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#16 |
Are you gonna eat that?
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Karma: 23215128
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Phillipsburg, NJ
Device: Kindle 3, Nook STG
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i've had my kindle for almost 6 months now and my ebook purchases have been exclusively indie/small press because a) theres more i want to read on that side of the spectrum and b)i cant get the stuff in a form other than ebook. if i want a larger publishers works i take advantage of amazon's 4 for 3 offers and get them in print.
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#17 | |
Wizard
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Karma: 5766642
Join Date: Aug 2010
Device: Nook
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The editing and publishing - without including print and shipping costs - is as many man-hours as the writing. According to those in the business (and authors, who have a seriously vested interest in the matter), who are remarkably consistent on that factoid. Print is about 99.99% automated these days, and while warehosue space isn't free, neither are servers or bandwidth to run them. Shipping is more labor intensive, but again, quite automated, and extremely efficient. A truck carries tens of thousands of pounds of freight at a time; loading and unloading is very mechanized. (I've worked in retail my entire adult life, most of it at management levels and above, and honestly, I find $2.50 per unit entirely reasonable, or even high. Really. If it cost more than that, somebody is doing something seriously wrong.) |
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#18 | |
Wizard
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Karma: 5875940
Join Date: Dec 2007
Device: PRS505, 600, 350, 650, Nexus 7, Note III, iPad 4 etc
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#19 |
Wizard
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Karma: 2838487
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Washington, DC
Device: Ipad, IPhone
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This has been done and redone. The price of books doesn't have much to do with costs: it has to do with time and demand ( like just about every other kind of content). When a book comes out and demand is highest, Publishers charge the highest price. Most of the money a book is ever going to make is in that first year. In the second year, the publisher drops the price and moves to a cheaper format to juice up demand . The book then moves on the back list, remainder sales, and used books-at which point the publisher is, if anything, losing money.
The ebook prices are pegged to those cycles. Printing costs have little, if anything , to do with the pricing cycle. |
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#20 |
Is that a sandwich?
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Karma: 101697116
Join Date: Jun 2010
Device: Nook Glowlight Plus
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They keep shipping costs down by having distribution centers near the printers. The largest distributor Ingram is located in LaVergne, TN where the books are printed. Borders had it's distribution center there. Amazon has two one state over. Books-A-Million is in Alabama, one state south. Only B&N is missing (publicly unless they use a subsidiary) with theirs in NJ and Nevada.
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#21 | |
Wizard
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Device: Nook
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Quote:
Namely, the publics' perception[1] is that hard covers cost more to make than paperbacks, and that makes them worth more. Hard covers don't cost more because they're just released, they cost more because they're hard covers. So people are willing to pay more for hard covers. But an ebook that was release last week is identical to the same book released last year, or ten years ago. There's no perceived difference in value to the public, so the public is going to be very, very resistant to a difference in price, even though the publishers see the two as different products entirely. [1]And this perception isn't very accurate - the printing costs for hard covers is higher than for paperbacks, but not 2-3 times higher. The publishing industry is facing some major, major changes to how they operate, and so far, nobody has any idea how it's going to work out. |
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#22 | |
Karma Kameleon
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Karma: 26738313
Join Date: Aug 2009
Device: iPad Mini, iPhone X, Kindle Fire Tab HD 8, Walmart Onn
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If you want a used book, then buy the $2 used book. Or pay $18 for the new book. Lee |
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#23 | |
Karma Kameleon
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Karma: 26738313
Join Date: Aug 2009
Device: iPad Mini, iPhone X, Kindle Fire Tab HD 8, Walmart Onn
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Have a hard time believing that? How else can you explain the cost of Coke vs. generic Cola? The cost of bottled WATER. It's WATER folks. Lee |
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#24 |
Coffee Nut
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Karma: 298350
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Missouri
Device: Kindle 3; K4PC; Calibre
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For me, the main value of a hardback is that you can use it for display on your bookshelf to impress your guests, and it won't fall apart after two years on the shelf. Hardbacks are those books I think I might wish to retain for reference. I purchase very few of them now that I'm retired and I've impressed everyone I might invite into my home.
Paperbacks often have inferior, glued bindings that can dry out, crack and release pages, especially if subjected to thermal cycling in a vehicle. Most are intended to self-destruct for obvious reasons which is why most libraries avoid them. Then there's the potential obsolescence of electronic books with DRM crippling about which enough has been written. So it really depends on what I intend for the book and what that intention is worth to me. There is no format that meets all criteria (permanence, price, portability). |
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#25 |
how YOU doin?
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Karma: 7371047
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: India
Device: Kindle Keyboard, iPad Pro 10.5”, Kobo Aura H2O, Kobo Libra 2
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It's got to do with the nature of the product.
While an author might spend hours and months producing a book, his efforts come to an end when its published (discounting the publicity and book signings which are mere marketing). A doctor or lawyer might spend hours and months learning their trade, but their efforts do not come to an end when they get licensed. They only make money if they show up to work everyday and apply the knowledge gained in a repeated manner for clients. The moment somebody comes up with a paradigm where, similar to the authors, the doctors and lawyers can make money despite not having to keep working every day, their clients and patients will automatically downgrade the 'value' of their services and expect a deep downgrade to the monetary compensation they receive too. It's the very nature of humans to think that way. It's why people won't mind paying good money to watch musicians perform live, but they'll certainly resent paying the same prices for a mass produced recording of the same pieces. People value sustained repetition of effort. It's as simple as that. |
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#26 | |
The Dank Side of the Moon
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire
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#27 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire
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#28 | |
Cynical Old Curmudgeon
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Location: Halifax, Canada
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#29 | |
Aging Positronic Brain
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Aurora (when off-Earth)
Device: Amazon Oasis; iPhone, iPad Mini
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The author's sustained effort is before the book is printed, distributed, etc. While the payment for her/his effort is dispersed over the years of purchases, it is nevertheless payment for the effort sustained previous to publication. |
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#30 | |
Coffee Nut
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Missouri
Device: Kindle 3; K4PC; Calibre
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