eBook prices?

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by HarryT

For fiction, I completely agree.

Oh, absolutely. I should have specified. Fiction is really all I read these days.

[haertig]

I much prefer reading for entertainment from an eBook these days (novels, short stories). But for technical manuals, textbooks, reference books, etc. I absolutely hate and avoid like the plague eBooks for that. Yeah, you have unlimited bookmarks, search capabilities, etc. in eBooks, but for me none of that really helps much. I can find my way around a paper book so much faster if I just flip pages around. Go figure! It's serial reading where you mainly go forward and don't go back and forth much (e.g., a novel), where eBooks shine for me.

[Fbone]

I don't even notice the prices of hardcovers and paperbacks.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Fbone

I don't even notice the prices of hardcovers and paperbacks.

I'm getting that way. Why compare the price of ebooks to the price of formats I have no intention of buying?

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by haertig

I much prefer reading for entertainment from an eBook these days (novels, short stories). But for technical manuals, textbooks, reference books, etc. I absolutely hate and avoid like the plague eBooks for that. Yeah, you have unlimited bookmarks, search capabilities, etc. in eBooks, but for me none of that really helps much. I can find my way around a paper book so much faster if I just flip pages around. Go figure! It's serial reading where you mainly go forward and don't go back and forth much (e.g., a novel), where eBooks shine for me.

What you are saying about textbooks, etc. makes sense.

In fiction books, I like to use the search function if a character appears and I can't remember who he/she is or when he/she last appeared.

Originally Posted by Fbone

I don't even notice the prices of hardcovers and paperbacks.

If I want to buy an ebook I may check a couple different ebook stores to compare prices, but I don't look for paper books prices if I have no interest in buying paper.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by Tony1988

I'm surprised that people who are willing to buy a new 120-300 dollar device every year to read books on, are still complaining about ebook prices. Lol. I look at it this way, you are getting something from a paper book that you don't get from an ebook and there are things you get from an ebook that you dont get with paper. It all evens out in the end.

I think if people understood what goes into the price of a book, they would kvetch a little bit less (at least some would). It's all a mystery.

I personally have no issue with the ebook price being the same as the hardcover when it first goes public. My assumption is that the author is receiving the same royalties with either that first year. When it goes to paperback, the ebook price should not be more than the paperback.

[GlennD]

Originally Posted by Tarana

I think if people understood what goes into the price of a book, they would kvetch a little bit less (at least some would). It's all a mystery.

I personally have no issue with the ebook price being the same as the hardcover when it first goes public. My assumption is that the author is receiving the same royalties with either that first year. When it goes to paperback, the ebook price should not be more than the paperback.

I'd love to know what goes into ebook pricing. I get frustrated when I see a 50 year old, 200-250 page Heinlein juvenile novel selling for the same price as a 500 page novel published in the last 5 years. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is currently selling for $12.99.

On the other hand, I'm part of a market that probably isn't all that large - I have a large paper library that I'm slowly converting to ebooks. I'll pull the trigger without even thinking about it when I get an ereaderiq notice that has a book I want down to $1.99 and I'll seriously consider $2.99 depending on the book. But $6.99 - $9.99 for a book I've got sitting on the shelf? Forget it.

Somewhere between $1.99 and $9.99 there must be a happy medium. I'm talking about backlist material here - I don't have any complaints about ebooks and hardbacks competing with each other at the same price either.

[haertig]

Originally Posted by GlennD

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is currently selling for $12.99.

Unless you want to own it (well, you never actually "own" your eBook purchases!), you can get it from the library for free. One of my local libraries has it:

https://anythinklibraries.overdrive....e-bd81f1fd75d1

Still, $12.99 to "buy" (rent?) it from Amazon is totally outrageous!

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by GlennD

On the other hand, I'm part of a market that probably isn't all that large - I have a large paper library that I'm slowly converting to ebooks. I'll pull the trigger without even thinking about it when I get an ereaderiq notice that has a book I want down to $1.99 and I'll seriously consider $2.99 depending on the book. But $6.99 - $9.99 for a book I've got sitting on the shelf? Forget it.

I wonder how big of a demographic you represent, myself. I would guess it's pretty small, but I freely admit I have little evidence to base that assumption on.

I personally have no interest in converting my paper books to digital. I don't re-read very much, so I tend to only buy books that I'm ready to read right now. I don't stockpile unread books. I may occasionally replace a physical book I've owned that gets lost, or destroyed (or borrowed and not returned). But chances are, if I'm committed to a re-read, It's typically going to be something I loved dearly enough that I'm not going to mind paying a premium (relatively speaking) for it again. Especially if the author is still around to reap the benefits.

Would you expect book sellers to drastically discount the price of new physical books (of old titles) merely because you already own a copy? What if someone stole some of the books you've got sitting on your shelf? Would your $1.99 - $2.99 price-ceiling for the ebook versions increase to be able to replace your lost books? I'm not being a smart-aleck--I'm genuinely curious.

[haertig]

Playing devil's advocate here: Since "purchasing" an eBook is only "licensing it's content" (as the merchant's terms say), then using their own justification against them, if you already "own" the content because you bought the paper book then the eBook should be free to you (or available for just pennies to cover the electronic distribution cost). Right? They're just licensing (not selling) content as they so quickly point out, and you've already paid for the content. It's not like they're replacing it with anything physical that would require storage, handling, shipping, etc. That seems to be what their logic would imply if you took it to it's illogical conclusion. Not that you'd ever see this scenario unfold.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by haertig

Playing devil's advocate here: Since "purchasing" an eBook is only "licensing it's content"

This distinction is a bit played out amongst early adopters of ebooks, to tell the truth. The vast majority of ebook aficionados know it's primarily a matter of semantics. The limitations of "only licensing" aren't really restrictive enough to significantly bother many (even those "in the know"). I know some still "sweat it," but those numbers are going down. As trivial as it is for me to remove DRM (and as many years as I've practiced doing it), I usually can't be bothered to do it any more. I'm not going to worry about them "pulling my license." Mainly because after I've read an book, I've depleted the vast majority of its value (in my eyes). Losing access to it wouldn't really overly upset me. I got my money's-worth out of it already by reading it. E or P. *shrug*

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by GlennD

I'd love to know what goes into ebook pricing. I get frustrated when I see a 50 year old, 200-250 page Heinlein juvenile novel selling for the same price as a 500 page novel published in the last 5 years. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is currently selling for $12.99.

£5.99 (about $8.50) at Amazon UK, which is a pretty typical ebook price. The paperback is £9.99, so the ebook price is 60% of the paperback, which seems pretty reasonable to me, particularly when one considers that the ebook price includes 20% VAT, while the paperback has no VAT.

According to Amazon it's 402 pages, BTW .

[darryl]

Originally Posted by GlennD

I'd love to know what goes into ebook pricing. I get frustrated when I see a 50 year old, 200-250 page Heinlein juvenile novel selling for the same price as a 500 page novel published in the last 5 years. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is currently selling for $12.99.

On the other hand, I'm part of a market that probably isn't all that large - I have a large paper library that I'm slowly converting to ebooks. I'll pull the trigger without even thinking about it when I get an ereaderiq notice that has a book I want down to $1.99 and I'll seriously consider $2.99 depending on the book. But $6.99 - $9.99 for a book I've got sitting on the shelf? Forget it.

Somewhere between $1.99 and $9.99 there must be a happy medium. I'm talking about backlist material here - I don't have any complaints about ebooks and hardbacks competing with each other at the same price either.

I'm not planning to re-ignite the old price argument in this thread, though if it happens it happens. I have made my views very plain here, as have others. I will simply observe that Big 5 ebooks and some other tradpub ebooks are priced generally much higher than Indie and self-published ebooks. I further observe that whether or not a buyer knows or cares about the price of a paper copy of the ebook they are considering purchasing, the publisher certainly does. They have an old established business model to maximise revenue from print books, which they wish to preserve. Their concern about "devaluing" books by selling them at lower prices is a well publicised one, and the Big 5 went so far as to enter an illegal price-fixing conspiracy with Apple to gain control of retail ebook prices so as to stop Amazon discounting some titles. Despite the resulting setback they have now achieved their aim, though it is fair to say it is not proving to be the success they expected. The do price their ebooks higher at the expense of a gradually declining share of the ebook market.

DiapDealer's attitude is extremely rational for those amongst our community who never or rarely re-read books. I certainly re-read books on occasion, and like to own a copy of at least the books I really love. I don't want to pay again each time I decide to re-read. Nor for practical purposes do I place much store in an ebook being licensed rather than owned outright.

As for your Heinlein book I suggest that you list it with one of the price watch services and wait for it to be offered at a reasonable price, which is good advice for all of the books already in your library. There is no need to be tempted by the ease of obtaining a pirate copy. If you want to re-read particular books in the meantime libraries are an excellent alternative.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by darryl

I'm not planning to re-ignite the old price argument in this thread, though if it happens it happens. I have made my views very plain here, as have others. I will simply observe that Big 5 ebooks and some other tradpub ebooks are priced generally much higher than Indie and self-published ebooks.

Very true, and many of us consider them to be worth paying considerably more for. Those who do not can of course buy their books elsewhere, but the healthy profits made by the publishers indicates that they do not lack customers willing to pay their prices which many (myself included) consider reasonable.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by HarryT

but the healthy profits made by the publishers indicates that they do not lack customers willing to pay their prices which many (myself included) consider reasonable.

For the sheer enjoyment I get out of reading a novel (not to mention the amount of time I'm engaged with one), I find the current average prices of traditionally published books to be imminently reasonable (and I don't have an abundance of disposable income). If I didn't, I'd just use libraries more.