Your Current Book Buying Habits - Return to Agency Pricing

[darryl]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You've given the reason for it yourself: John Sandford's recent book. The ebook price will fall when the paperback is released, which (in the UK at least) is scheduled for 7th May. Check the eBook price after that and see what it costs then.

This is, of course, the point. When I say "recent", the book was in fact originally published almost a year ago (8 May 2014)! The next book in the series is due for release on 28 April. I understand and respect that you have a different view, and that we will probably never see eye to eye on this. However, I see this as attempted price gouging, plain and simple. The effect of agency pricing, both in theory and in practice, is to eliminate competition at a retail level. I regard myself as fortunate as the current market provides me with so many alternatives, unlike the market when I was growing up. If enough people feel similarly, this practice of so-called "windowing" (in this case for almost a year so far) will suffer or perhaps even be eliminated. If not, then I can and will choose not to buy the book concerned.

As I have disclosed in past posts, I am far from unbiased when it comes to large publishers. I feel Australians including myself have been treated very badly by the large publishers in the past, admittedly aided and abetted by our Governments. I admit to having little sympathy for their current plight, and in fact take some satisfaction from it.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by darryl

This is, of course, the point. When I say "recent", the book was in fact originally published almost a year ago (8 May 2014)!

... which is why the paperback is being released on 7th May 2015: one year after the release of the hardback. This is entirely normal, and has nothing to do with being in Australia or anywhere else. It's the same for everyone. The simple answer is to wait for the paperback release before buying the ebook.

Publishers produce expensive hardbacks (and ebooks) precisely because there are people who are willing to pay more to read the book early. If you're not one of them, simply wait. Why does it matter if you read the book now or next year?

Nobody is being "ripped off"; it's a sound business model that works for everyone.

[darryl]

Originally Posted by HarryT

... which is why the paperback is being released on 7th May 2015: one year after the release of the hardback. This is entirely normal, and has nothing to do with being in Australia or anywhere else. It's the same for everyone. The simple answer is to wait for the paperback release before buying the ebook.

My opinion on large publishers treatment of Australians was in the context of disclosing and explaining my attitude towards them. I did not intend to imply that the practice of windowing is limited to Australians.

Originally Posted by HarryT

Publishers produce expensive hardbacks (and ebooks) precisely because there are people who are willing to pay more to read the book early. If you're not one of them, simply wait. Why does it matter if you read the book now or next year?

Nobody is being "ripped off"; it's a sound business model that works for everyone.

I respectfully disagree. It is an attempt to retain at least this particular aspect of a now obsolete business model which worked, not for everyone, but for the publishers concerned. I expect and hope that it will eventually perish in competition with publishers who do not resort to this practice.

[Atunah]

Let me start by saying that I reside in the US as that does matter. I grew up in Germany though so I know about that side, but not with ebooks. I came to the US before ebooks.

I also think it depends on genre. In the genres I like to read, the majority of books don't come out on hardcover, but straight to paperback or at the most to trade paperback, the larger soft ones.

The majority of what I read is published by publishers, from Harpercollins to Random House to Kensington. I do read some self published, but there isn't as much new coming out in the genres I like to read, other than backlist titles which I can often get for free or cheap.

The most I paid for a ebook is 9.99 and I usually don't pay more now then 7.99. As that is the paperback price, even with agency it would still be 7.99. But overall I paid under $5 for all my publisher books in the last 2 years or so. They have plenty of sales, and some of the publisher even have new releases for 2.99-4.99. Montlake, Randomhouse, HQN, etc, they all have lines that are new at that price. So it gets harder to pay 7.99 for a new one.

Even Harper Collins has had pretty much everything on up to 4.99 for some time now, new and older. I do notice that those prices have gone up a bit. But a preorder for a new release in October is 6.99 listed. The paperback is 7.99.
I go and check the library first, put myself on wait list if needed, I check Scribd and I sign up for ereaderiq or the books to come down.

I am currently waiting on a urban fantasy. A series I would always read right away. But this time the book is not in the library yet, its still 7.99, down from 9.18 and I'll wait until it gets to 5.99.

I read a lot and I have a limited budget. So I have to make my money stretch. Indies mostly don't write what I like to read, so its not really an option. Often publisher published books cost the same than self published in my favorite genres anyway.

And the older I get, the easier it gets to be patient.
Its not like I don't already own a pile of kindle books yet to be read. Not that this keeps me from buying more.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by darryl

I respectfully disagree. It is an attempt to retain at least this particular aspect of a now obsolete business model which worked, not for everyone, but for the publishers concerned. I expect and hope that it will eventually perish in competition with publishers who do not resort to this practice.

It's not obsolete if it's still in use

Also the same business model is used for many items, DVD, BluRay, CD, Electronics. When the item first comes out it costs more, then, over time, the price decreases. Why would publishers drop a business model that not only works, but is generally understood by (most) consumers to be a perfectly valid model.

[Synamon]

I'm like you darryl, I rarely buy anything priced over $5 (including audiobooks) and mostly spend around $2 per book. This is easy to do because I don't mind waiting for sales and I have access to an excellent public library with thousands of ebooks and audiobooks.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm completely price agnostic. I don't decide what books to buy based on their price. Books are sufficiently low-priced that it's irrelevant to me. I certainly see nothing "ridiculous" about book prices: I'm paying a heck of a lot less for ebooks now than I was for paper books 15 years ago. The typical price I pay on Amazon for an ebook is £4-5, which for something which provides several hours of high-quality entertainment seems good value for money.

Same here (though I tend to pay in dollars not pounds. )

[darryl]

Originally Posted by MikeB1972

It's not obsolete if it's still in use

Also the same business model is used for many items, DVD, BluRay, CD, Electronics. When the item first comes out it costs more, then, over time, the price decreases. Why would publishers drop a business model that not only works, but is generally understood by (most) consumers to be a perfectly valid model.

Haven't you heard of the walking dead?

Actually, I think there are a number of differences with Windowing in Publishing. The main purpose seems to be to protect sales of very expensive hardcover print books. The period of windowing seems to be longer in many cases, and Agency Pricing means no competition at the retail level for the particular title.

I don't believe that windowing to protect hard cover sales or in fact other print sales can last, given that an increasing number of publishers will likely not be producing print books (except perhaps for some print on demand jobs). Books from the large publishers are increasingly competing for sales with these books, and cannot do so effectively at prices set relative to hard cover prices. The practice of charging a little more for a new release will likely remain with us. Just not, IMHO, the extended and excessive version designed to preserve sales of priint books.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by cromag

It's worth noting that we have an excellent county library system with a very nice branch in my town. I have no problems at all with reading "hard copy."

BCCLS? I remember that, it was the one truly nice thing about New Jersey!
A truly fabulous library system.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by MikeB1972

It's not obsolete if it's still in use

Also the same business model is used for many items, DVD, BluRay, CD, Electronics. When the item first comes out it costs more, then, over time, the price decreases. Why would publishers drop a business model that not only works, but is generally understood by (most) consumers to be a perfectly valid model.

Up until recently (they have switched to a Loyalty signup ), the Local Fry's Electronics would discount new DVD/BluRay the first day of release, then go to their Normal (not always 'List') price.

I have not figured the pattern for when the price starts falling. Sales really tanked?

[DiapDealer]

I don't ever remember liking a book more (or less for that matter) because of the price I got it for.

[crossi]

I have a bunch of already purchased books, not freebies real purchases, that will keep me occupied for months. I have about 1000 read books in my library and I reread my favorites often. So I'm not in any special hurry to buy more. If I see a book I want in my "Buy Now' price range, about $5, I'll buy it and put it in my TBR pile. Prices higher than that go on my wish list and ereaderIQ. I'll get around to them if the price drops if I haven't lost interest by then. I've dropped a few used to be must buy authors for that reason. They were getting stale anyway so I don't miss them. For some reason since I got my ereader I just don't feel any urgency to buy any particular book right now. You used to have to get them in the month or so they were on the shelf, now you can wait and buy them whenever.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by darryl

Many of us seem to be in that fortunate position where buying a book or two, even at relatively high prices, is not a big deal. For me, and for some but not all others, it appears that the question is more about the value that we get for our money. By way of example, the Kindle edition of John Sandford's recent book, Field of Prey, is available for Australian $18 (actually $17.99) from Amazon Australia, a price which was of course set by the Publisher. At current exchange rates this amounts to $13.65 US Dollars. Can I afford to pay this. Fortunately, yes. Is it good value? Is it a fair and reasonable price for an ebook in todays market? In my opinion, the price is about double what it should be. If I bought at this price I would feel that I was being well and truly ripped-off.

Sandford's Field of Prey is $29.99 in NZ at Kobo and discountable. Using the current 90% off promo code, you can pick it up for $3.00.

[cromag]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

BCCLS? I remember that, ...

Close. I'm in Somerset county.

Originally Posted by eschwartz

it was the one truly nice thing about New Jersey!
...

Of course, if you'd met me there'd be two!

[jhowell]

In most cases, possession of a physical book comes with presumption of ownership, even without a receipt to back it up. Ownership of a license to read an e-book is an ephemeral record in the database of a e-book store, subject to loss due to the store's actions. Also, the ability to transfer the license (including by inheritance) is generally not allowed. So owning a license to read an e-book has little value for me.

Because of this, I try to avoid buying e-books when possible, but without resorting to the dishonesty of piracy. Public libraries and paid lending services are my preferred means to obtain books to read. I would rather pay for such a service than buy individual books.

I will buy when there is a book I want to read immediately and it is not available to be borrowed. I purchase when I am ready to read, not ahead of time. Many books that I could have bought when they first came out became available to be borrowed or dropped substantially in price before I would have had a chance to read them if I had bought them immediately.

The cases of buying are rare for me so when they occur the price of the book isn't much of a factor. I prefer to spend under $10, but will go as high at $17.