. In the US, you can get a similar ($1) credit, but you can't really use it on ebooks, because it's only valid on ebooks sold by Amazon Digital Services, LLC, which means nothing from any major publishers (including the book you are talking about).

In the UK, though, that book is sold by Amazon (and not Penguin, like in the US).

frahse · 11-15-2016, 12:24 AM

I still look for books at the Dollar Stores: Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Family Dollar and the Thrift Stores.

I pick up greatly discounted books, sometimes as low as 25 cents, that might have a few passages, ideas or descriptions I can use in my own writing. It is much easier to scan a paper or hard back book to find these items than an electronic copy. I will then either mark the book and keep it for reference or tear out just a few pages and keep them.

The books I don't mutilate, I donate back to the Thrift stores.

Cinisajoy · 11-15-2016, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frahse

I still look for books at the Dollar Stores: Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Family Dollar and the Thrift Stores.

I pick up greatly discounted books, sometimes as low as 25 cents, that might have a few passages, ideas or descriptions I can use in my own writing. It is much easier to scan a paper or hard back book to find these items than an electronic copy. I will then either mark the book and keep it for reference or tear out just a few pages and keep them.

The books I don't mutilate, I donate back to the Thrift stores.

I think I love you.
25 to 50 cents is the norm here for used paperbacks.

cromag · 11-15-2016, 12:55 AM

One local thrift store in my area has used paperbacks for ten cents. Most thrift stores (Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc.) have them for fifty cents to a dollar.

But best sellers that are more than a few months old are pretty easy to find at my local used book store for half the cover price or less -- paperback or hard cover.

pdurrant · 11-15-2016, 03:10 AM

Yes, second-hand paperbacks are widely available at very low cost. But that's not really what this thread is about.

crich70 · 11-15-2016, 03:11 AM

When I was a kid I'd go to garage sales with my mom and there more often than not was a box for books that were either .10 or .25 each. There is a used book store here in town that has some good prices though I haven't bought any for a while. Space isn't expandable.

I buy mostly ebooks now and if they are 100% off or outright free I even save $ which is good when you're on a fixed income.

Purple Lady · 11-15-2016, 01:11 PM

Almost everything I look for has a higher price for the Kindle edition when the mass market paperback is released. Amazon is allowed to discount the paperback but not the ebook. I only buy from the big publishers when it's on sale.

I read something else instead or borrow it from the library. I refuse to pay a lot more for the ebook.

JSWolf · 11-15-2016, 01:45 PM

I borrow a lot from Overdrive. That saves me a lot of money.

graycyn · 11-15-2016, 02:57 PM

I got started scanning books when I discovered that replacing an extremely worn childhood paperback was going to cost upwards of $60 *if* you could find a copy at all.... This title cost me all of 60 cents when I was a kid! Fortunately, it finally was reprinted and also made available as eBook. I didn't complain about the price, LOL!

It's crazy how rare some titles are now! One paperback I'm looking for I can't find any listings for at all ... if I did, I've heard it can cost upwards of $150.

Finding another of my childhood favorites cost me $20 for the paperback. Apparently a bargain at that, the few copies currently listed on Amazon are at $26.95 and upwards. My ebook cost in terms of labor, but I'm happy to have it!

So I rarely complain about ebook prices on current titles. That's what my library is for and if they don't have the ebook, I can read a paper book if I have to.

And there's plenty of public domain reading when money is tight.

Sent from my Pixel C using Tapatalk

11-14-2016, 06:01 AM	#1
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 73,941 Karma: 315160596 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	Paperback Much Cheaper Than Ebook - Bah! For the first time I've come across a book where the ebook is much more expensive than the (new) paperback. The Girl on the Train Paperback : £3.85 Kindle ebook: £4.99 Since I'm a prime member it's actually worse than it looks. I can order the paperback with no-rush shipping, and get £1 credit to spend on ebooks. Making the net cost of the paperback £2.85! Is this a sign of things to come?

11-14-2016, 06:15 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	A case of the paperback being heavily discounted. RRP is £7.99. Not all that unusual - it's something I've come across a few times. I don't think I've ever seen a case where the non-discounted price of the paperback is lower than that of the ebook. Last edited by HarryT; 11-14-2016 at 06:23 AM.

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11-14-2016, 11:21 AM	#3
Cinisajoy Just a Yellow Smiley. Posts: 19,161 Karma: 83862859 Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Texas Device: K4, K5, fire, kobo, galaxy	Paul, I have seen that many times. It is not uncommon or new. Amazon can discount the paperbacks. They cannot discount the ebooks. Paperbacks the publishers get a set price, ebooks the publishers get a percentage. Hence why price set by seller.

11-14-2016, 11:42 AM	#4
ottdmk Wizard Posts: 1,220 Karma: 3804496 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Libra 2, Lenovo Tab M10 FHD Plus, Lenovo Tab M9	I'm impressed with the price. Here in Canada, The Girl on the Train is $17.97 for the paperback (which I can only assume is in the Trade Paperback format, not Mass-Market Paperbound). It's an Agency book, so both Kindle and Kobo versions are $9.99. It's annoying when a p-book gets discounted below the price of the e-book. But I've reached the point that if the e-book is competitive with the normal price of the p-book, I'm ok with it. (Most of the time these days I find the e-book is priced the same or slightly cheaper than the SRP of the MMPB).

11-14-2016, 03:09 PM	#5
JKenP Connoisseur Posts: 91 Karma: 504384 Join Date: May 2011 Location: NW Indiana Device: Sony Kobo iPhone Kindle 8 HD	Going back in time, Amazon had the 4 for 3 pricing. You could get 4 books for $18-21. That was everyday pricing wo. other discounts. It isn't hard to find book pricing like described. Publishers get more for a lower production cost item. No wonder piracy is on the increase. I've kept my paperbacks over time and the boxes abound with $0.35 paperbacks. That's a contrast. Authors can get 30% of the cost. Publishers recover editing easily in paperback sales. You could get remaindered copies for a reduced price. Today ebooks provide a much longer shelf-life/distribution and the prices usually stays the same. That is greed.

11-15-2016, 12:24 AM	#8
frahse occasional author Posts: 2,315 Karma: 2064403292 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Wandering God's glorious hills, valleys and plains. Device: A Franklin BI (before Internet) was the first. I still have it.	I still look for books at the Dollar Stores: Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Family Dollar and the Thrift Stores. I pick up greatly discounted books, sometimes as low as 25 cents, that might have a few passages, ideas or descriptions I can use in my own writing. It is much easier to scan a paper or hard back book to find these items than an electronic copy. I will then either mark the book and keep it for reference or tear out just a few pages and keep them. The books I don't mutilate, I donate back to the Thrift stores.

11-15-2016, 12:55 AM	#10
cromag Surfin the alpha waves ~~ Posts: 26,290 Karma: 459765791 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: New Jersey Device: Jetbook Lite & Mini, Nook STR, Kobo, Hanvon N516, Kindle 2, Androids	One local thrift store in my area has used paperbacks for ten cents. Most thrift stores (Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc.) have them for fifty cents to a dollar. But best sellers that are more than a few months old are pretty easy to find at my local used book store for half the cover price or less -- paperback or hard cover.

11-15-2016, 03:10 AM	#11
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 73,941 Karma: 315160596 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	Yes, second-hand paperbacks are widely available at very low cost. But that's not really what this thread is about.

11-15-2016, 03:11 AM	#12
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	When I was a kid I'd go to garage sales with my mom and there more often than not was a box for books that were either .10 or .25 each. There is a used book store here in town that has some good prices though I haven't bought any for a while. Space isn't expandable. I buy mostly ebooks now and if they are 100% off or outright free I even save $ which is good when you're on a fixed income.

11-15-2016, 01:11 PM	#13
Purple Lady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,698 Karma: 16542228 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Pennsylvania Device: Huawei MediaPad M5, LG V30, Boyue T80S, Nexus 7 LTE, K3 3G, Fire HD8	Almost everything I look for has a higher price for the Kindle edition when the mass market paperback is released. Amazon is allowed to discount the paperback but not the ebook. I only buy from the big publishers when it's on sale. I read something else instead or borrow it from the library. I refuse to pay a lot more for the ebook.

11-15-2016, 01:45 PM	#14
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,750 Karma: 145864619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I borrow a lot from Overdrive. That saves me a lot of money.

11-15-2016, 02:57 PM	#15
graycyn Wizard Posts: 1,591 Karma: 11722446 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: NE Oregon Device: Kobo Sage, Pocketbook Era, Kobo Forma, Kindle Oasis 2	I got started scanning books when I discovered that replacing an extremely worn childhood paperback was going to cost upwards of $60 if you could find a copy at all.... This title cost me all of 60 cents when I was a kid! Fortunately, it finally was reprinted and also made available as eBook. I didn't complain about the price, LOL! It's crazy how rare some titles are now! One paperback I'm looking for I can't find any listings for at all ... if I did, I've heard it can cost upwards of $150. Finding another of my childhood favorites cost me $20 for the paperback. Apparently a bargain at that, the few copies currently listed on Amazon are at $26.95 and upwards. My ebook cost in terms of labor, but I'm happy to have it! So I rarely complain about ebook prices on current titles. That's what my library is for and if they don't have the ebook, I can read a paper book if I have to. And there's plenty of public domain reading when money is tight. Sent from my Pixel C using Tapatalk

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