04-24-2010, 07:34 AM | #1 |
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Last poll for awhile: ebook pricing
I think this will be the last poll for awhile.
After getting feedback from here and some other sites, the poll around ebook pricing is now up. I posted two. One that includes DRM, and one without. Also, the prices are listed relative to trade paperback since book costs vary from country to country. (It was a good point that someone brought up since my own book at Amazon.com is 1.99 in US, but in Canada where I live it's 3.99 at the same site - apparently it costs 2.00 for them to send it through the internet across the border ) I know there are a million other factors in this kind of poll, but I simplified it as best as I could. Cheers! David http://davidhburton.com |
04-24-2010, 09:16 AM | #2 |
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Wow, I know it's early, but I'm surprised to see that people are willing to pay 75% of TP prices. I thought it would have been lower. It may change as more votes roll in, but that's the early front runner.
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04-24-2010, 10:02 AM | #3 |
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Up to 100% for me.
I pretty much never re-read. So before I was paying for paperbacks that I'd then have to hassle with donating, giving away etc. since I don't like having books I'll never read again wasting space in my condo. So I'm happy to pay the same for an e-book. I'm paying for the experience of reading the book, more than to own the book, when it comes to my leisure reading. The experience is the same either way, so I'm fine with the same price. But I see how others who are more collector types etc., or people who do re-read often, wouldn't want to pay as much for the e-book. |
04-24-2010, 10:21 AM | #4 |
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For my answer to have any meaning you would have to have ATLEAST two polls, side by side.
DRM poll and non-DRM poll. A DRM book is worth FAR LESS to me. I do re-read some books and keep most of them. However with DRM books the only thing that I can bet on is that the ereader I'm using today will not be what I'll have 1, 3, or 5 years from now. What about the company that issued the DRM book? So I look at it like this - Ebook = book. DRM ebook = expensive throw away news paper. Guess what, I'll pay much more for a non-DRM book than a DRM book. How much? $6 to $10 for non-DRN. $2 to $3 for DRM. (EDIT - Of courst inflation will drive those prices up.) That is "in theory", as the only DRM book that I own is a "free today only" DRM book that I wanted to see if I could "free up". Last edited by HorridRedDog; 04-24-2010 at 10:24 AM. |
04-24-2010, 10:42 AM | #5 |
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I posted two polls on the site. One below the other. One with DRM and one without.
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04-24-2010, 11:13 AM | #6 |
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DRM doesn't affect my decision since I don't re-read and would pick up a hard cover for something I do re-read periodically anyway.
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04-24-2010, 02:58 PM | #7 |
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04-25-2010, 07:48 PM | #8 |
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If anyone hasn't voted, please do. I really want to get some good numbers on this one.
If anyone is interested as to why I'm running some of these polls, I read a lot about how publishers, agents, and authors were complaining about the Amazon pricing approach to ebooks and that they thought ebooks should cost more. They applauded the agency model when the iPad was released and moved towards the same approach elsewhere. In all of this dialogue that I was reading, nowhere were readers' opinions consulted. So I wanted to see for myself what readers think of ebook pricing. |
04-25-2010, 11:13 PM | #9 |
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My main price-point for eBooks is, well... $6 (quantity 1), with substantial discounts for buying in bundles. Whether the book is in $26 hardcover or $7.99 paperback. (Guess which publisher has captured the majority of my eBook $ )
In the far-less-common circumstance where the eBook didn't come from Baen, I'll pay up to 75% of the commonly-available price for the recent paper edition for a non-DRM eBook. Or 50% of the commonly-available price for the recent paper edition for a DRM-polluted eBook. But for DRM=polluted books, I think very hard about whether or not I want to buy at all... and usually wind up passing on the book entirely. Xenophon |
04-28-2010, 09:07 AM | #10 |
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Last day for poll. Vote while you can!
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04-28-2010, 10:59 AM | #11 |
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***I'm paying for the experience of reading the book, more than to own the book***
That's a simple but interesting concept, Dmaul. A bit like paying for a cinema seat to watch a movie. Buy the reels or a DVD if you want to watch over and again or share with family or friends. Neil |
04-28-2010, 11:27 AM | #12 |
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Inexplicable Pricing
eBook pricing confounds me. Once the file is produced, no further publication costs are incurred, EVER. While there is likely an ongoing distribution cost, it can hardly be the same as shipping p-books. There is no legitimate reason for an ebook, DRM or otherwise to cost the same as a p-book.
It is the right of the producer of any product, to ask whatever price they want. It is up to the consumer to decide if the price is justifiable to them. So long as you are willing to pay, the prices will stay the same, or inflate. If the ebook price is the same or higher than the cheapest p-book. I buy the p-book and digitize it myself. |
04-28-2010, 01:37 PM | #13 | |
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Quote:
Publishers are simply making hay when the sun shines and who can blame them really. Some enterprising person should set up an agency to do this for various publishers. |
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