Charlie Stross: Publishers "Cutting their own throats"

[teh603]

Originally Posted by jersysman

True monopolies very rarely result in long-term price dropping.

Depends upon the market. In electronics and gadgets, sure. In public utilities, state- monitored monopolies have proven themselves to be better than de-regulated utilities.

Its just once the deregulation foot gets in the door, every time you try to get rid of it people start screaming "ZOMG SOVIET RUSSIA!!!1!"

[jersysman]

State-monitored utilities usually have some type of price controls. Plus you have the hand of big brother hovering over you. I wouldn't really call those true monopolies.

[taustin]

Originally Posted by jersysman

State-monitored utilities usually have some type of price controls. Plus you have the hand of big brother hovering over you. I wouldn't really call those true monopolies.

In most cases, they are the truest form of monopoly - the kind sanctioned explicity by law. But they are also, as you note, regulated monopolies. Far different from what, say, for instance, to pick an example completely at random, Amazon, would like to create.

[TechnoCat]

DRM isn't the big problem; their pricing is. Take Bunnicula. Right now it's $5.99 with free (Prime) 2nd Day shipping for the paperback. The electronic book, which does not incur printing, shipping to Amazon, shipping to me or unsold stock destruction costs, is also $5.99. That grates on me. If it was $4, I'd buy it. But at the same price? There are other ways and other books.

[whitearrow]

I don't mind when ebooks are the same as the lowest-priced print book. What drives me mildly insane is when there is a paperback for $7.99 and the ebook is still $11.99, and there are plenty of those.

[TheLongshot]

Originally Posted by TechnoCat

DRM isn't the big problem; their pricing is. Take Bunnicula. Right now it's $5.99 with free (Prime) 2nd Day shipping for the paperback. The electronic book, which does not incur printing, shipping to Amazon, shipping to me or unsold stock destruction costs, is also $5.99. That grates on me. If it was $4, I'd buy it. But at the same price? There are other ways and other books.

Problem with this is that, as far as I know, the production cost between an e-book and a dead tree books is pretty similar. That may be because the publishing world isn't optimised for producing e-books, but that's the way things are.

Personally, I don't have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with is when e-books are priced higher than dead trees, or when they are priced at the same price as hardbacks.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Their biggest problem is that the longer they wait to change their ways, the harder it'll be to adopt the most effective solution: disintermediate Amazon themselves. In other words: get into ebook retailing themselves.
Harlequin does it to good effect. If Amazon ever got too pushy, Harlequin has enough brand identity that they could easily do without Amazon and survive. For *them* cutting Amazon out of the loop is always an option and Amazon knows it.

Who wants to look at 2878 different publishers websites for their reading material?

As it is now ebook retailing is too fragmented especially for epub.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by TheLongshot

After doing a lot of thinking about it, I don't know I agree with Stross that DRM hurts publishers, rather than help retailers like Amazon. I don't think it helps publishers any, since those who are break DRM are going to. We all know how ineffective it is for those with the knowhow.

There is an interesting article linked in the comments that claim that the biggest beneficiary of the Agency model was Barnes & Noble, who didn't have to worry about going on a price war with e-books with Amazon, since the publishers set the price.

Ditto, I know it has worked that way for me. I still get recomendations from
Amazon, but I end up buying from B&N (rather than support the perpetrators
of "Topaz"). I, myself, don't see the Amazon ebook "Ecosystem" as of any
value to non-kindle readers.

Luck;
Ken

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by TheLongshot

Problem with this is that, as far as I know, the production cost between an e-book and a dead tree books is pretty similar. That may be because the publishing world isn't optimised for producing e-books, but that's the way things are.

Personally, I don't have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with is when e-books are priced higher than dead trees, or when they are priced at the same price as hardbacks.

It should cost less to produce an eBook then a pBook. After all, once the eBook is made, nobody bothers to proof it like they do with the pBook. So all that cost of proofing pBooks is a savings when making eBooks.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It should cost less to produce an eBook then a pBook. After all, once the eBook is made, nobody bothers to proof it like they do with the pBook. So all that cost of proofing pBooks is a savings when making eBooks.

It certainly costs less to keep an ebook "in print" and available for sale
worldwide with no shipping costs.

I find it odd that these publishers are accepting so poorly written manuscripts, that a
very expensive "proofing" and or editing process would be required, on a routine basis.
It should be little more than a computer scan, of the files that the author provides, by
a sophisticated AI based program. If the program finds too many problems the files
should go back to the author, the way edits always have.

Luck;
Ken

[Quexos]

Doesn't Amazon also have DRM implemented on their books ? If they do as I think they do, then what is the difference between Amazon and the big 6 as far as the consumers go ?

[carld]

Originally Posted by TechnoCat

DRM isn't the big problem; their pricing is. Take Bunnicula. Right now it's $5.99 with free (Prime) 2nd Day shipping for the paperback. The electronic book, which does not incur printing, shipping to Amazon, shipping to me or unsold stock destruction costs, is also $5.99. That grates on me. If it was $4, I'd buy it. But at the same price? There are other ways and other books.

At least it isn't $14.99. I've seen that sort of situation or worse more times than I like to think about. Others disagree, but I also think agency pricing will eventually be the pot that cooks the publisher's golden goose (or however that metaphor goes).

[carld]

Originally Posted by TheLongshot

Problem with this is that, as far as I know, the production cost between an e-book and a dead tree books is pretty similar. That may be because the publishing world isn't optimised for producing e-books, but that's the way things are.

That's what the publisher's claim, but I don't believe it for a second. Rupert Murdoch verified this when he said in an interview about agency pricing "We’re not against electronic books, on the contrary, we like them very much, lower costs to us..."

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Who wants to look at 2878 different publishers websites for their reading material?

Harlequin survived on subscriptions long before most publishers even considered selling direct to readers. They still sell them; they may be the only publisher with ebook subscriptions & bundles. Their site is designed to be welcoming to readers, not just an advertisement for stuff to buy elsewhere--they have serial updates and bonus materials.

Standard subscription, with 2 free books at signup:
4 eBooks a month for $15.30/month
6 eBooks a month for $20.25/month

Can't get the subscriptions through Amazon; the books are $4 or $5 each there. Harlequin's subscriptions are *exactly* what most ebook people want--only, they want them in their chosen genres, not pop romance.

Not every publisher can follow Harlequin's model, but Harlequin could indeed leave Amazon, take a likely-temporary cut in profits, and just increase their branding efforts to draw customers to their own site instead. Any sharply defined genre publisher with a known demographic of readers could successfully drop Amazon and cater to its core readers instead of competing with the swarm at a larger store.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by TheLongshot

Problem with this is that, as far as I know, the production cost between an e-book and a dead tree books is pretty similar. That may be because the publishing world isn't optimised for producing e-books, but that's the way things are.

Which type of DTB are you considering when you say that: HC, PB or MMPB? Then there is the thing that has been repeated before: close to no distribution costs, close to no storage costs, no problem with returns.