BooksOnBoard reports major changes in ebook pricing

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by ficbot

I just worry that the publishers will interpret the lack of ebook sales under the new scheme to mean 'people are not interested in ebooks, period' rather than as 'our scheme to raise prices has back-fired and very interested customers are waiting for the paperback price by which point they may have borrowed from the library or a friend and it will be too late.'

The 'back-firings' will eventually just be firings of senior execs. It's just too bloody obvious that electronic distribution is here to stay and that Amazon's creation of the e-book category with the Kindle is a GIFT to publishers and not a threat. I will stand in line to pay for lots of classic fiction -- back catalogue stuff which has traditionally been the bread and butter of the industry -- but it's either not available or priced out of sight.

Release Agathe Christie, Rex Stout, Earl Stanley Gardner and John McDonald at $3.95, $4.95, $5.95 in classy e-books and I'm there. Bring out Grisham's at $11.95 ... not so much. There is an enormous amount of money being left on the table in the belief that e-books are consumed by techie early adopters which change their Smartphones every three months rather than people who actually are interested in the content. And they call themselves publishers.

[Boston]

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

Well, I don't know about hardcover. Almost all the books I buy are MMP. If they price the ebook higher that paper book (MacMillan has already done it), I think I'm going to buy less books (paper and electronic, I'm not going to change from electronic to paper).

While I prefer ebooks, I love to read more...so I've switched back to paper when this happens. My way of protesting is to buy used (in "new" or "like new" condition). That way the publisher loses the sale period.

I feel sorry for the authors for getting caught in the middle, but I feel they need to push back on the publishers as much as consumers do if it matters to them.

[jgaiser]

I love books. I'm 63 and have been reading for more than 50 years.

I too prefer ebooks, but if the price raise sticks, I'll do with less purchased ebooks and switch back to paper where I know I can get a bargain. My favorite local bookstore (Powell's) sell tons of quality used books. Heck.. I just picked 12 of the 13 volume Definitive Journals of Lewis and Clark for less than $50.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by ficbot

I just worry that the publishers will interpret the lack of ebook sales under the new scheme to mean 'people are not interested in ebooks, period' rather than as 'our scheme to raise prices has back-fired ..'

They'll have a harder time doing that if Random House ebooks continue to sell well, and independent publishers start to outstrip their sales in some stores.

Samhain Publishing should consider the agency model a godsend and figure out how they're going to get the attention of readers who are annoyed at the 50% price hike in their favorite categories of ebooks.

In my opinion there will not be a rational supply and demand pricing structure for e-books until the format as a percentage of the total sales of books grows enough to be a significant fraction of total sales. As it stands now the pricing for e-books is pretty damn arbitrary in relation to cost. This will be especially true for older books pre-dating the era when it could be anticipated that books would be delivered to the publisher already in electronic format. It is actually a higher cost for a source to produce an e-book for such an older title than it is for a newly released book.

[Musicman]

Originally Posted by gastan

GREED = the real reason behind the agency pricing model. Period. It amounts to price fixing and borders on violating anti-trust laws in the US and the European Union competition law (IMO).

I agree it sounds like price fixing and a violation of anti-trust laws.

The answer is to not buy their books in any format until the price becomes reasonable. For me reasonable = under $10.00 (the further under the better

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ficbot

I just worry that the publishers will interpret the lack of ebook sales under the new scheme to mean 'people are not interested in ebooks, period' rather than as 'our scheme to raise prices has back-fired and very interested customers are waiting for the paperback price by which point they may have borrowed from the library or a friend and it will be too late.' I want the ebook industry to grow, not shrink, and I worry that publishers will get the entirely wrong message.

eBooks will still sell. What I'm hoping is that the publishers raising prices will see that the new higher priced eBooks are not selling and the cheaper priced eBooks are the ones selling. This way, they may realize that their plan to make more on eBooks is a failure. They should be able to see that hardcover books are dropping in sales and eBooks priced the same will also fail. So really, this will just be a stupid idea and they'll see we don't want it and won't pay.

[charleski]

No need for two posts on this topic is there? Earlier post

As I said before, BoB is just engaging in scare tactics to frighten gullible people into buying books next week. BoB already charges more than $14.99 for a lot of the titles that will be affected. While some books will certainly see small to moderate price rises, if BoB had any integrity that would be more than matched by the ones that came down in price. But somehow I suspect BoB will just be pocketing the difference and blaming the publishers.

Before this my reluctance to use them was based on their weirdly-scripted and difficult website, but I don't think I'll be shopping with them in the future.

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I'm pretty sure the CEO, COO, and CFO of each large publishing house look like monkeys... one has his hands over his eyes, one over his mouth, and one over his ears.

They seem more likely to be the poo flinging variety than wise ones.

[basschick]

interestingly enough, musical instrument sales is another place where price fixing exists. the difference is it's been around long enough (they call those prices MAP) that the ftc is involved. i can only hope there will also be legal intervention in the case of publishers who feel they should be allowed to tell retailers how to price in their OWN stores.

[stustaff]

Originally Posted by basschick

interestingly enough, musical instrument sales is another place where price fixing exists. the difference is it's been around long enough (they call those prices MAP) that the ftc is involved. i can only hope there will also be legal intervention in the case of publishers who feel they should be allowed to tell retailers how to price in their OWN stores.

Why should the publisher not be allowed to sell their books however and to whoever they want?
If they choose that people who want to sell their books must do so at certain prices then thats up to them! no book store has to buy from them.

instead of legislation how about letting the market actually do its thing! Books especially the sort being discussed here(eg not educational) are not a neccesity like power or food so let the publisher price ridiculusly people wont buy and prices will drop!

[emonti8384]

Just to make sure I'm getting the gist of this...

1. Ebook pricing is going to go up (anywhere from 3-5 dollars) for 5 of the major publishing companies

2. Sales tax is now being added on

3. Discounts will no longer continue due to the difficulty of sorting which books you can buy vs which books are unavailable.

4. DRM will still remain in effect.

Do I have this all down right?

[sabredog]

Better add geographic restrictions will remain as per current restrictive practices

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by emonti8384

3. Discounts will no longer continue due to the difficulty of sorting which books you can buy vs which books are unavailable.

No, discounts on the affected books are simply not allowed by the publisher.

[Elfwreck]

I wonder if publishers can offer rebates instead of discounts?