Publishers still missing the point on e-book prices

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by MovieBird

With package forwarding. Technologically adept consumers that purchase many items online can easily bypass any restrictions a company or government imposes. The question is if the increase in revenue will out weight the cost of enforcing it.

5 years ago, I don't think it would. Today, I think there's no question the revenue is greater.

That Oregon based company charges $55 for 6 months or $100/yr plus shipping costs. Unless you spend thousands of dollars a year or purchase small expensive items like jewelry I don't see cost savings.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Electronic goods: proxies. Physical goods: you can pick them up or the company can reship the product to the consumer. Since they are not selling the product, they only have to tax you on the services that they are providing.

Originally Posted by MovieBird

With package forwarding. Technologically adept consumers that purchase many items online can easily bypass any restrictions a company or government imposes. The question is if the increase in revenue will out weight the cost of enforcing it.

The tax on the item I mentioned was approximately $16. After a company like that charges me for its service, how much of that will I have left over? and how much longer will it take for delivery?

[MovieBird]

Originally Posted by Fbone

That Oregon based company charges $55 for 6 months or $100/yr plus shipping costs. Unless you spend thousands of dollars a year or purchase small expensive items like jewelry I don't see cost savings.

The question was not if it makes sense for you, or the average customer. The question was a blanket "how does this work?"

[sabredog]

I use a freight forwarding company regularly. the extra costs are relatively small and I can buy goods from stores that do not post overseas.

I only pay for the revised postage costs to re-direct the item to me.

[spindlegirl]

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/n...oks/51851058/1

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/n...oks/51851058/1

Great post, thanks for the link.

Yesterday I purchased three ebooks from Amazon for the grand total of US$8.70. The latest ebook from a favoured author (who uses an agency 6 publisher) would set me back US$14.99. One of those idie authors ebooks was a sequel to one purchased earlier.

Very happy.

I have only come across one really dud indie publisher and that was from Smashwords.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by sabredog

I use a freight forwarding company regularly. the extra costs are relatively small and I can buy goods from stores that do not post overseas.

I only pay for the revised postage costs to re-direct the item to me.

Sometimes I even use freight forwarding when Amazon could ship directly. Lately Amazon has started withholding import and sales taxes on international shipments (something I never had to pay before). And while their US shipping is very cheap, their international rates are not very competitive. Furthermore, freight forwarders allow me to consolidate packages, even repackage.

[RainingLemur]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/n...oks/51851058/1

Glad he didn't give up! Hope that something like this encourages more self-publishing.

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by sabredog

Great post, thanks for the link.

Yesterday I purchased three ebooks from Amazon for the grand total of US$8.70. The latest ebook from a favoured author (who uses an agency 6 publisher) would set me back US$14.99. One of those idie authors ebooks was a sequel to one purchased earlier.

Very happy.

I have only come across one really dud indie publisher and that was from Smashwords.

Can you tell me why, if everybody is so happy with inexpensive indie published books, these happy people keep moaning about higher priced books. Surely they are irrelevant with the level of happiness gained from the cheaper books and can be comfortably ignored as they are not essential items after all...

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by elcreative

Can you tell me why, if everybody is so happy with inexpensive indie published books, these happy people keep moaning about higher priced books. Surely they are irrelevant with the level of happiness gained from the cheaper books and can be comfortably ignored as they are not essential items after all...

The latest ebook from a favoured author (who uses an agency 6 publisher) would set me back US$14.99.

Glad you think my post was actually so funny you have to wet yourself laughing.

Just because I can buy indie author ebooks for considerably less than an agency author does not mean I do not want a better price for that agency author, particularly as it is the latest book in a series.

Yep, real funny.

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by sabredog

Glad you think my post was actually so funny you have to wet yourself laughing.

Just because I can buy indie author ebooks for considerably less than an agency author does not mean I do not want a better price for that agency author, particularly as it is the latest book in a series.

Yep, real funny.

But you were the one who said you were very happy... whilst complaining... just asked why if you're so happy... oh and have you considered that can be considered as sarcastic...

PS I don't find that laughing affects bladder control so your conclusion as to the effects of humour should be considered erroneous...

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/n...oks/51851058/1

He claims to have sold 800,000 copies this year alone. And yet most books have fewer than 25 reviews.

Is this an indication of impulse buying but not reading?

Goodreads has more (1800 total) but they go back to the time he was traditionally published.

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by elcreative

Can you tell me why, if everybody is so happy with inexpensive indie published books, these happy people keep moaning about higher priced books. Surely they are irrelevant with the level of happiness gained from the cheaper books and can be comfortably ignored as they are not essential items after all...

It was the price of mainstream e-books that had put the idea in my head to search for other resources. I never would have discovered them otherwise. Prices are reasonable, the author gets their cut, and everybody is happy.

I too, would love to see the price of non-public domain favorites go down too, though. It's only logical that an infinitely reproducible file be the cost of such and more customers would be attracted, like they are starting to be with some self-published writers. I too, don't see any point in moaning about it, but it is worth it to acknowledge why people are not buying mainstream published books as much.

Price is a big draw for me. I have to either be able to afford it or access it at the library, and because a book is a recreation for me, if I can't afford it, well, no biggy. Some publishers just don't want regular folk as customers

There are some library reads I wish I could afford, but I cannot, so the library is where I'll get them, if I don't ignore them altogether.

Edited to add, DRM-free is also a big thing for me but that is another issue. I love books that I can load onto Calibre and tweak the formatting to my personal preferences. I have actually *bought* copies of some DRM books that were so poorly made, Why pay so much money for a non-editable file when I can go to project Gutenberg and get a good classic that I can design covers to my hearts content and change some of the .css?

[JoeD]

Originally Posted by elcreative

Can you tell me why, if everybody is so happy with inexpensive indie published books, these happy people keep moaning about higher priced books. Surely they are irrelevant with the level of happiness gained from the cheaper books and can be comfortably ignored as they are not essential items after all...

Maybe because those people like books from authors that are both 99p indies and part of the agency publishers? I'm likewise happy with many of the cheaper purchases I've made but there are still authors I'd like to read that I'm currently passing on because of the agency prices.

Maybe in time, the soft spot I have for some authors who I currently no longer read due to prices will diminish and be replaced by newer authors who's book prices I find more palatable? Maybe it won't, maybe prices will change and it becomes a non issue (indie books increasing or agency books decreasing) Either way, I think you can be happy buying indie books and still be disgruntled about agency pricing, it doesn't need to be one or the other.

[MoodRing]

I agree with Quexos!

They need time to settle down