Cost Of Kindle Books - Page 2

jbcohen · 05-11-2011, 07:58 AM

All great comments but I would like to add one point to the dicussion. From what I have seen there are two reasons why electronic books are sometimes more then their dead wood counterparts:

1) Some publishers think of electronic formats as an after thought. They go through the entire process of creating the book, printing and distributing the book then they create the electronic book once the dead wood book has reached the shelves so the electronic book represents an extra step beyond the publication of a dead wood book and therefore gets a higher price. Other publishers have recognized the technological shift and gotten behind the shift such that the publication of the electronic format is processed at the same time as the dead wood book does except the fact that an electronic book is easier and quicker to get to market and thus is not an afterthought and is published at the same time as the dead wood book. When this procees is used the electronic book is simplier and easier to get to the market and thus costs less then its dead wood counterpart.

2) Simple greed, some publishers see electronic books as a passing fad nd an oportunity to obtain higher prices for their products.

DMB · 05-11-2011, 08:44 AM

I had got to the stage with dead-tree books of having them spread over two houses in different countries and still having run out of book shelves. There was also the problem of remembering which country a book was in or having to buy two copies -- one for each country.

Getting a Kindle has transformed my life. Having got rid of one of the houses, I have just got rid of over 1000 books with lots more to be sorted out and given away. Many of the books on the Kindle are copies of books I already had in printed format, but it's wonderful to have them always instantly available and portable when I travel from country to country. This month I have travelled from England to Switzerland and will be going this week briefly back to England, then on to France, later back to England and then home to Switzerland by the end of the month. I'll be able to take all my books I want to read with me without weighing down my luggage with tons of paper.

four30 · 05-11-2011, 11:46 AM

I just bought my first ebook ever today - from Amazon.com.

I am in Europe, I assumed that amazon.com was cheaper than .de or .co.uk, especially because of the low dollar. An hour later, I upgraded to calibre 0.8 and its "get books" search discovered that in fact I paid about 30% too much - I should have got in on amazon.de .

Live and learn...

GeoffC · 05-11-2011, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by four30

I just bought my first ebook ever today - from Amazon.com.

I am in Europe, I assumed that amazon.com was cheaper than .de or .co.uk, especially because of the low dollar. An hour later, I upgraded to calibre 0.8 and its "get books" search discovered that in fact I paid about 30% too much - I should have got in on amazon.de .

Live and learn...

Welcome to Mobileread ....

You may find the search engine .... inkmesh.com useful ....

four30 · 05-13-2011, 01:50 AM

Thanks for that, I'll check it out...

Long-time ebook readers: what kind of price trends have you noticed over the years? Are they slowly coming down?

I suppose it depends on the type of book, as I certainly won't be reading big reference books on my little 5" screen...

I certainly noticed that it is way too easy to buy a book. Click, click, instant gratification... but I guess that is compensated with the DRM hoops we must jump through...

Telstar · 05-13-2011, 07:40 AM

Thanks for all your replies - all valid of course. The answer from amazon is simply the 'author' sets the price - fine. I do not own a 'reader'. My interest is from an educational angle. Kindle for PC and Calibre (Calibre in particular) allows the multiple use of a 'book' to be run if (in the case of Kindle) the multille copies of the 'reader' installed on the various pc's are registered to the one account - no problem here.

Looking at this from a student using a reference book on say Visual Basic to have an e-book version running alongside the Visual Basic application has a number of advantages.

Cost is the big plus (for the educational body) but having the reference book in e-format I believe would be more productive for the student than the 'tree' lying open on a desk (cluttered or not).

Having only recently looked at e-books I have become a huge fan and already have various on my pc. I think I will wait for the various iPad's to emerge at Christmas and use one of those rather than a Kndle type reader.

Regards to all.

musicman2523 · 05-15-2011, 01:43 PM

don't know, but it would SEEM that all ebooks would be LESS expensive than they're paper versions.

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05-11-2011, 07:58 AM	#16
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,025 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Piper College Device: Samsung A21	All great comments but I would like to add one point to the dicussion. From what I have seen there are two reasons why electronic books are sometimes more then their dead wood counterparts: 1) Some publishers think of electronic formats as an after thought. They go through the entire process of creating the book, printing and distributing the book then they create the electronic book once the dead wood book has reached the shelves so the electronic book represents an extra step beyond the publication of a dead wood book and therefore gets a higher price. Other publishers have recognized the technological shift and gotten behind the shift such that the publication of the electronic format is processed at the same time as the dead wood book does except the fact that an electronic book is easier and quicker to get to market and thus is not an afterthought and is published at the same time as the dead wood book. When this procees is used the electronic book is simplier and easier to get to the market and thus costs less then its dead wood counterpart. 2) Simple greed, some publishers see electronic books as a passing fad nd an oportunity to obtain higher prices for their products.

05-11-2011, 08:44 AM	#17
DMB Old Git Posts: 958 Karma: 1840790 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Switzerland (mostly) Device: Two kindle PWs wifi, kindle fire, iPad3 wifi	I had got to the stage with dead-tree books of having them spread over two houses in different countries and still having run out of book shelves. There was also the problem of remembering which country a book was in or having to buy two copies -- one for each country. Getting a Kindle has transformed my life. Having got rid of one of the houses, I have just got rid of over 1000 books with lots more to be sorted out and given away. Many of the books on the Kindle are copies of books I already had in printed format, but it's wonderful to have them always instantly available and portable when I travel from country to country. This month I have travelled from England to Switzerland and will be going this week briefly back to England, then on to France, later back to England and then home to Switzerland by the end of the month. I'll be able to take all my books I want to read with me without weighing down my luggage with tons of paper.

05-11-2011, 11:46 AM	#18
four30 Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2011 Device: PRS-350	I just bought my first ebook ever today - from Amazon.com. I am in Europe, I assumed that amazon.com was cheaper than .de or .co.uk, especially because of the low dollar. An hour later, I upgraded to calibre 0.8 and its "get books" search discovered that in fact I paid about 30% too much - I should have got in on amazon.de . Live and learn...

05-13-2011, 01:50 AM	#20
four30 Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2011 Device: PRS-350	Thanks for that, I'll check it out... Long-time ebook readers: what kind of price trends have you noticed over the years? Are they slowly coming down? I suppose it depends on the type of book, as I certainly won't be reading big reference books on my little 5" screen... I certainly noticed that it is way too easy to buy a book. Click, click, instant gratification... but I guess that is compensated with the DRM hoops we must jump through...

05-13-2011, 07:40 AM	#21
Telstar Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2011 Device: kindle for pc	Thanks for all your replies - all valid of course. The answer from amazon is simply the 'author' sets the price - fine. I do not own a 'reader'. My interest is from an educational angle. Kindle for PC and Calibre (Calibre in particular) allows the multiple use of a 'book' to be run if (in the case of Kindle) the multille copies of the 'reader' installed on the various pc's are registered to the one account - no problem here. Looking at this from a student using a reference book on say Visual Basic to have an e-book version running alongside the Visual Basic application has a number of advantages. Cost is the big plus (for the educational body) but having the reference book in e-format I believe would be more productive for the student than the 'tree' lying open on a desk (cluttered or not). Having only recently looked at e-books I have become a huge fan and already have various on my pc. I think I will wait for the various iPad's to emerge at Christmas and use one of those rather than a Kndle type reader. Regards to all.

05-15-2011, 01:43 PM	#22
musicman2523 Groupie Posts: 164 Karma: 302432 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: pocketbook iq 701	don't know, but it would SEEM that all ebooks would be LESS expensive than they're paper versions.

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