Ebook prices

[tompe]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

People who buy 5 books a year are not the publisher's bread and butter.

Well, since the claim is that it is the hardcover best sellers that generated most income it seems to me that these are totally dependent on the people that do not buy so many books.

@SpeakingToHe, I am talking about a very specific case where a pBook has been in print for decades and has therefore a strong presence as a used item -- in this case, it makes sense for the eBook version of this book to sell at (a) less than the cost of the same pBook, (b) less than the cost of new eBooks, and (c) close to the used price.

In this case I have actually looked for Victoria Holt and they are not extremely common at least.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by tompe

Well, since the claim is that it is the hardcover best sellers that generated most income it seems to me that these are totally dependent on the people that do not buy so many books.

In this case I have actually looked for Victoria Holt and they are not extremely common at least.

1 penny at Amazon being not extremely common to you?

http://www.amazon.com/Curse-Kings-Vi...5952786&sr=8-9

The rest of her books seem to be in the $2-$4 range used, with several of those used prices being Prime Eligible (and thus shipping free).

So my point about a $4-5 sweet spot still stands, in my opinion.

As for hardcovers, do you mean they have the most profit margin or that those hardcover profits are the majority of publisher's yearly income? Because I do not think those two are the same thing. I believe the former as an obvious truth; the latter, I'm not so sure about.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

As for hardcovers, do you mean they have the most profit margin or that those hardcover profits are the majority of publisher's yearly income? Because I do not think those two are the same thing. I believe the former as an obvious truth; the latter, I'm not so sure about.

I got the impression that it was the latter in the debate about agency pricing. It seemed that the income from the best selling hardcovers payed for taking chances with other books and so on and that publishers would not survive it Amazon eliminated that income.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

I would be totally flabbergasted to find that the number of people who buy more than 100 books a year actually buy more books in total than the people who buy 5 books a year or even those who only buy 4.

Huh? I think something is garbled here.

Are you saying that the people who buy 100+ books a year are buying 5 new and 95+ used? Well, then don't you think that they could be enticed to buy new e-books instead of used paper books if the price was a little more reasonable? And that means the publisher taps into a new market.

I know I'd much rather have an e-book than a tattered x-lib hardcover, but if the hardcover is a buck, and the e-book is $12.99, well ...

It's exactly because some of us buy a lot of books that the price is important. If I buy 5 books a year, so what if they cost $5 or $10 or $15? That highest price is only a $50 difference over the course of the year. But if I'm buying 100 books a year, the difference is $1000. That matters.

[anamardoll]

I believe zie meant that for every 1 person who buys 100 books, there are 50 people who buy 5 books (250 total), so therefore the publisher prices for the 250 book sales and not the 100 book sales.

I think there are several major problems with this theory, not the least being that the people buying 5 books a year are probably not buying backlist books from the early 1900s.

Many people buy to read and get rid of -- the collectors may well be in the minority. If it's $10 a read (eBook) and $1 a read (paper) and you're not planning to keep the book afterwards, well not only is the $1 used paper book a lost sale, it's a lost market. (I.e., people are going to keep reading and circulating the same paper book, whereas eBooks are one-purchase, one-user.)

[Pinecone]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

And we're saying that with a backlist book, you're competing with Y, that is to say the used book market.

But in this case, the book is CURRENTLY IN PRINT. So both pbook and ebook should be priced accordingly.

So if the pbook sells for $9.99, why would you expect the ebook to sell for say $6 (based on current pricing schemes) just because the book was written a long time ago?

Yes, an old book should be cheaper (BOTH pbook and ebook), IMO. And yes, IMO, ebooks should be cheaper than pbooks.

BUT in the current world, ebooks are priced at about the same as pbooks. And currently in print, old books, sell for the same price as a newly written pbooks. Therefore, under CURRENT conditions, the ebook will sell for about the same price as the pbook, no matter how long ago the book was written.

If you are talking about a no longer in print (pbook) book, then the ebook price may be less than currently in print pbooks.

[Pinecone]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Yes, not everyone buys used books. But a lot of people do, and publishers have a chance to get back some of that money with intelligent pricing of the backlist.

When have you seen them put an old book into print (pbook) for a substantially lower price than recently written pbooks?

Throughout the history of books, when has this occured?

[mldavis2]

Originally Posted by Pinecone

When have you seen them put an old book into print (pbook) for a substantially lower price than recently written pbooks?

Throughout the history of books, when has this occured?

If you walk into any bookstore, you will find classics priced well below current sellers. Penguin Classics is an example. These are out of copyright, public domain books which are still priced for profit for the publisher and seller, yet are well below the MSRP on the other books on the shelves. Fortunately, they are also available for free online in eBook format from Project Gutenberg and other such sites. So I would expect any book that is out of copyright to be priced below books that still have strings back to the authors. This is one of the big concerns with pending U.S. copyright law which would extend copyrights out to near infinity, mainly being pushed by the huge lobbyists for Disney and others.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by Pinecone

But in this case, the book is CURRENTLY IN PRINT. So both pbook and ebook should be priced accordingly.

The book is CURRENTLY IN PRINT and also AVAILABLE FOR SIGNIFICANTLY CHEAPER THAN "NEW" ON THE WORLDS BIGGEST ONLINE USED BOOK STORE.

That is what people are saying.

If you think that given (a) $8 new paper (which can be sold for $4 after reading), (b) $8 new ebook, and (c) $4 used paper that most people are going to go with (b) at a $4 loss, then you are welcome to your opinion, but...

...there are people in this thread that are telling you that they do NOT buy that way and that the publishers MIGHT want some of their money.

THAT is the point. With caps, since you like those.

Originally Posted by Pinecone

When have you seen them put an old book into print (pbook) for a substantially lower price than recently written pbooks?

Throughout the history of books, when has this occured?

Ummm... every day? There's a brand new run of Robin Hood at the local bookstore, in hardback and everything. It's not selling at the same price as the new paper books.

Like, is this a trick question?

Even things that aren't public domain are often brought back for a "new" run at a lower cost than actual new books. At least they are in my neck of the woods. Maybe it's a local thing.

[cHex]

Originally Posted by Pinecone

BUT in the current world, ebooks are priced at about the same as pbooks. And currently in print, old books, sell for the same price as a newly written pbooks. Therefore, under CURRENT conditions, the ebook will sell for about the same price as the pbook, no matter how long ago the book was written.

I see plenty of ebooks priced lower than paperbacks, and it was even more common before the Agencies began colluding. So under CURRENT conditions, some are selling ebooks for less that pbooks, some for about the same, and some for more.

I think a lot of us in this thread are just saying we'd like to see those selling ebooks for more than pbooks change and start selling their ebooks for less, rather than those selling their ebooks for less than pbooks change and start selling their ebooks for more.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

T
If you think that given (a) $8 new paper (which can be sold for $4 after reading), (b) $8 new ebook, and (c) $4 used paper that most people are going to go with (b) at a $4 loss, then you are welcome to your opinion, but...

How does the used store earn money if the sell and buy at the same price?

Also most books sold is still paper books.

And why is not the argument about lower prices for old books applicable to the paper book? It seems to me that it is and then you get a different situation.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by tompe

How does the used store earn money if the sell and buy at the same price?

Are you serious? I'm not being sarcastic, I can't tell, I'm sorry.

In case it wasn't clear, I'm talking about Amazon. Customers post their used copies of the books for sale. Amazon makes money on commission, but they mostly offer the service as a brand-building strategy. I believe I provided links to examples in an earlier post. Maybe you didn't see the link.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Are you serious? I'm not being sarcastic, I can't tell, I'm sorry.

In case it wasn't clear, I'm talking about Amazon. Customers post their used copies of the books for sale. Amazon makes money on commission, but they mostly offer the service as a brand-building strategy. I believe I provided links to examples in an earlier post. Maybe you didn't see the link.

Most used books are sold in used bookstores so I thought you talked about them.

With Amazon you have to pay postage or? So how do you get $4 when selling it for $4?

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by tompe

Most used books are sold in used bookstores so I thought you talked about them.

With Amazon you have to pay postage or? So how do you get $4 when selling it for $4?

Might I point out American Booksellers Exchange? ABE.com.

(despite the name, there are quite a few used booksellers in the EU, if you're willing to pay the postage to here in the US.)

Simple search engine, lots of used booksellers list their inventory. I don't go to used bookstores any more. ABE is so much more convenient. Mailed straight to my door.

Typical cost is $4 and up (and up and up, depending on the title/demand/condition).

[katewilly]

Yep, most books I've looked at are between $9.99 and $14.99. Fortunately, most of my family and friends know I love to get B&N gift cards for my b'day and Christmas. Since my b'day is in Dec., they love getting me the gift cards as they're readily available at their nearest chain drugstore, making me the easiest person to shop for during that hectic time.

Presently, my ebook purchases won't come out of my pocket for at least a couple of years...and with new gift cards coming up, who knows when I'll actually purchase from my own bucks, especially now that my library has started loaning ebooks. However, the old $9.99 price point means I get more bang out of my gift cards. OTOH, it's a little easier to buy that $12.99 book and have it put on my gift card.