"Geographical value" of ebooks

[jmilica]

I have no idea if this particular subject has been discussed before but I am really interested in opinions on Mobileread.
When I first got my first Kindle, I had no idea of geographical restrictions on ebooks and the price differences (not to speak of formats). I understood later on that certain ebook's availability depended on publisher's rights etc, which seemed reasonable to me.
But even after learning a lot on ebook industry - and much on this forum too - for the life of me I cannot understand the ebook geographical price difference. Namely - I tried buying a book on Kobo today - same book (classic fiction, originally published in 19 Century) - same publisher (Penguin) - costs differently in US, UK and India (approx. more than 10 $). Then, in US and India you can easily apply the latest coupon code and get 80 or 75% discount, but in UK shop you can't apply code?
Why is it that a certain publisher sells the same book of the same author in one country in this case for around 3$, while in another country at the same time sells it for more than triple the price?

[HarryT]

Public domain classics are very often mislabelled in bookstores. I suspect you'll find that the expensive version of the book genuinely is the "Penguin Classics" edition with introduction, extensive notes, appendices, etc, whereas the cheaper versions are the "raw" public domain text.

[Billi]

Originally Posted by jmilica

Why is it that a certain publisher sells the same book of the same author in one country in this case for around 3$, while in another country at the same time sells it for more than triple the price?

Because he can do it? Different markets? The very same t-shirt, for example, is also more expensive here in Germany than in India, and I'm afraid the ratio is much worse than 3:1.

[jmilica]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Public domain classics are very often mislabelled in bookstores. I suspect you'll find that the expensive version of the book genuinely is the "Penguin Classics" edition with introduction, extensive notes, appendices, etc, whereas the cheaper versions are the "raw" public domain text.

Harry, I only mentioned the book from 19 century as an example, same happened to me with newly published non public domain books as well.

Originally Posted by Billi

Because he can do it? Different markets? The very same t-shirt, for example, is also more expensive here in Germany than in India, and I'm afraid the ratio is much worse than 3:1.

I was thinking that physical goods are something different and that in ebooks there are no transport costs etc...I mean, you can store your own books in the cloud so I presume Kobo or Amazon do the same or similar thing with "theirs" as well...

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by jmilica

I was thinking that physical goods are something different and that in ebooks there are no transport costs etc...I mean, you can store your own books in the cloud so I presume Kobo or Amazon do the same or similar thing with "theirs" as well...

A lot of publishers are firm believers in pricing books as high as the market will bear but that's not the whole story.

The reason why goods carry different prices in different markets relates to a lot of factors; some are not as obvious as others, like the cost of doing business in the region, which often drives up prices above where a simple currency exchange rate factor would predict.

Consumer purchasing power also factors in. Prices might be lower in countries where consumer income is lower.

Size of the target market matters; most businesses have fixed costs associated with setting up shop in a given country--things like collecting revenue, reporting sales, paying taxes, etc. If the likely audience for the product is low the fixed costs will add more to the price of the product since they can't be spread out over as large a volume.

In the case of ebooks, the same ebookstore might find itself selling the same book published by different publishers in different regions. And since most traditional publishers price their ebooks as a function off their pbook prices, that means that areas that protect pbooks are also impacting ebook pricing.

[jmilica]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

In the case of ebooks, the same ebookstore might find itself selling the same book published by different publishers in different regions. And since most traditional publishers price their ebooks as a function off their pbook prices, that means that areas that protect pbooks are also impacting ebook pricing.

I understand all you said. I just don't understand same store - same publisher - same book - different price in different countries and then couponable in US and India but not in UK. If agency-pricing applies to Penguin books, then why do they allow use of coupon in US and India (internationally), but not in UK?

Also, I am not 100% sure, but I think that Kobo doesn't have any kind of presence in India. I am saying Kobo India because I don't know what kind of prices do other countries where Kobo doesn't have presence have. But bill is in US$, not in Rupees. At the same time, in India pbooks are cheaper than in US or Europe (with usually printed tag "for sale in India only" or "India, Nepal only"), so when you compare the prices of ebooks available to Indian readers in majority of cases it is cheaper to buy pbook than ebook (Google play has some really good prices, but they just started selling in India, so I don't expect it to last).

My only conclusion so far has been that the major consideration in deciding the price of ebook is not the value or rather costs involved but the estimate of how much the customers are willing to pay and the size of the market, i.e. profit.

[medgirl2001]

I don't think this would explain the magnitude of the discrepancy you're talking about, but one difference could be tax. In the UK and European Kindle stores, for example, the VAT is included in the listed purchase price. In the U.S., it is not. For my state, it is added on at the end. (I am not sure if all U.S. states have to pay tax on Kindle books.)

[calvin-c]

Originally Posted by medgirl2001

I don't think this would explain the magnitude of the discrepancy you're talking about, but one difference could be tax. In the UK and European Kindle stores, for example, the VAT is included in the listed purchase price. In the U.S., it is not. For my state, it is added on at the end. (I am not sure if all U.S. states have to pay tax on Kindle books.)

Some do, some don't. And although that will change in detail if the House passes the Marketplace Fairness Act it won't change at the macro level. The current law allows states to charge sales tax if both buyer & seller have a physical 'presence' in the state-even if the sale takes place over the Internet. The new act allows states to charge sales tax regardless of where the seller is located. Note that this doesn't actually change sales tax law-all it changes is the responsibility for sending the tax to the state. Most states that charge sales tax have a 'use tax' requirement that assesses sales tax to out-of-state purchases (where delivery is in-state) but make it the responsibility of the buyer to remit the tax. Voluntarily. Right. The new law makes it the responsibility of the seller to collect & remit the tax. I'm not sure how that'll work out for truly small businesses but it certainly won't affect buyers in those states that don't charge a sales tax anyway.

[calvin-c]

Originally Posted by jmilica

Why is it that a certain publisher sells the same book of the same author in one country in this case for around 3$, while in another country at the same time sells it for more than triple the price?

Is it actually the same publisher? Or is it a foreign subsidiary of the publisher? Many international businesses have separate 'companies' for each country. And keep in mind possible import duties when a truly foreign company sells something in 'your' country. And the final 'rule' is that lacking price controls a company will charge as much as they think buyers are willing to pay-and if buyers in different countries are willing to pay different amounts then the companies will charge different amounts in those countries.

[speakingtohe]

I have heard that there is not a big ebook market in India. Not many books published in the languages commonly used. Not an excuse for price gouging, but with a smaller market, there are less sellers and prices do not have to be so competetive. Backwards thinking, but what can you do except try alternatives.

I think the same holds true for Holland and for some countries like Australia where the paper books are sold at a higher price.

Helen

[jmilica]

Originally Posted by calvin-c

Is it actually the same publisher? Or is it a foreign subsidiary of the publisher? Many international businesses have separate 'companies' for each country. And keep in mind possible import duties when a truly foreign company sells something in 'your' country. And the final 'rule' is that lacking price controls a company will charge as much as they think buyers are willing to pay-and if buyers in different countries are willing to pay different amounts then the companies will charge different amounts in those countries.

It was Penguin Book, Penguin Group, with absolutely same eISBN. But I couldn't tell how do they register the sale, for Indian market Kobo charges in US$.

Originally Posted by calvin-c

And the final 'rule' is that lacking price controls a company will charge as much as they think buyers are willing to pay-and if buyers in different countries are willing to pay different amounts then the companies will charge different amounts in those countries.

Yes, IMHO, it seems to be exactly this, unfortunately.

[jmilica]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

I have heard that there is not a big ebook market in India. Not many books published in the languages commonly used. Not an excuse for price gouging, but with a smaller market, there are less sellers and prices do not have to be so competetive. Backwards thinking, but what can you do except try alternatives.
Helen

I don't know how big ebook market in India is, but Amazon is present (and charges in Rupees if you opt to pay like that), Kobo sells to India (though I don't believe they have presence here) and Google Play recently started selling ebooks for India as well (shows prices in Rupees, but charges in US$).
As for commonly used languages, I would say the most common used language in India is English. And I think that publishing industry's major target here for both pbooks and ebooks are English speaking readers. And, comparing pbook prices in India (by lets say Penguin) and ebook prices, pbooks are cheaper...Except on Google play which seems to be giving initial discount...