Masters research: e-book pricing

[lucy.grieve]

Hello! I'm doing my masters dissertation on agency and wholesale pricing of e-books, and I'd really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to respond to my survey on it! I'm based in the UK, so there are a couple of questions with the answers in pounds (£), if you're elsewhere, feel free to answer as if the pound sign were replaced with dollars.

The survey can be found at: http://www.surveytool.com/s/S00607645A

Thanks!

[dickon25]

Done. Good luck with the Masters!

[Lynx-lynx]

Lucy, I wish you well with your dissertation and your Masters Degree.

Please can you update this thread with the results of the survey, once your study requirements permit you to do so. I'm sure that the stats would interest the membership generally on this Forum.

[carpetmojo]

Good luck.
Oh, what's the Masters in, out of interest, business/marketing/statistical studies et al ?.

[Lynx-lynx]

Here's the intro statement (from the link):

Wholesale and Agency Pricing in the E-book Market

This study is being conducted as part of a Masters dissertation in Library and Information Management through Manchester Metropolitan University. I am be studying the differences between the wholesale and agency pricing models on e-books, and the effect that the pricing model has on purchasing decisions of e-book consumers.
Your participation is greatly valued. If at any time you wish to withdraw your participation please contact the researcher who will destroy any data already received from you. All data will be anonymous and will not be used for any purpose other than this dissertation study. Collected data will be stored securely and the final report will not use any identifying information. If you have further questions or concerns please contact the researcher. The researcher for this project is Lucy Grieve and can be contacted at lucy.grieve2@stu.mmu.ac.uk. The supervisor for the project is Sheila French.


E-books are sold under two different pricing models, wholesale and agency. Until 2010, all e-books were sold under the wholesale pricing model. Under the wholesale model, the retailer (such as Amazon or Waterstone’s) sets the price of the e-book to be sold to the reader. However, using the agency model, the publisher sets the price for the e-books, which the retailer must then observe, and cannot change prices at their discretion, such as to offer discounts or raise the price. This survey aims to discover attitudes of readers towards the pricing models.

[CWatkinsNash]

Done.

[SteveEisenberg]

I couldn't get my survey response accepted by the web site because of not answering the question:

Who do you think should be responsible for setting the price on an e-book?

My answer is that it depends. With a living author and a non-self-published book in a relatively free country, I would look at the terms of any contract between the author and the publisher, and of any contract between the publisher and the seller. Also, I think that a certain amount of diversity in how different countries treat books is healthy.

What do you think should determine the price of an e-book?

My answer:

Other (Please Specify)

For the wholesale price, if under copyright by Berne Convention standard, the whim of the rights owner, unless contracted otherwise. Otherwise, the whim of anyone who wants to digitize it (usually means free). For the retail price, I'm not sure, but am OK with one system for Germany and another for the US.

lucy.grieve, I found your survey to be, by US standards, extremely biased against the free market. Then again, the survey's forced answers are also biased against those people -- I call them pirates -- who think the reader should determine the price.

[wannabee]

I'm interested in the results also.

[kennyc]

Done! But it didn't submit at first and had to "resubmit" - then it seemed to work.

The one question I thought was a bit confusing was the "Who should set the price?" -- because it did not specify WHAT/WHICH price - wholesale, retail, distribution?

I assumed you were referring to Retail (to end consumer) price which should be set by the seller/merchandiser. But there is the wholesale price, the distributer price, etc. that to my way of thinking should all be separate from one another. E.G. if the seller wants to sell a book/product at a loss that is their prerogative.

[Rob Lister]

I don't get a warm fuzzy with the bias of the survey. I filled it out kinda like Steve did.

[Ravensknight]

Wouldn't accept all my "other" options with explanations.

If I was paranoid, I'd suspect the author of the survey of some nefariousness, but hey, that is just crazy, right?

[Rob Lister]

Originally Posted by Ravensknight

Wouldn't accept all my "other" options with explanations.

If I was paranoid, I'd suspect the author of the survey of some nefariousness, but hey, that is just crazy, right?

Never attribute to malice that which ... yada.

Discovering bias is also part of the learning process. If, in the mind of the researcher, there are clear delineations and roles of seller and publisher, then the survey is naturally going to reflect that mindset. The responses to it will either prompt a redesign of the survey or a blind eye to the obvious shortcomings. Only then would malice enter the equation.