Irate kindlers 1star carpet bomb Michael Connelly's new book

[JSWolf]

Don't pick this one up for a new to Connelly Reader. It's the 3rd book in a series.

Start with the first book in the Harry Bosch series instead.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Fbone

This is Mr Connelly's response on his Facebook page regarding Amazon's reviews and pricing:

Michael Connelly Books: The publisher won't be changing the price. But the price automatically goes down when the book becomes a Kindle bestseller. So, there will probably be a price change next week once the bestsellers lists comes out. That should make the complainers happier.
44 minutes ago

So does this mean the price drops at every eBook shop at the same time? If not, this is giving Amazon preferential treatment.

[Piper_]

Originally Posted by Solicitous

Except movies are not released at the cinemas and on bluray at the same time, so of course the price is justified for the cinema. Release them both at once and watch the cinemas close their doors. If the ebook was released first and 1/2/3 months down the track the hardcover, then I could understand if the ebook price was initially higher.

That's kind of my point, though, Solicitous.

I don't want publishers to make us wait for ebooks like movie producers make us wait for the BluRays.

Right, wrong, whatever, the dogma is that that new release window is precious to them - they say that's where they make back the bulk of the costs.

I'm afraid the only way we can convince producers to sell us the BluRay, or publishers to sell us ebooks, during that window is to assure them they won't lose the cream from that first crop.

Personally, I think a case could be made that they'd make more money in the long run -- or even early, in volume alone -- but we've seen how entrenched they are in their ways.

What happened when Amazon tried to get them not to do it last year? IIUC, they (McMillan?) said they wouldn't release the ebook anymore until the paperback window. Customers raised hell, saying they'd rather have the new releases even if they were over 9.99.

[JSWolf]

I just posted the following on Facebook to Micheal Connelly Books.

Why is "The Fifth Witness" as an eBook so expensive? It is $14.99 and has DRM. We have less rights to the eBook then we do the hardcover that is priced less then the eBook at Amazon and Walmart. This is an outrageous price and even if it is the publisher's doing, Michael should be all over them to get it lowered. Does Michael care about his customers?

I look forward to seeing a response.

[chilady1]

I love Michael Connelly's books - I have read all of them but I don't care how much I LOVE an author, I am not paying over the $9.99 price point for a book. PERIOD! I don't care how many graphs and charts people pull out, you just cannot tell me it costs more or even the same for an ebook as it does a hardcover. There is just no justification to make me believe that a "new release" of anything is worth $14.99 or $12.99 for that matter. When this book is at $9.99 or below, I will purchase.

I love Terry McMillian and I am dying to read Getting to Happy, it is still at $14.99 and it was released Sept 2010. Guess what, that bad boy is still hanging on my wish list and will until it is $9.99 or below. I have to many books on my TBR to worry about what to read next.

I am not going to trash the book by giving him a one star rating, I think that is unfair, but until these idiot publishers wake up and realize that this medium (ebooks, ereaders, eanything) is here to stay and being embraced, then I will vote with my wallet. This is my opinion.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by CallOfCth'reader

I don't believe him, because without concrete figures the statement is purely opinion.

Of course it's opinion. I never claimed any indepth knowledge or facts. I said I believe he's right. Still do. With the exception of those here at MobileRead and similar sites, I sincerely believe that the vast majority of Kindle owners make their purchases without comparing prices--either to other book stores or to the physical books. I believe the vast majority don't know who published their book, let alone have a clue exactly what Agency Pricing is. They buy 'em, read 'em and never give them a second thought.

That's an opinion. Agree with it or don't, but I don't think opinions are against any rules yet... especially when the wording clearly identifies them as opinions.

Originally Posted by Piper

What happened when Amazon tried to get them not to do it last year? IIUC, they (McMillan?) said they wouldn't release the ebook anymore until the paperback window. Customers raised hell, saying they'd rather have the new releases even if they were over 9.99.

Yep. I was one of those hell-raisers. Still am.

[CallOfCth'reader]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Of course it's opinion. I never claimed any indepth knowledge or facts. I said I believe he's right.

<snip>

That's an opinion. Agree with it or don't, but I don't think opinions are against any rules yet... especially when the wording clearly identifies them as opinions.

I was talking about his comment being purely an opinion.

[DiapDealer]

Opinions are OK. Many times they're more truthful and honest than 'facts.'

[Piper_]

Originally Posted by CallOfCth'reader

I don't believe him, because without concrete figures the statement is purely opinion. Even if Amazon (and all other ebook sellers) listed the number of ebooks sold, over a certain price point, that would still mean nothing: there is no way for them to know how many sales were lost due to pricing.

The last report I saw by the Book Publishing Group (I think it was them) showed that lower prices on books were one of the top reasons people gave for buying an ereader.

IIRC, It was the #1 reason given in their January 2010 survey. The next, from August 2010 didn't specify the exact position, but said it was still a top reason. You had to pay like $75 to see the full report.

In this economy, I can't imagine prices not being a primary consideration for most people. Whether that qualifies as "price focused" or not... i dunno. Depends on what it means.

[Piper_]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Yep. I was one of those hell-raisers. Still am.

I would have been there with you. Like I said last night - let the customer decide.

I normally would never pay that much for an ebook, or even 12.99. But some new releases are worth it. I'd be really irked if I couldn't get Dragons the day it comes out.

And I actually did save money; if I hadn't gotten the ebook, I'd have had to buy 2 copies of the hard cover, so my son and I wouldn't fight over who gets to read it when.
I'd hate to have to spike his drinks with Ambien for a week.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

New release ebooks should be priced at hardcover rates minus the costs it takes to print, bind, ship, and store the hardcover version.

It's utter nonsense to price them the same. There should be a noticeable difference in price.

[OtterBooks]

Originally Posted by Barcey

Yes Amazon are so clever they're even setting Walmart's price for the hard cover book at US$14.27 as well.

Amazon is just selling the hard cover at the same competitive discounting they've always been doing. It's the anti competitive agency that's at fault here.

Yeah after looking around a bit I discovered that price was fairly typical. Looks like I was off base there, but they've openly used that tactic in the past which is why I thought so. I guess the publisher feels that price is effective, and sells enough that the number of people opposed to it don't negate sales enough to worry. They could even be intentionally making the hardcover more attractive.

Despite all the complaining, most Connelly fans who want the book will buy it in some form. This latest uproar could very well be part of a turning point, though. We'll see.

[mariel9898]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I just posted the following on Facebook to Micheal Connelly Books.



I look forward to seeing a response.

Did you see their answer? "Micheal doesn't have customers he has readers". I know it would be downhill from there.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by mariel9898

Did you see their answer? "Micheal doesn't have customers he has readers". I know it would be downhill from there.

Here is the link to the thread and my reply.

http://www.facebook.com/MichaelConne...50150477854687

The readers are customers. That was just some lackey in Micheal's name being a bit demeaning.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by mariel9898

Did you see their answer? "Micheal doesn't have customers he has readers". I know it would be downhill from there.

What an arrogant twit.

I was already annoyed about the stupid remark about how a majority of Kindle users aren't "price focused"--sorry, Mr. Connelly, not all of us are big-shot authors with megabucks. But this remark tops it for sure.

His books were recommended to me, and were on my list to try. But now, why bother? I'll find enough to read from authors who are less full of themselves. So he's just lost a potential reader/customer.