E-book store price comparison / BooksOnBoard a good deal

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

They are based in France, and it costs more to operate there than the US. That could be it.

maybe. But this is the Internet. makes no difference to most where the company is located. What matters is the price.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

maybe. But this is the Internet. makes no difference to most where the company is located. What matters is the price.

It matters because they have to pay salaries, taxes, rent and other operating cost; each is higher in France than in the US.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

It matters because they have to pay salaries, taxes, rent and other operating cost; each is higher in France than in the US.

It matters to the company, but not the consumer.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It matters to the company, but not the consumer.

Well consume somewhere else then.

[jasonkchapman]

Does anyone here know, for a fact, how this particular market segment works? Take, for example, James Patterson's "You've Been Warned". MobiPocket lists it for $19.99. Booksonboard lists it for $15.89. Both are in MobiPocket format.

Here's the key question: Did they both negotiate independent, non-exclusive contracts with Little, Brown or is Booksonboard paying MobiPocket to sell titles which MobiPocket has signed distribution agreements for? If it's the first, then MP may just have higher operating costs. If it's the second, then it really is a case of MobiPocket-the-store trying not to compete with MobiPocket-the-distributor's customers.

[Nate the great]

I do not know about the contracts signed, but I do know that Mobipocket encourages independent use of their DRM. I assume that since the distribution rights are still sold on a national basis, Mobipocket bought the ones for France. Books on Board is based in the USA.

[jasonkchapman]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I do not know about the contracts signed, but I do know that Mobipocket encourages independent use of their DRM. I assume that since the distribution rights are still sold on a national basis, Mobipocket bought the ones for France. Books on Board is based in the USA.

At this point, I'm not so sure about the regional nature of MobiPocket's agreement. If they had, indeed, only contracted for French, or even European rights, I think they would at least make a token effort to look like they're limiting sales to that region.

Even with agreements being negotiated regionally, one of those regions is "world." Many US short fiction magazines are buying First North American Serial rights and First World Electronic rights as part of their standard contract. They're buying FWER so that they can post the items on their Web site.

[jasonkchapman]

I've done some research to answer this question. The eBookBase information for publishers makes it pretty clear that MobiPocket is acting as a distributor with regards to the publishers' catalogs. The information for becoming a retailer and the list of partners details the steps involved in selling the entire catalog as part of the MobiPocket retailer network. MobiPocket gets a cut from every sale, regardless of who the retailer is (from the retailer agreement):

The Retailer will pay Mobipocket the wholesale price for each electronic book purchased on the Retailer's Web Site and distributed to the end user through the eBookBase System. The wholesale price is set by Mobipocket for each title and is a percentage of the suggested retail price.

Since MobiPocket is also selling directly through its own Web site, it is essentially a member of its own retailer network. To avoid undercutting its customers, the only thing MobiPocket can do is keep its own prices high. It's unlikely that the MobiPocket store will ever be the cheapest price on any of its books.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jasonkchapman

Does anyone here know, for a fact, how this particular market segment works? Take, for example, James Patterson's "You've Been Warned". MobiPocket lists it for $19.99. Booksonboard lists it for $15.89. Both are in MobiPocket format.

Here's the key question: Did they both negotiate independent, non-exclusive contracts with Little, Brown or is Booksonboard paying MobiPocket to sell titles which MobiPocket has signed distribution agreements for? If it's the first, then MP may just have higher operating costs. If it's the second, then it really is a case of MobiPocket-the-store trying not to compete with MobiPocket-the-distributor's customers.

PaperbackDigital has You've been Warned for $13.39 in MobiPocket format. Prices are just nuts given how they range all over the place.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

PaperbackDigital has You've been Warned for $13.39 in MobiPocket format. Prices are just nuts given how they range all over the place.

But isn't that true for almost all retail goods. I always shop around for everything.

Dale

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

But isn't that true for almost all retail goods. I always shop around for everything.

Dale

This is true. But I can see most people not realizing this and wondering why the prices are all over the place.