I wanna buy all of Steinbeck, but man the prices!

[NightBird]

There is a collection of six of the short novels for $20.99. Still pretty bad but not as bad as the $9.00 each.

The Short Novels of John Steinbeck

Tortilla Flat, The Red Pony, Of Mice and Men, The Moon Is Down, Cannery Row, and The Pearl.

http://www.amazon.com/Short-Novels-J...7872646&sr=1-1

[Daithi]

Actually, that's not too bad, and Tortilla Flat and Cannery Row are about the size of short novels, so I just bought it.

[Daithi]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

Just to be clear, it's the publisher, not Amazon. It's agency pricing, where the publisher sets the price and Amazon is not allowed to discount it. That's how you end up with an ebook costing more than the paperback. Grapes of Wrath, for example: the ebook is $12.99, price set by the publisher. For the paperback, the price set by the publisher is $16.00 but Amazon is offering a 41% discount, so it's $9.46.

eP

In regards to Amazon, I was referring to them not putting some kind of mechanism in place that would allow publishers to bundle several ebooks together as one package. This is something Amazon does have control over.

In the book I just bought, it was an omnibus type book, and not a bundle of books.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I hear ya. I would buy Steinbeck e-books even though I have paper copies, but the prices are way too high. I did buy Winter of Our Discontent , but that's all.

All of Steinbeck's e-books seem to be either £4.49 or £4.99 at Amazon UK. That doesn't seem too unreasonable to me.

[kennyc]

Damn geographic restrictions! Oh...wait....I mean geographic pricing.....

[caleb72]

Prices aren't that hideous in Australia either, but there are still some over the $9 mark which does seem a bit high.

Grapes of Wrath is $7.24 at the moment. I've always wanted to read this, so that price isn't too bad. I've put it on my wish list.

[kennyc]

One of my favorite books of all time!

[CommonReader]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Yep, hard to rationalize that.

Currently my favourite example for pricing stupidity:
Ernest Hemingway: For Whom the Bell Tolls
Kindle: $18.44
Hardcover: $19.80
Paperback: $10.88

Ernest Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises
Kindle: $16.27
Hardcover: $17.16
Paperback: $10.20

I just checked the prices at kobobooks:
For Whom the Bell Tolls: 8.44 €
The Sun Also Rises: 8.56 €

Not exactly cheap but reasonable. Quite unusual to get things cheaper in Germany than in the US. (The German price even includes 19% VAT. Quite unreasonably ebooks are taxed at 19% VAT while paper books are taxed at only 7% VAT.)

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

Just to be clear, it's the publisher, not Amazon. It's agency pricing, where the publisher sets the price and Amazon is not allowed to discount it. That's how you end up with an ebook costing more than the paperback. Grapes of Wrath, for example: the ebook is $12.99, price set by the publisher. For the paperback, the price set by the publisher is $16.00 but Amazon is offering a 41% discount, so it's $9.46.

eP

And it's also John Steinbeck's estate. His son Thomas (if he is the executor) can negotiate higher royalty rates. Publishers would trip over themselves trying to land such a contract.

[elemenoP]

Originally Posted by Fbone

And it's also John Steinbeck's estate. His son Thomas (if he is the executor) can negotiate higher royalty rates. Publishers would trip over themselves trying to land such a contract.

I don't understand what any of that means (and I'm interested). His son can negotiate higher royalty rates than what? How often do they renegotiate the rates? Publishers would trip over themselves to land what contract? Not one with higher royalty rates, certainly? You mean a Steinbeck contract? Penguin has no exclusive?

eP

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

I don't understand what any of that means (and I'm interested). His son can negotiate higher royalty rates than what? How often do they renegotiate the rates? Publishers would trip over themselves to land what contract? Not one with higher royalty rates, certainly? You mean a Steinbeck contract? Penguin has no exclusive?

Part of it confuses me too. Thomas Steinbeck, the eldest son, doesn't have control of the estate. The children of John's third wife, from another marriage, have control. John gave her power of attorney before he died, and she left control to her children, and not any of John's, when she died. So, he couldn't negotiate squat. The Steinbeck kids have been fighting for control for years. In '06, they were awarded the ability to, and attempted to, break all publishing contracts. However, this was overturned because the contracts that were existing at the time, were signed after Elaine Steinbeck (the third wife) got power of attorney.

[Fbone]

Regardless of who has control they can negotiate better terms because the author's work is in demand. They can pitch to any publisher and see who offers the best contract. Do you really think they would settle for 15/25% royalty if another company offers them a better deal?

While I don't know the particulars in Steinbeck's case there has been reports of it happening with other authors.

Hellmark, thanks for the info. However, I did say "if he is the executor." Thomas is involved with The Steinbeck Center and the Steinbeck Family Foundation so I thought he was in his father's estate. And, frankly, Elaine's children made out well in this deal. They receive millions of dollars a year in royalties.

Edit- The final decision regarding the estate wasn't made until June 2011 when the Supreme Court refused to hear the case.

[HappyMartin]

I would pay practically any price for Grapes of Wrath. That book was a very big deal for me.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by HappyMartin

I would pay practically any price for Grapes of Wrath. That book was a very big deal for me.

Boy do I have a deal for you!

[rogue_librarian]

I am seriously considering to get a cheap paperback edition off Amazon and let these guys have a go at it.