HarperCollins Flubs It

rhadin · 01-26-2009, 03:28 PM

Well we had last summer's thread on Tor and ebooks and now HarperCollins flubs it.

I have been reading the fantasy books by Fiona McIntosh. I finished 2 of her series and now wanted to buy the first book in her new series. So I went to the HarperCollins website where I had bought her other ebooks.

Here's how it goes: First, because I couldn't find her new book at their SciFi site, I went to the main HC website and searched on her name. No problem, the book comes up as shown in this link for Royal Exile. But take a look at the web page. It clearly states that the book costs $7.99 and is available as either an ebook or a paperback.

Now click the ebook format you want and the Buy Now button. It takes you to a sister site for HC but not to the book in question. However, now if you search for Fiona McIntosh, the book does come up (it didn't a few days ago) but look at the pricing (click here) -- The list price is now $14.99 and the discount price is $11.99.

I wrote HC originally trying to locate the book and they provided the link. When I saw the price differential, I wrote as follows:

Quote:

Thank you for your response. However, I do not understand the pricing. Why would I pay $14.99 (list price)/$11.99 (discount price) for a DRMed ebook that I can buy the print version from you for $7.99 list price (see here: http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9...e/index.aspx)?

More importantly, your website at the link above indicates the ebook list price is $7.99. There seems to be a pricing problem.

HC promptly replied as follows:

Quote:

We will pass on your concerns about pricing. Customer feedback is always valuable to us.
Thank you,
The HarperCollins Ebooks team

I responded as follows:

Quote:

Please let me know if the book will be made available as an ebook for the $7.99 + the 20% discount. If it is, then I'll buy the book; if it is not, then I will not buy it because it makes no sense to lease a book for more than I can buy it for and I am no longer buying print books of this type of book.

Now I sit and wait for a response. Will it come? Will HC offer the book at the advertised price of $7.99. Only the Shadow knows for sure, but I'll bet not.

cobalt8 · 01-26-2009, 03:45 PM

It's absolutely insane that they would charge almost twice as much for an ebook as they do for the paperback version. One would think that there is a lot more overhead costs tied up in the paperback version in the form of raw materials, production, short-term storage, transportation, etc.

AnemicOak · 01-26-2009, 06:39 PM

They did this recently on a number of titles (the 7.99 pbook vs 14,99 ebook) I was interested in. I emailed them asking about it, but never got a reply.

FizzyWater · 01-26-2009, 10:11 PM

They've actually been "flubbing" it for the last few months...

S.Canton · 01-26-2009, 11:01 PM

I always find this laughable, since the inverse should be true; ebooks should cost at least slightly less.

Robotech_Master · 01-27-2009, 10:11 AM

They want to make sure that the e-book doesn't cannibalize print book sales, because print books have to be taken back and pulped or resold to discounters if they don't sell.

Sweetpea · 01-27-2009, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robotech_Master

They want to make sure that the e-book doesn't cannibalize print book sales, because print books have to be taken back and pulped or resold to discounters if they don't sell.

And the solution to that would be so easy! Promote the ebook readers and make sure the mass of your sales go to ebooks. Which means less pbooks in storage, less pbooks to be taken back and pulped or sold to discounters and less trees to be cut down to create those books!

It's a win-win situatlion...

lilac_jive · 01-27-2009, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robotech_Master

They want to make sure that the e-book doesn't cannibalize print book sales, because print books have to be taken back and pulped or resold to discounters if they don't sell.

You usually don't see mass market paperbacks go to discounters, and those are the ones we are having a problem with. They get their covers stripped off and thrown in the trash by the booksellers.

rhadin · 01-27-2009, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robotech_Master

They want to make sure that the e-book doesn't cannibalize print book sales, because print books have to be taken back and pulped or resold to discounters if they don't sell.

In my case it won't cannibalize print book sales -- it will mean no sale at all.

More importantly, get the pricing right. $7.99 on one website and $14.99 on a sister site is ludicrous.

Dave Berk · 01-28-2009, 10:07 AM

They aren't the only one doing this. Penguin is doing the same thing with The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
MM Paperbook price is $7.99.
Ebook price $17.47 (after a $7.48 BoB discount).

AnemicOak · 01-28-2009, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Berk

They aren't the only one doing this. Penguin is doing the same thing with The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
MM Paperbook price is $7.99.
Ebook price $17.47 (after a $7.48 BoB discount).

Name of the Wind is a weird one. It was available for a short time as an ebook when the HC came out them pulled. Now it's apparently available again, but with a price based on the HC still. Penguin a lot of times will "forget" to lower an ebooks list price when the MMPB comes out, sometimes it takes them a year or more to adjust the price.

hybernation · 02-10-2009, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Berk

They aren't the only one doing this. Penguin is doing the same thing with The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
MM Paperbook price is $7.99.
Ebook price $17.47 (after a $7.48 BoB discount).

Some similar madness is going on at S&S. I bought this ebook a year ago from them for $2.26, and now it's $9.99.

http://books.simonandschuster.com/Wo.../9780743419642

It's a 20+ year old book that is apparently OUT OF PRINT and they have just now decided they want $9.99 for DRM'ed LIT!

...from my receipt email in Jan 2008:

Product Line 12 : Wounded Sky
Product ID: 3540103
Item Price: $2.26
QTY Ordered: 1
Shipping Method: Digital Library

I emailed them to ask what was going on (nicely), but I'm sure they will not respond.

It's almost as if these big publishers are so scared of eBooks they are intentionally torpedoing any chance of wide adoption with ridiculous pricing (as if the DRM situation wasn't bad enough).

I wish I had bought all 100+ of the Star Trek TOS books a year ago when they were from $2.26 to $5.99 each. Many of them are now $9.99.

bwaldron · 02-10-2009, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hybernation

It's almost as if these big publishers are so scared of eBooks they are intentionally torpedoing any chance of wide adoption with ridiculous pricing (as it the DRM situation wasn't bad enough).

Yeah, sometimes it does seem that way, doesn't it?

lilac_jive · 02-10-2009, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hybernation

Some similar madness is going on at S&S. I bought this ebook a year ago from them for $2.26, and now it's $9.99.

http://books.simonandschuster.com/Wo.../9780743419642

It's a 20+ year old book that is apparently OUT OF PRINT and they have just now decided they want $9.99 for DRM'ed LIT!

...from my receipt email in Jan 2008:

Product Line 12 : Wounded Sky
Product ID: 3540103
Item Price: $2.26
QTY Ordered: 1
Shipping Method: Digital Library

I emailed them to ask what was going on (nicely), but I'm sure they will not respond.

It's almost as if these big publishers are so scared of eBooks they are intentionally torpedoing any chance of wide adoption with ridiculous pricing (as it the DRM situation wasn't bad enough).

I wish I had bought all 100+ of the Star Trek TOS books a year ago when they were from $2.26 to $5.99 each. Many of them are now $9.99.

S&S and Penguin seem to be the biggest perpetrators of this.

europas_ice · 02-10-2009, 10:13 PM

This pricing thing sometimes happens on the Sony Bookstore too. There were a couple specific books I wanted. Kindle version and paperback version were paperback cheap. Sony version was $20+. I emailed them about it and they said they talked to the publisher and they dropped the price on one of the books to $12. Still not the $7 of the paperback. I didn't buy it.

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01-26-2009, 03:45 PM	#2
cobalt8 Enthusiast Posts: 34 Karma: 12 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Stuttgart, Germany/Wilmington, NC Device: Kindle 2, iPhone	It's absolutely insane that they would charge almost twice as much for an ebook as they do for the paperback version. One would think that there is a lot more overhead costs tied up in the paperback version in the form of raw materials, production, short-term storage, transportation, etc.

01-26-2009, 06:39 PM	#3
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	They did this recently on a number of titles (the 7.99 pbook vs 14,99 ebook) I was interested in. I emailed them asking about it, but never got a reply.

01-26-2009, 10:11 PM	#4
FizzyWater You kids get off my lawn! Posts: 4,220 Karma: 73492664 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Columbus, Ohio Device: Oasis 2 and Libra H2O and half a dozen older models I can't let go of	They've actually been "flubbing" it for the last few months...

01-26-2009, 11:01 PM	#5
S.Canton Groupie Posts: 174 Karma: 12 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Kindle 2	I always find this laughable, since the inverse should be true; ebooks should cost at least slightly less.

01-27-2009, 10:11 AM	#6
Robotech_Master Fanatic Posts: 514 Karma: 2954711 Join Date: May 2006	They want to make sure that the e-book doesn't cannibalize print book sales, because print books have to be taken back and pulped or resold to discounters if they don't sell.

01-28-2009, 10:07 AM	#10
Dave Berk Fanatic Posts: 574 Karma: 138556 Join Date: May 2006 Device: PRS505	They aren't the only one doing this. Penguin is doing the same thing with The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. MM Paperbook price is $7.99. Ebook price $17.47 (after a $7.48 BoB discount).

02-10-2009, 10:13 PM	#15
europas_ice Groupie Posts: 190 Karma: 220 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Moscow, ID Device: iPhone 11 (Kindle app & iBooks)	This pricing thing sometimes happens on the Sony Bookstore too. There were a couple specific books I wanted. Kindle version and paperback version were paperback cheap. Sony version was $20+. I emailed them about it and they said they talked to the publisher and they dropped the price on one of the books to $12. Still not the $7 of the paperback. I didn't buy it.

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