Agency pricing (almost) 1 year on...how many e-books have you NOT bought? - Page 7

DiapDealer · 03-02-2011, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

Suckup!

What can I say? Causes are for young people... I just want to read books - and I can't think of anything else I'd rather overspend on.

Marseille · 03-02-2011, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

What can I say? Causes are for young people... I just want to read books - and I can't think of anything else I'd rather overspend on.

Being broke is also for young people

Sadly, I'm not getting any younger, but I'm not getting any less broke yet either.

kennyc · 03-02-2011, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

What can I say? Causes are for young people... I just want to read books - and I can't think of anything else I'd rather overspend on.

I know....I just overspent on a Motorola Xoom yesterday myself....

DiapDealer · 03-02-2011, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Marseilles

Sadly, I'm not getting any younger, but I'm not getting any less broke yet either.

I feel for you there. But surely, frugality in all aspects of your life is a necessity in that case? Not just ebook purchases. I was under the impression that this thread was about sending the Big 5 a message by not purchasing their ebooks. I'm saying that if I have the money to spend, I'm giving it to the Big 5 -- if they happen to be publishing the ebook I want to read.

JimKal · 03-02-2011, 08:39 AM

There are relatively few books that I haven't bought because of agency pricing model. I will not buy an e-book that is priced above the paperback price. Since starting to read e-books, I have found that I prefer them to both paperback and hardback books. This was unexpected as I have always loved books. I tended to buy more hardbacks or trade paperbacks because of my aging eyes - they were easier to read. I still buy the occasional hardback or trade paperback when they are not available in ebook form or if it is something I want to keep on the shelf. I also continue to give them as gifts.

I've seen a lot of discussion on this forum regarding the relative costs of e-book production. While I'm am not an expert, I do believe the production costs have to be lower than both paper based products - no paper, very low distribution cost, no excess inventory, real estate, and printing presses.

Recently the NY Times has included e-book sales along with the other best seller categories. Publishers take note. There is gold to be made in the e-book market!

Marseille · 03-02-2011, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I feel for you there. But surely, frugality in all aspects of your life is a necessity in that case? Not just ebook purchases. I was under the impression that this thread was about sending the Big 5 a message by not purchasing their ebooks. I'm saying that if I have the money to spend, I'm giving it to the Big 5 -- if they happen to be publishing the ebook I want to read.

TBH, I'd probably still be frugal if I was rich -- it's pretty ingrained in me (and while I appreciate your sympathy, I was more making a joke than trying to elicit the poor-mes. Maybe I should have gone with the winking smilie instead

). And my dramatic reduction in purchases year-over-year (see the post before yours) isn't about sending a message, just about meeting my reading needs with the resources I'm willing to direct that way. In that respect, we're the same. I may be off topic, but in fact I haven't bought a lot of books because of the pricing that has resulted from the switchover.

There's no law, for example, that publishers cannot discount their set prices from time to time just because they control prices instead of retailers. In theory, you could have just as many deals in an agency pricing world as not and I would be just as happy either way. In the end, I just flat can't get nearly as many now-agency books per dollar as I could before and that leads me to direct money and attention elsewhere so I can continue my reading habit apace.

astra · 03-03-2011, 11:22 AM

If I tell the truth you won't believe me. On the other hand I don't want to lie.

starrigger · 03-03-2011, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xenophon

No, Baen Books is not part of Tor. Rumor has it that the founder of Tor was one of the major investors in Baen Books (back when Baen was getting started), but that's as an individual investor rather than corporate ownership. Assuming, that is, that both rumor and my recollection of it are correct.

Further, Baen's system has survived:

The death of the founder and publisher (Jim Baen)
The retirement of Baen's original web and ebook guy: Arnold Bailey of WebScriptions, which is (or was, or... ??) a separate company.
An "on, and off, and on again, and off again, and now in limbo" deal to retail ebook versions of Tor SF novels.
And who (other than insiders) knows what else.

Baen's paper books are distributed by Simon&Schuster. In that sense Baen serves as the SF line for S&S. Nevertheless, Baen is an independent company and is not one of the "Agency N."

Correct on all counts, I believe. Note, however, that Baen's small size is not an insignificant detail. A while back, a senior person at Baen remarked to me, "One tornado in the wrong place in Tennessee, and Webscription would cease to exist." They did not have a secure infrastructure. That may have changed within the last year, since various notes to me about glitches with my own books have involved "recent changes in the servers" and "backups."

Also, while I love 'em as a book customer, they don't exactly set the house afire with their royalty rates to authors. Bottom line, Baen is good, but sometimes folks on MR have a tendency to idealize them beyond a reasonable reality test.

Fbone · 03-03-2011, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duiker

I find myself in a moral quandary. Steven Erikson's final book in a 10 part series has come out today. On the Amazon site it's sells for $11.39 for the paperback or $14.92 for the Kindle or as a third option I can get it FREE from the darknet. I've bought all the books in Erikson's series and while I am happy to pay for the book I absolutely REFUSE to pay more for the ebook. I suppose I could wait for the Kindle price to come down but I can't help feel that I am being punished for being an e-reader owner. The book is 928 pages long. I will not go back to paper books for that reason alone.

Have you looked again today? The US site has the Kindle version for $9.99

tompe · 03-03-2011, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starrigger

Correct on all counts, I believe. Note, however, that Baen's small size is not an insignificant detail. A while back, a senior person at Baen remarked to me, "One tornado in the wrong place in Tennessee, and Webscription would cease to exist." They did not have a secure infrastructure.

Good to get confirmation for my guess and support for my argument.

Janette55 · 03-04-2011, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbcohen

Most are not aware of what agency pricing are and very willing to pay any price for anything at all. I have a rather dim view of human nature.

Well, I guess I would fit that dim view, because I didn't know about the agency pricing until recently.

Even without my knowledge, I have bought less books due to the higher prices.
I will admit that I will continue buying books from series that I read, but any other books I will no longer buy.

On two other forums that I visit on a semi-regular basis (both dealing with books), this is the first time I have read of it.

I don't approve of it and will not support it willingly.

seagull · 03-04-2011, 04:19 PM

Decided to buy some Stephen King books for my Kindle but now I've just written a letter to Hodder & Stoughton:

The Stand - £7.99 on Kindle - Paperback £5.11
The Shining - £6.99 on Kindle - Paperback £4.49
Salem's Lot - £7.99 on Kindle - Paperback £5.57

Here's some more I've found

I, Claudius - £7.99 on Kindle - Paperback £6.19
Claudius the God - £8.99 on Kindle - Paperback £6.49
Watership Down - £5.49 on Kindle - Paperback £5.30

I'll have to think hard about whether or not to buy them as though eBooks should be less expensive they also have benefits that I may be willing to pay for. But certainly the odds of the publisher losing the sale if the eBook is more expensive than the paperback are high.

kennyc · 03-04-2011, 04:20 PM

I see what they did there!

MV64 · 03-05-2011, 10:06 AM

It seems like they fixed some of their pricing as it's not as outrageous as it was to start, but the books are still largely too expensive, and I have no purchased a single e-book since last year.

I wonder if that's part of the strategy with pricing, because I've seen it happen with gas prices, too. Jack them up really high, everyone gets upset, then lower it to where it's still higher than it was, but people feel better because it's lower than the ridiculous price increase.

Janette55 · 03-06-2011, 02:12 PM

I know that I am behind in this, hadn't paid a lot of attention when it started as I didn't have an ereader. Remember posters on Amazon talking about it, but since it wasn't the Kindle forum it wasn't mentioned a lot.

Anyhow, it makes me wonder if they have been stuck with a lot of DTB (MPB andHB) and so have raised the prices for the ebooks in hopes to get people to buy others. Which is working, doing a search on Amazon I have read where several switched to DTB; this is clearing out the warehouses I am sure.
I have seen at some book stores, mainly at Wal-Mart, where the worker is tearing off the covers of books that are not selling. That is a loss to these publishers. If people won't pay the high price for a ebook, they may feel they will buy the DTB.
Just my theory, conjecture, no proof.

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03-02-2011, 08:39 AM	#95
JimKal Zealot Posts: 122 Karma: 1000 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Jamestown, NC Device: iPad, iMac,iPhone, Kindle Touch	There are relatively few books that I haven't bought because of agency pricing model. I will not buy an e-book that is priced above the paperback price. Since starting to read e-books, I have found that I prefer them to both paperback and hardback books. This was unexpected as I have always loved books. I tended to buy more hardbacks or trade paperbacks because of my aging eyes - they were easier to read. I still buy the occasional hardback or trade paperback when they are not available in ebook form or if it is something I want to keep on the shelf. I also continue to give them as gifts. I've seen a lot of discussion on this forum regarding the relative costs of e-book production. While I'm am not an expert, I do believe the production costs have to be lower than both paper based products - no paper, very low distribution cost, no excess inventory, real estate, and printing presses. Recently the NY Times has included e-book sales along with the other best seller categories. Publishers take note. There is gold to be made in the e-book market!

03-03-2011, 11:22 AM	#97
astra The Introvert Posts: 8,307 Karma: 1000077497 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: United Kingdom Device: Sony Reader PRS-650 & 505 & 500	If I tell the truth you won't believe me. On the other hand I don't want to lie.

03-04-2011, 04:19 PM	#102
seagull Addict Posts: 247 Karma: 89950 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Amazon Kindle 2	Decided to buy some Stephen King books for my Kindle but now I've just written a letter to Hodder & Stoughton: The Stand - £7.99 on Kindle - Paperback £5.11 The Shining - £6.99 on Kindle - Paperback £4.49 Salem's Lot - £7.99 on Kindle - Paperback £5.57 Here's some more I've found I, Claudius - £7.99 on Kindle - Paperback £6.19 Claudius the God - £8.99 on Kindle - Paperback £6.49 Watership Down - £5.49 on Kindle - Paperback £5.30 I'll have to think hard about whether or not to buy them as though eBooks should be less expensive they also have benefits that I may be willing to pay for. But certainly the odds of the publisher losing the sale if the eBook is more expensive than the paperback are high.

03-04-2011, 04:20 PM	#103
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,897 Karma: 119230421 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	I see what they did there!

03-05-2011, 10:06 AM	#104
MV64 Addict Posts: 271 Karma: 2000000 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony PRS-505	It seems like they fixed some of their pricing as it's not as outrageous as it was to start, but the books are still largely too expensive, and I have no purchased a single e-book since last year. I wonder if that's part of the strategy with pricing, because I've seen it happen with gas prices, too. Jack them up really high, everyone gets upset, then lower it to where it's still higher than it was, but people feel better because it's lower than the ridiculous price increase.

03-06-2011, 02:12 PM	#105
Janette55 Connoisseur Posts: 88 Karma: 2056 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Ohio Device: Sony 900	I know that I am behind in this, hadn't paid a lot of attention when it started as I didn't have an ereader. Remember posters on Amazon talking about it, but since it wasn't the Kindle forum it wasn't mentioned a lot. Anyhow, it makes me wonder if they have been stuck with a lot of DTB (MPB andHB) and so have raised the prices for the ebooks in hopes to get people to buy others. Which is working, doing a search on Amazon I have read where several switched to DTB; this is clearing out the warehouses I am sure. I have seen at some book stores, mainly at Wal-Mart, where the worker is tearing off the covers of books that are not selling. That is a loss to these publishers. If people won't pay the high price for a ebook, they may feel they will buy the DTB. Just my theory, conjecture, no proof.