C|Net: Why e-books cost so much

[cHex]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-574...-cost-so-much/

The Big 6 apparently make less money under agency pricing than they do under the old wholesale pricing, but do it as a noble sacrifice to The Industry.

They want us to know that the costs of paper, ink, and printing are only a small part of the total price of the book, so an e-book should only be slightly less than the paper book.

But that paper book I may resell, lend, trade, have the author sign, etc.

The e-book I may read. I can let someone else read it, too, if I let them have my Kindle (e.g. my entire library).

I get fewer rights with the e-book, so I want a bigger discount. Plus, the e-book price (by law, only available "new") competes not only with the new p-book price, but also with prices for used and clearance books.

[SeaKing]

Whenever the claim is for "noble reasons" or "for the greater good" I immediately grab my wallet to keep it safe.

[QuantumIguana]

But in fact, for a brand new bestselling hardcover, all of the costs associated with print, from the printing to the shipping to the distribution to the warehousing to returns, amount to a mere few dollars per copy, depending on the size of the print run.

A few dollars is mere pennies! Granted, were talking hundred of pennies, but pennies is pennies.

If the cost of dealing with the paper is a few dollars, we should expect the e-book to cost a few dollars less than the paper book, not cost the same or even more. "Of course we charge more for the e-book! It only costs a few dollars more for the paper, so we charge you more not to use the paper!"

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

If the cost of dealing with the paper is a few dollars, we should expect the e-book to cost a few dollars less than the paper book, not cost the same or even more. "Of course we charge more for the e-book! It only costs a few dollars more for the paper, so we charge you more not to use the paper!"

Well, whenever I buy an airline ticket, I get charged an extra e-Ticket fee.
Yes, they are charging me more for not having to print and send me an actual ticket. So there is clear precedent

[spindlegirl]

They think if they can keep bsing us about the production costs, when there are zero RE production costs, that eventually we'll believe it....

I can REproduce "Oliver Twist" a hundred thousand times just by emailing it to all my friends and their imaginary friends. How much would it cost me to reproduce a hundred thousand copies of it in trade paper back?

The fact that people can see the difference in personal cost with their own two eyes is why all the nineteen-eighty-fouring attempts are not working with me. War is peace, freedom is slavery, pretty soon people born after 2010 will believe all this, but they're trying to preach to a crowd who have been there.

[Penforhire]

What is dopey about this Cnet argument is, what about paperback prices? I was never a hardcover buyer. I only bought paperback editions. Should I expect e-books to cost me more than paperback prices? No way.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

What is dopey about this Cnet argument is, what about paperback prices? I was never a hardcover buyer. I only bought paperback editions. Should I expect e-books to cost me more than paperback prices? No way.

That's always what I think when I see publisher price breakdowns. What, did Baen go bankrupt 8 years ago and nobody noticed?

The article says: This wasn't a story of money-grubbing publishers trying to stick it to consumers. They actually left money on the table.

Umm... I remember pretty clearly several publisher spokespeople saying "we CAN'T let the public believe ebooks should only cost $10!!!" It wasn't, "we can't make money at lower prices"--after all, they were making money at Amazon's discount rates--it was "we insist that people pay $13 or more for ebooks."

[=X=]

This guy is misinformed. While he might have his facts correct he is omitting the important fact, their intent and the history of how this decision was made to go to an Agency Model.

But here's the irony of the agency model: It wasn't about making more money in the short term, even though e-book prices went up. Publishers raised prices and made less money per e-book copy sold.

The underline is my emphases. He is right in his statement, but he also fails to explain why. Those of us who have been reading eBooks before the Agency model know the answer. It was to prevent eBook sellers from dropping the price of ebooks which would in turn condition the consumer expectation that eBooks should be cheaper than pBooks. At the time the eBooks sales where far smaller than paper books so they where more than willing to take a loss on eBook sales (back then eBooks where 1%-5% of book sales) to set the standard that eBooks should cost as much or more than pBooks. Now that eBooks sales are soaring, consumers are accustomed to the high prices, and DOJ is suing these sellers for price fixing. They are going back to the retail model so they can continue to make their profit. But now they will make much more because production cost for eBooks are next to $0.

=X=

[frogi]

This

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

They think if they can keep bsing us about the production costs, when there are zero RE production costs, that eventually we'll believe it....

Honestly, what is the conversion cost of a book that is already written and proofed digitally into a digital format? What is the server cost of the resulting eBook that likely uses less bandwidth than what is used surfing the book site selecting a title?

[RainingLemur]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

What is dopey about this Cnet argument is, what about paperback prices? I was never a hardcover buyer. I only bought paperback editions. Should I expect e-books to cost me more than paperback prices? No way.

This is something I find odd. I'll be looking for a book and see the paperback is less than the ebook version. I scratch my head at that quite often.

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

This is something I find odd. I'll be looking for a book and see the paperback is less than the ebook version. I scratch my head at that quite often.

Yeah, and even if I were to believe the "ebooks cost 90% as much to produce" per copy what about the printed books I often get NEW for about 5 dollars? When the e-book still stays stubbornly at $10 dollars and is diseased with DRM, guess which I am going to choose?

[Kali Yuga]

Originally Posted by cHex

The Big 6 apparently make less money under agency pricing than they do under the old wholesale pricing, but do it as a noble sacrifice to The Industry.

Yes, this is old news. The publishers took a hit to their revenues in exchange for control over pricing. This was discussed thoroughly when agency pricing first went into effect.

Originally Posted by cHex

They want us to know that the costs of paper, ink, and printing are only a small part of the total price of the book, so an e-book should only be slightly less than the paper book.

Yep.

The industry (both publishers and retailers) has spent years squeezing costs out of the system. The part that's harder to squeeze is human labor: author's advances (which are significantly up over the last ~10 years), editors, marketing, legal and so forth.

Plus, anchoring prices off of paper books won't make sense for long. No one expects MP3 prices to be based off of CD or vinyl prices.

Originally Posted by cHex

But that paper book I may resell, lend, trade, have the author sign, etc.

You also get that digital copy instantly; you don't pay shipping; you don't have to go to the mall to pick it up; many devices have free 3G service; you can get that digital book delivered to multiple devices; your copy can never be lost or spilled on....

Originally Posted by cHex

I get fewer rights with the e-book, so I want a bigger discount.

OK then, pay for instant delivery and give up the right to back up your ebooks, and sync them across multiple devices.

[BeccaPrice]

don't forget, with ebooks, you don't have the cost of returns like you do MMPBs - apparently some really high percentage of MMPBs are bought back from retailers and pulped, which is a huge expense that ebooks just don't have.

[yoho]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

They think if they can keep bsing us about the production costs, when there are zero RE production costs, that eventually we'll believe it....

I can REproduce "Oliver Twist" a hundred thousand times just by emailing it to all my friends and their imaginary friends. How much would it cost me to reproduce a hundred thousand copies of it in trade paper back?

The fact that people can see the difference in personal cost with their own two eyes is why all the nineteen-eighty-fouring attempts are not working with me. War is peace, freedom is slavery, pretty soon people born after 2010 will believe all this, but they're trying to preach to a crowd who have been there.

couldn't agree more. War is peace, freedom is slavery, love is spoilage

[yoho]

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

This is something I find odd. I'll be looking for a book and see the paperback is less than the ebook version. I scratch my head at that quite often.

I think that's because we find those consumer electronics is becoming indispensable in our life. And the shrewd merchants are making the best of that.