CS Monitor: How Should We Price E-Books?

kjk · 08-06-2010, 09:33 AM

http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/Donal...-price-e-books

Quote:

Through keen negotiating, the publishers have thus forced Amazon to (a) pay them less per book and (b) sell fewer of their books. Not something you see everyday.

fjtorres · 08-06-2010, 09:51 AM

Nice quote.
It'll make a great epitaph for the Price-Fix Five.

Yup, they sell less of *their* books...
...and more of everybody else's.

"Keen negotiating" indeed.

Kali Yuga · 08-06-2010, 11:18 AM

Cue outrage at the idea of paying more than $0.99 for a digital good in 3, 2, 1....

And let's face it, the agency model makes more sense in a lot of ways. The outrage is because publishers have the temerity to charge more for a product when demand is high. The bastards!

Otherwise, not seeing anything new at all in the article.

kjk · 08-06-2010, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

Cue outrage at the idea of paying more than $0.99 for a digital good in 3, 2, 1....

And let's face it, the agency model makes more sense in a lot of ways. The outrage is because publishers have the temerity to charge more for a product when demand is high. The bastards!

Otherwise, not seeing anything new at all in the article.

I thought his guesses at how the publishers would address the CT DA's anti-trust inquiry were pretty good.

vaughnmr · 08-06-2010, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

Cue outrage at the idea of paying more than $0.99 for a digital good in 3, 2, 1....

And let's face it, the agency model makes more sense in a lot of ways. The outrage is because publishers have the temerity to charge more for a product when demand is high. The bastards!

Otherwise, not seeing anything new at all in the article.

Err, wouldn't it have been more appropriate to say $9.99? That was the number the agency 5 had a big problem with.

kjk · 08-06-2010, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vaughnmr

Err, wouldn't it have been more appropriate to say $9.99? That was the number the agency 5 had a big problem with.

I think Kali Yuga is referring to the general uproar here about even the 9.99 pricing, before the whole agency thing

Shaggy · 08-06-2010, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vaughnmr

Err, wouldn't it have been more appropriate to say $9.99? That was the number the agency 5 had a big problem with.

Why let accuracy and reason get in the way of a good rant?

J. Strnad · 08-06-2010, 12:04 PM

Great quote!

I'm liking the agency pricing model more and more every day. B&N and Kobobooks both discount my five-buck book 20% and 21%, respectively, putting it below four bucks. The more people the big publishers tick off, the more potential customers I have.

And yet....

I still have 999,950 more sales to be in Stieg Larsson territory, so I doubt that they're too worried.

vaughnmr · 08-06-2010, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. Strnad

Great quote!

I'm liking the agency pricing model more and more every day. B&N and Kobobooks both discount my five-buck book 20% and 21%, respectively, putting it below four bucks. The more people the big publishers tick off, the more potential customers I have.

And yet....

I still have 999,950 more sales to be in Stieg Larsson territory, so I doubt that they're too worried.

Well, you're engaging the readers, and that's great! Your name is definitely getting good play here. How many of the agency 5 have posted here?

I wrote them off entirely, I now buy used books only if I'm interested in something from them. They don't get any of MY money.

Alisa · 08-06-2010, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vaughnmr

Err, wouldn't it have been more appropriate to say $9.99? That was the number the agency 5 had a big problem with.

I still hear plenty of complaining that $9.99 is too high. Many folks out there think an ebook should be no more than a few dollars.

fjtorres · 08-06-2010, 02:20 PM

The best guideline I've seen is that "an ebook should be priced lower than the cheapest print edition available".

How much lower is of course up for debate but it is pretty clear that charging more for ebooks than the treepulp editions is a non-starter. Yet the BPHs persist in trying to perpetuate such schemes, as if we won't notice.
They deserve what they've got coming.

Alisa · 08-06-2010, 02:39 PM

I don't think the BPHs actually want ebooks to be really popular right now. They still have huge print enterprises. I think they want time to figure this stuff out and scale back the print business accordingly. It's a tough transition to make. There are certain costs associated with print that don't go down merely because you're printing fewer copies. They don't want to see the bottom drop out of that market just yet even if ebooks could be a lot more profitable in the end. I think part of the drive to $15 is precisely to make ebooks less attractive.

Amazon did studies to figure out the right price. They know demand for an ebook drops off sharply once you get to $10. The BPHs cannot be ignorant of this. Plus, if they were concerned about the perceived value of their product, wouldn't they want to go after all those shops that price their hardcover books below cost? I think they're hoping some ebook customers will go get that hardback instead since it's about the same price, and that ebook reading, in general, will seem less attractive to people thinking about getting a reader since the big price savings is no longer there.

ficbot · 08-06-2010, 04:06 PM

Of course, by the time THEY are ready, people could have other options. I have a friend who is in the know who says enhanced dvds of 3d movies are going to be the next big thing. And Microsoft is working on a video game system that does not need any controllers except the human body. There's two more entertainment options for people to spend their money on.

As far as books themselves go, there are a number of things going on. Firstly, we have this growing trend of established authors taking their backlists into their own hands. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few more indie publishers wide up and appropriate the Baen model. There'll be a Smashwords success story or two. And those that really must read the new Stephen King or Nora Roberts but can't because the publishers won't sell to them will be too cheesed off to buy the hardback and will seek out alternative sources. By the time Big Publishing wises up, they'll have a ton of customers who either have found other ways to get their stuff, or have found other stuff they'd rather get.

asjogren · 08-06-2010, 04:43 PM

I think eBooks should be LESS than USED paperbacks of the same title.

I can't lend them. I cannot sell them. I can not donate them.

Even a USED paperback has residual value after I have read it.

susan_cassidy · 08-06-2010, 06:37 PM

I'm saving money by NOT having to buy more bookcases!

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08-06-2010, 09:51 AM	#2
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	Nice quote. It'll make a great epitaph for the Price-Fix Five. Yup, they sell less of their books... ...and more of everybody else's. "Keen negotiating" indeed.

08-06-2010, 11:18 AM	#3
Kali Yuga Professional Contrarian Posts: 2,045 Karma: 3289631 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 4 No Touchie	Cue outrage at the idea of paying more than $0.99 for a digital good in 3, 2, 1.... And let's face it, the agency model makes more sense in a lot of ways. The outrage is because publishers have the temerity to charge more for a product when demand is high. The bastards! Otherwise, not seeing anything new at all in the article.

08-06-2010, 12:04 PM	#8
J. Strnad Guru Posts: 915 Karma: 3537194 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo, Kindle 3, Paperwhite	Great quote! I'm liking the agency pricing model more and more every day. B&N and Kobobooks both discount my five-buck book 20% and 21%, respectively, putting it below four bucks. The more people the big publishers tick off, the more potential customers I have. And yet.... I still have 999,950 more sales to be in Stieg Larsson territory, so I doubt that they're too worried.

08-06-2010, 02:20 PM	#11
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	The best guideline I've seen is that "an ebook should be priced lower than the cheapest print edition available". How much lower is of course up for debate but it is pretty clear that charging more for ebooks than the treepulp editions is a non-starter. Yet the BPHs persist in trying to perpetuate such schemes, as if we won't notice. They deserve what they've got coming.

08-06-2010, 02:39 PM	#12
Alisa Gadget Geek Posts: 2,324 Karma: 22221 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Paperwhite, Kindle 3 (retired), Skindle 1.2 (retired)	I don't think the BPHs actually want ebooks to be really popular right now. They still have huge print enterprises. I think they want time to figure this stuff out and scale back the print business accordingly. It's a tough transition to make. There are certain costs associated with print that don't go down merely because you're printing fewer copies. They don't want to see the bottom drop out of that market just yet even if ebooks could be a lot more profitable in the end. I think part of the drive to $15 is precisely to make ebooks less attractive. Amazon did studies to figure out the right price. They know demand for an ebook drops off sharply once you get to $10. The BPHs cannot be ignorant of this. Plus, if they were concerned about the perceived value of their product, wouldn't they want to go after all those shops that price their hardcover books below cost? I think they're hoping some ebook customers will go get that hardback instead since it's about the same price, and that ebook reading, in general, will seem less attractive to people thinking about getting a reader since the big price savings is no longer there.

08-06-2010, 04:06 PM	#13
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	Of course, by the time THEY are ready, people could have other options. I have a friend who is in the know who says enhanced dvds of 3d movies are going to be the next big thing. And Microsoft is working on a video game system that does not need any controllers except the human body. There's two more entertainment options for people to spend their money on. As far as books themselves go, there are a number of things going on. Firstly, we have this growing trend of established authors taking their backlists into their own hands. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few more indie publishers wide up and appropriate the Baen model. There'll be a Smashwords success story or two. And those that really must read the new Stephen King or Nora Roberts but can't because the publishers won't sell to them will be too cheesed off to buy the hardback and will seek out alternative sources. By the time Big Publishing wises up, they'll have a ton of customers who either have found other ways to get their stuff, or have found other stuff they'd rather get.

08-06-2010, 04:43 PM	#14
asjogren Addict Posts: 266 Karma: 1378 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Seattle / San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico Device: Kindle & WiFi Nook & PocketBook IQ	I think eBooks should be LESS than USED paperbacks of the same title. I can't lend them. I cannot sell them. I can not donate them. Even a USED paperback has residual value after I have read it.

08-06-2010, 06:37 PM	#15
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	I'm saving money by NOT having to buy more bookcases!

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