What are some publishers playing at?

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by darryl

Irrespective of the various arguments and theories about costing, it seems that most consumers do not see value in paying the same price or nearly the same price for an ebook as for a printed version.

Is this based personal observation or other anecdotal evidence? Or do you have something more concrete that causes you to believe it?

Since you created a poll about it I'm assuming it's the former.

If I was a betting man, I'd bet that most ebook consumers don't even give the printed price a passing glance when they buy their ebooks (but I have no evidence, of course).

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Is this based personal observation or other anecdotal evidence? Or do you have something more concrete that causes you to believe it?

Since you created a poll about it I'm assuming it's the former.

If I was a betting man, I'd bet that most ebook consumers don't even give the printed price a passing glance when they buy their ebooks (but I have no evidence, of course).

I would bet you are correct.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Oh and since you mentioned the 10% tax that is included, you need to add between 5 and 11% to that US price for taxes.

I pay 0% in sales tax and I was still in the US last time I checked. You can't force an equivalency here unless you're talking about an individual in a specific place.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by issybird

I pay 0% in sales tax and I was still in the US last time I checked. You can't force an equivalency here unless you're talking about an individual in a specific place.

Let me edit my previous post. Thanks.

[John F]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Is this based personal observation or other anecdotal evidence? Or do you have something more concrete that causes you to believe it?

Since you created a poll about it I'm assuming it's the former.

If I was a betting man, I'd bet that most ebook consumers don't even give the printed price a passing glance when they buy their ebooks (but I have no evidence, of course).

I would guess most ebook consumers do glance at all the prices, at least at Amazon U.S. using a browser, since the prices are right next to each other.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by John F

I would guess most ebook consumers do glance at all the prices, at least at Amazon U.S. using a browser, since the prices are right next to each other.

Rarely actually.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Rarely actually.

Rarely actually what?

I believe every book I click on at the U.S. Amazon site has the prices listed side by side. For example:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...VVHST0Q1Q17K70

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by John F

Rarely actually what?

I believe every book I click on at the U.S. Amazon site has the prices listed side by side. For example:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...VVHST0Q1Q17K70

I rarely actually look at the paper price if I am buying an ebook or vice-versa. No need if I want the book in a certain format.

Of course many of the ebooks I look at don't have paper editions.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by John F

I would guess most ebook consumers do glance at all the prices, at least at Amazon U.S. using a browser, since the prices are right next to each other.

Nope. When I search for authors in the Kindle Store I only the kindle prices in the list. Same for all the "Customers who bought this also bought... "lists. Once I click the individual title, I DO see a price for a paperback off to the right, now that you mention it. But I assure you, I rarely take note of it. I have no reason to. I'm sure I'm not alone.

Also ... I don't buy many books from Amazon. The ebooks stores I buy from don't sell print books, so I never see the print price. As I said, I have no evidence for my opinion, but I'm sticking by it just the same. I just don't think most ebook consumers are comparison shoppers.

[darryl]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Is this based personal observation or other anecdotal evidence? Or do you have something more concrete that causes you to believe it?

Since you created a poll about it I'm assuming it's the former.

If I was a betting man, I'd bet that most ebook consumers don't even give the printed price a passing glance when they buy their ebooks (but I have no evidence, of course).

You are of course correct. Having said that, I regard as a more concrete indication the declining market share of agency priced ebooks, though this is not of course definitive. It is also interesting that, as of posting, no one has indicated in the poll that they buy the print book instead. So far the poll results are not exactly what I expected, but close. There are more than I expected who will pay the same or more for an ebook. A minority, but a sizeable one.

[DiapDealer]

Don't forget that the MR membership might not be all that representative of the average ebook consumer crowd.

[darryl]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Don't forget that the MR membership might not be all that representative of the average ebook consumer crowd.

Thanks for reminding me. I suspect the MR membership is far from typical. The question of how the general public differs is something we can only speculate on, no doubt in accordance with our own views.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by darryl

Thanks for reminding me. I suspect the MR membership is far from typical. The question of how the general public differs is something we can only speculate on, no doubt in accordance with our own views.

In my opinion, none of us here are average. We're all hardcore something.

[Timboli]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Dumb question. What is the Australian price in Australian dollars?
Oh and since you mentioned the 10% tax that is included, you need to add between 0 and 11% to that US price for taxes. The book would cost me $8.65. If I go to the next state over the book would cost me $8.47.

One of my earlier posts in this topic, tells you exactly what the Aussie price is ... somewhere in the $16-17 range currently I believe.

The tax for you is included in that $7.88 USD, just like the tax for me is included in the $12.99 USD.

Check out my links in first topic, that should make it all clear to you.

[Timboli]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

.... I just don't think most ebook consumers are comparison shoppers.

I don't think they are either, it is a more general comparison really.

I go by what I think is fair price to pay for an ebook, not by what they are charging for the physical variant ... unless of course I happen to notice it is around the same price, or as has often been the case for a paperback, somehow, cheaper.

Sometimes, based on number of pages, I will want to pay less or more. It is a difficult comparison to make though, as all sorts of tricks are done to make a book seem longer than it really is. But hey that happened with physical books too. Sometimes though, big blockbusters are much easier to determine. Not even file size is always a good indicator.

There are huge differences in costs between a physical book and ebook ... and I'm not just talking manufacture here. There is transport, shipping, storage all over the place. Then damages, errors, preferential display costs. Eventual dumping, burning or sales markdowns. Then of course the huge secondhand book market that the author or publisher makes no benefit from. And the list goes on. There is lending, from which other things can flow on. etc etc.

We are often being done like a dog's dinner by unscrupulous publishers.

P.S. I have an unwritten rule, where $10 USD for a new release is about my cutoff. I will sometimes pay a little more, depending on obvious size and how much I badly want it. For an older release, especially a good number of years, I expect to pay a sliding degree of less, to a point ... a fair point. I am not one of those who buy when an ebook is at its cheapest, unless that is the fair price. I buy when an ebook reaches a fair price ... that's good enough for me ... I believe in being fair. Of course, it also depends on how well I know the author or the reputation of author or book. I will try something at a below fair price cost, that I otherwise would not have bought. If I enjoy it, then I will buy others by that author and they will get something more back from me that way.