Follett & Patterson E-Books More Expensive Than Hardcovers!

Paul Levine · 10-05-2010, 12:10 AM

It's not Amazon's fault. We all know that by now.

So blame Dutton and Little Brown for this. Ken Follett's "Fall of Giants" is $19.99 and James Patterson's "Don't Blink" is $14.99...on Kindle. Both are more expensive than the same hardcover books at the Amazon discounted price.

Here's the outrageous story from Tuesday's New York Times.

"Customers, unaccustomed to seeing a digital edition more expensive than the hardcover, howled at the price discrepancy, and promptly voiced their outrage with negative comments and one-star reviews on Amazon."

Paul Levine
Author of "Reversal" selling for $2.87.

desertgrandma · 10-05-2010, 12:18 AM

Both books are available in epub thru libraries...which would behoove these publishers to remove their craniums from their posteriors.

No ebook reader owner is forced to pay these prices. The sooner they realize this, the better.

Piper_ · 10-05-2010, 12:22 AM

This seems extra quote-worthy:

Russ Grandinetti, the vice president of Kindle content for Amazon, suggested that the publishers should lower their e-book prices in response to consumer complaints.

“Setting a price for a Kindle book that is higher than its print counterpart makes no sense,” Mr. Grandinetti said in a statement, although it was not clear who was the chicken and who the egg in this instance. “It’s bad for readers and authors, and is illogical given the cost savings of digital. We’ve seen publishers do this in a few cases, and we’ve been urging them to stop.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/bu...GT7gXIjyfXlujA

J. Strnad · 10-05-2010, 12:55 AM

Vote with your wallets, folks. It's all they understand.

lene1949 · 10-05-2010, 02:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Levine

It's not Amazon's fault. We all know that by now.

So blame Dutton and Little Brown for this. Ken Follett's "Fall of Giants" is $19.99 and James Patterson's "Don't Blink" is $14.99...on Kindle. Both are more expensive than the same hardcover books at the Amazon discounted price.

Here's the outrageous story from Tuesday's New York Times.

"Customers, unaccustomed to seeing a digital edition more expensive than the hardcover, howled at the price discrepancy, and promptly voiced their outrage with negative comments and one-star reviews on Amazon."

Paul Levine
Author of "Reversal" selling for $2.87.

Ken Follett's book was $11.99, when I bought it last Wednesday.. That includes the $2 whispernet fee.

Edited to add: I never compare the price to the other formats, because I want the kindle version.. I only read books available for an e-reader... I've had years of filled up shelves of books, which all got recycled at my last move nearly 5 years ago... I had started reading ebooks some time before the move on my PDA, Palm Zire72. I have not read a paper novel since then.

jhempel24 · 10-05-2010, 03:34 AM

This is just terrible.

lene1949 · 10-05-2010, 03:53 AM

Here's the link to the version I bought..

http://www.amazon.com/Fall-of-Giants...6265128&sr=1-3

Piper_ · 10-05-2010, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lene1949

Ken Follett's book was $11.99, when I bought it last Wednesday.. That includes the $2 whispernet fee.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lene1949

Here's the link to the version I bought..

http://www.amazon.com/Fall-of-Giants...6265128&sr=1-3

That price isn't available to US Customers.

abookreader · 10-05-2010, 01:28 PM

Yeah, the Canadian price for Fall of Giants is $9.99 and the Overdrive Library price is FREE. It is just the US Agency price that is $19.99.

I broke up with James Patterson so I don't even care if that one is on Overdrive but I imagine it will be.

Mr. Goodbar · 10-05-2010, 01:48 PM

I can see that they're trying to drive the hardcover sales, but I'm sure that many of us will vote with either waiting or looking at the library. I very rarely buy a paper book anymore and all the publisher is doing is losing a sale at this point. It just amazes how inept they are with their business practices. This book is definitely on my reading list, but not at that price.

I also wonder how many sales they will lose to the "darknet" due to this pricing?

Barcey · 10-05-2010, 02:35 PM

I'm just glad to see the New York Times covering this and including quotes from customers about how insane it is.

Harry001 · 10-15-2010, 08:07 AM

shoot - i just payed $19.99 last week at the sony store
maybe i should have waited, but the last books from Ken Follett were so good, i needed that. but it is not as good, as i thought

keep reading
harry

10-05-2010, 12:10 AM	#1
Paul Levine Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 725480 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles Device: Kindle	Follett & Patterson E-Books More Expensive Than Hardcovers! It's not Amazon's fault. We all know that by now. So blame Dutton and Little Brown for this. Ken Follett's "Fall of Giants" is $19.99 and James Patterson's "Don't Blink" is $14.99...on Kindle. Both are more expensive than the same hardcover books at the Amazon discounted price. Here's the outrageous story from Tuesday's New York Times. "Customers, unaccustomed to seeing a digital edition more expensive than the hardcover, howled at the price discrepancy, and promptly voiced their outrage with negative comments and one-star reviews on Amazon." Paul Levine Author of "Reversal" selling for $2.87.

10-05-2010, 12:18 AM	#2
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462841 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	Both books are available in epub thru libraries...which would behoove these publishers to remove their craniums from their posteriors. No ebook reader owner is forced to pay these prices. The sooner they realize this, the better. Last edited by desertgrandma; 10-05-2010 at 12:59 AM. Reason: added 'reader'

10-05-2010, 01:48 PM	#10
Mr. Goodbar Wizard Posts: 1,005 Karma: 98078 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Mini 4	I can see that they're trying to drive the hardcover sales, but I'm sure that many of us will vote with either waiting or looking at the library. I very rarely buy a paper book anymore and all the publisher is doing is losing a sale at this point. It just amazes how inept they are with their business practices. This book is definitely on my reading list, but not at that price. I also wonder how many sales they will lose to the "darknet" due to this pricing? Last edited by Mr. Goodbar; 10-05-2010 at 02:12 PM.

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10-05-2010, 12:22 AM	#3
Piper_ ~~~~~ Posts: 761 Karma: 1278391 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: USA Device: Kindle 3, Sony 350	This seems extra quote-worthy: Russ Grandinetti, the vice president of Kindle content for Amazon, suggested that the publishers should lower their e-book prices in response to consumer complaints. “Setting a price for a Kindle book that is higher than its print counterpart makes no sense,” Mr. Grandinetti said in a statement, although it was not clear who was the chicken and who the egg in this instance. “It’s bad for readers and authors, and is illogical given the cost savings of digital. We’ve seen publishers do this in a few cases, and we’ve been urging them to stop.” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/bu...GT7gXIjyfXlujA

10-05-2010, 12:55 AM	#4
J. Strnad Guru Posts: 915 Karma: 3537194 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo, Kindle 3, Paperwhite	Vote with your wallets, folks. It's all they understand.

10-05-2010, 03:34 AM	#6
jhempel24 Wizard Posts: 2,157 Karma: 7068605 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, B&N Nook Colro	This is just terrible.

10-05-2010, 03:53 AM	#7
lene1949 Wizard Posts: 1,952 Karma: 213930 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Middelfart, Denmark Device: Kindle paper white	Here's the link to the version I bought.. http://www.amazon.com/Fall-of-Giants...6265128&sr=1-3

10-05-2010, 01:28 PM	#9
abookreader Wizard Posts: 1,516 Karma: 2567610 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindles - Keyboard, Fire, 2-US, iPhone, iPAD	Yeah, the Canadian price for Fall of Giants is $9.99 and the Overdrive Library price is FREE. It is just the US Agency price that is $19.99. I broke up with James Patterson so I don't even care if that one is on Overdrive but I imagine it will be.

10-05-2010, 02:35 PM	#11
Barcey Wizard Posts: 1,531 Karma: 8059866 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Canada Device: Kobo H2O / Aura HD / Glo / iPad3	I'm just glad to see the New York Times covering this and including quotes from customers about how insane it is.

10-15-2010, 08:07 AM	#12
Harry001 Addict Posts: 208 Karma: 729 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: New York City, USA Device: palmone lifedrive+sonyreader 505+NookColor+HPTouchpad \32GB+NookSimple	shoot - i just payed $19.99 last week at the sony store maybe i should have waited, but the last books from Ken Follett were so good, i needed that. but it is not as good, as i thought keep reading harry

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