Pricing and Policies ... what is fair?

[MGlitch]

Lol economic principles do not rely on politics.

Here’s an example I have a potato you want a potato. I offer to sell it to you for 500 dollars. You can choose to buy it or not. If you don’t buy it and no one buys it it sends a message to me because you have expressed interest in the potato but not for 500 dollars. I then reduce the price to the highest point you will buy the potato for.

This is what happens with most luxury items. What many here want is for me to reduce the price to the lowest they want to pay, let’s say 1 dollar.

Now I have to cut costs the next potato I make will be inferior.


Yes I should use something other than a potato but you can substitute whatever you like for the sake of this example. We’re not dealing with the issues of commodities vs luxury items vs necessities. We’re just looking at the market setting a price for a good.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by Timboli

That is disingenuous and even insulting.

Many are only after a fair price, a cheaper price for ebooks .... and certainly very logical when you look at the facts. That does no harm to the status quo.

There will always be those who want things dirt cheap. I am not arguing in favor of them.

There is no fair in the consideration. There is the price you will pay and the price you won’t.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by Timboli

@leebase - If you want me to keep responding to you, take the blinkers off, and don't suggest overly simplistic views.

And I am forbidden to talk politics, which is inevitably where any economics discussion will lead.

Lets just say you and I have very different views on life, and so I don't have a hope in hell of convincing you of anything, so why bother engaging.

It’s a forum. Engage or don’t as you will. Clearly you do think there is something fair or not. It’s a ridiculous position to take according to me for reasons given.

[leebase]

Here is no such thing as a fair price. Fair to who? Fair on what grounds? Just buy or don’t buy.

Speaking of technical books which normally cost $50 or $60 and which I don’t usually buy due to price. I just received an email from a publisher who was having a $20 sale for their books. At that price, I bought one.

Because it was fair? No. Because it was a price I was willing to pay. It may be an unfair price at $20. It MAY be that the market is so small that if the normal price was $20...then it wouldn’t be worth writing those books in the first place.

Who knows? Surely not I. All I know is that I didn’t buy the book at $60 and did buy the book at $20.

I subscribe to SiriusXM radio for my car. I got hooked with the free 6 month trial when I bought the car. Then I canceled because they charge $18 per month. But, then they offered me $5/mo for 5 months...with some of their more popular channels excludes. I took that deal.

And every five months I call to cancel before the $18 charge kicks in. And every time they offer me the $5/m deal.

Is that fair? Fair NEVER comes into play.

There is only price offered and my willingness to pay or to do without.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by Timboli

Like I said earlier, there is only one sure method that I know could work, but problematical to setup, and certainly the part of me that says I shouldn't have to do this, resists even bothering. And of course, for those who don't realize, it does require a dedicated device or PC for that account. You cannot use your existing account PC and devices or credit card. So to do it to save cost, is a foolhardy exercise, as unless you buy an awful lot of ebooks that way, you are well in the red.

Perhaps there is something very different in how Amazon treat UK and Aus, but I routinely buy UK eBooks from UK Amazon and US eBooks from US Amazon without any of these issues. I certainly don't have separate PCs for each.
You can sign in and out of the Kindle for PC app as many times as you want, and switch between UK and US accounts with no issues.
I have the same UK credit card set up on both accounts, and Amazon have no issues with that. If they did, I would just buy US Amazon gift cards with one account and send them to the other.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by leebase

Here is no such thing as a fair price. Fair to who? Fair on what grounds? Just buy or don’t buy.

Speaking of technical books which normally cost $50 or $60 and which I don’t usually buy due to price. I just received an email from a publisher who was having a $20 sale for their books. At that price, I bought one.

Because it was fair? No. Because it was a price I was willing to pay. It may be an unfair price at $20. It MAY be that the market is so small that if the normal price was $20...then it wouldn’t be worth writing those books in the first place.

Who knows? Surely not I. All I know is that I didn’t buy the book at $60 and did buy the book at $20.

Doesn't that rather undermine your "support the artist, don't be a freeloader" argument?

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Doesn't that rather undermine your "support the artist, don't be a freeloader" argument?

Not necessarily because we are talking about three different things.

1) What is a fair price (I fall into the camp that says there is no such thing, there is only what people are willing to pay and how much the author is willing to accept and keep writing.)

2) How much are you willing to pay for an ebook (depends on the ebook. It varies with the book and author. I've payed over $100 for a highly specialized ebook on a subject matter I've very interested in [the book was on prehistoric military matters if you are wondering].

3) support the artist - I will pay more for an author that I really like, i.e. pay hard back prices. Other authors, I will pay less for, i.e. paper back prices. There are a whole bunch of authors I wouldn't get the book if it were free. I've been known to buy books by favored authors in multiple formats, simply to support them. I have most of the Baen ebook bundles from the start up until a few years ago. However, I also bought most of David Weber's books in hard back during that time period simply because that was the best way to support one of my favorite authors. I no longer buy hard back books, but I do buy ebooks at hard back prices and I frequently buy the same book both as an ebook and audiobook.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Doesn't that rather undermine your "support the artist, don't be a freeloader" argument?

Nope. If I don’t support those technical books, they may well stop being made. Just like my rarely going to book stores means there might come a day when there aren’t any book stores.

It’s true whether or not I patronize a give author, genre or store. I can’t care about everything. But those I do care most about, I support.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by Timboli

That is disingenuous and even insulting.

Many are only after a fair price, a cheaper price for ebooks .... and certainly very logical when you look at the facts. That does no harm to the status quo.

There will always be those who want things dirt cheap. I am not arguing in favor of them.

Except you've flat out denied that any factors could exist which inflate the prices you pay, and refuse to communicate to those setting the prices.

All you seem to want to do is whinge on an international forum about "fair prices".

[Timboli]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Perhaps there is something very different in how Amazon treat UK and Aus, but I routinely buy UK eBooks from UK Amazon and US eBooks from US Amazon without any of these issues. I certainly don't have separate PCs for each.
You can sign in and out of the Kindle for PC app as many times as you want, and switch between UK and US accounts with no issues.
I have the same UK credit card set up on both accounts, and Amazon have no issues with that. If they did, I would just buy US Amazon gift cards with one account and send them to the other.

You can only use one account with Kindle For PC on your PC. And not that I have tried, but I have heard and it makes sense, that it even applies for a different user on same PC. Oddly it is not user based, just an ALL Users scenario. So one account on a PC in total, regardless of user.

I have tried to use my credit card for the Aussie Amazon account, but it says it is already assigned to my American Amazon account. I have also tried with VPN to use my Aussie credit card to buy an American only ebook, and it gets reported the same. So no it doesn't work for me like you said.

[Timboli]

I find it quite ironic to be attacked in this thread, by those who don't care. If they don't care, then why are they even here, let alone responding?

And I don't fathom why they focus on just one thing that was mentioned, and try and make that what this topic is about. I have another very well known topic, that deals with the issue more directly, and where I have answered everything in great detail.

But then maybe they are here due to a hidden agenda.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by Timboli

You can only use one account with Kindle For PC on your PC. And not that I have tried, but I have heard and it makes sense, that it even applies for a different user on same PC. Oddly it is not user based, just an ALL Users scenario. So one account on a PC in total, regardless of user.

I have tried to use my credit card for the Aussie Amazon account, but it says it is already assigned to my American Amazon account. I have also tried with VPN to use my Aussie credit card to buy an American only ebook, and it gets reported the same. So no it doesn't work for me like you said.

Must be an Australian thing, because going to Amazon UK it doesn't seem like there's anything stopping me from buying the Harry Potter books.

There's even an option to buy it for someone else.

[Timboli]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

There is no fair in the consideration. There is the price you will pay and the price you won’t.

It seems to me that you are very clearly choosing to ignore what I am saying.

In short, cheaper does not mean cheap.

I have already answered about fairness, and I am not gonna keep repeating myself.

Continually repeating the same thing at me, is not going to eventually bludgeon me into agreeing with your view or the view of others who do the same.

I only listen to sound logic and reason, and I am always prepared to change my view if proven wrong using those.

It is an instant fail though, if I feel my intelligence is not being respected.

[Timboli]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

Must be an Australian thing, because going to Amazon UK it doesn't seem like there's anything stopping me from buying the Harry Potter books.

There's even an option to buy it for someone else.

Was the same for me until I clicked BUY.

[Timboli]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

Lol economic principles do not rely on politics.

It does when you tie it in with certain aspects of Capitalism gone rampant.

All about market principles and effects etc.

Personally I felt what I said was perfectly okay, and it never occurred to me I had transgressed, but clearly a certain MOD here feels different ... perhaps because I was calling out what was behind her sarcastic remark.

I've certainly discussed pretty much the same elements here before and never been told off.