Are Attitudes About E-Book Prices Changing?

[Crowl]

Agency pricing on ebooks probably harms price windowing a lot as it just makes things stand out as all the more ridiculous when they prevent companies like amazon from reducing the price of ebooks at all and they end up being more expensive than the hardback edition which probably puts people off from buying either edition and in some cases will lead to them pirating the book instead.

I won't set absolute limits on prices I won't go beyond, but for me my limit is simply that I won't pay more for an ebook than the current paper edition whether that is hardback or paperback at that time.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by leebase

Why would I offer a product for $10 to compete with the $25 product I'm hoping to sell?

Because the products ARE different and are priced to reach different audiences ("segments" in marketing speak).

And, the $25 hardcover is a bit misleading as many, many stores will sell that hardcover for something less than $25.

Once the paperback edition arrives, the ebook price should drop as the "premium price window" has now ended. I think it is ok to price the ebook within 10% lower of the pbook price -- again it's a different buyer -- and that price should reflect typical selling price, not pbook list.

At least, that's what seems fair to me as a consumer.

The balance will always be: if I can only read one book at a time, how important is it to pay $15 now when I can read that later and enjoy a backlist title at $5 or $8 in the meantime? Maybe I'd like to read the latest John Grisham ... but that reminds me I haven't read 20 Spenser novels yet that I've been meaning to get around to ....

[crossi]

How many books are there anyway that you have to read right now? It's not as if you'ld be reduced to reading cereal boxes or third rate novels in the meanwhile. I always have way more books that I want to read than I have time to read them. My To-Be-Read list (and those are the ones I already bought) is always around a hundred or more. Lots more that I haven't bought yet onmy wish list. With all these books competing for my time and money why should I even want to pay premium prices to buy just one? I'll like it just as well a year or two from now at a quarter of the price, unless the reviews are so bad I decide it isn't worth buying at all (another benefit of waiting, it saves you from wasting your money on dud books).

[ATimson]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

But not a lot less.

If vendors could discount ebooks still, you'd have a point. But now publishers are pocketing $3-10 per book that vendors were giving us as discounts, and have yet to explain why we aren't seeing any of that taken off the list price.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ATimson

If vendors could discount ebooks still, you'd have a point. But now publishers are pocketing $3-10 per book that vendors were giving us as discounts, and have yet to explain why we aren't seeing any of that taken off the list price.

In fairness, I buy a lot of eBooks at Amazon UK, and they are virtually ALL discounted. Sometimes by the publisher, sometimes by Amazon. They're generally priced slightly below the paperback price.

Eg, the most recent books I've bought are the five books of David Eddings "Belgariad" series. This is what Amazon has to say about the first book in the series:

Digital List Price: £7.99
Print List Price: £6.99
Kindle Price: £4.34 includes VAT & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
You Save: £2.65 (38%)

Amazon's paperback price for this book is £4.57.

And that's typical - the download price is slightly below the PB price, which actually means that it's 20% cheaper, since the eBook has VAT and the PB doesn't. I don't consider this to be at all unreasonable.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

But not a lot less.

We know it's less no matter how much less. So pass the difference on to the readers and let us stop cursing the agency publishers for being uncaring b@stards.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by elcreative

Wrong...

I'd really like to reply to you, but it's a top post. Please stop top posting. It makes it hard to read as we start to read and then see the quote, have to move the eyes to read the quote and then move the eyes back to to read the reply and then move the eyes past the quote to button under the quote. It's just not nice for the people trying to read your posts.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

I don't know

I'd really like to reply to you, but it's a top post. Please stop top posting. It makes it hard to read as we start to read and then see the quote, have to move the eyes to read the quote and then move the eyes back to to read the reply and then move the eyes past the quote to button under the quote. It's just not nice for the people trying to read your posts.

[DiapDealer]

Please stop being ridiculous

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Please stop top posting.

[pidgeon92]

Amen.

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Please stop being ridiculous

[elcreative]

I'm seriously bothered by your refusal to respond...

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I'd really like to reply to you, but it's a top post. Please stop top posting. It makes it hard to read as we start to read and then see the quote, have to move the eyes to read the quote and then move the eyes back to to read the reply and then move the eyes past the quote to button under the quote. It's just not nice for the people trying to read your posts.

[OtterBooks]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Please stop being ridiculous

[ucfgrad93]

Preach it brother!

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

Amen.

[Leyor]

You're a tough crowd

[ucfgrad93]

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Leyor

You're a tough crowd