ebook prices excessively high?

[Abisha]

This is just a little commentary on my behalf. I'm fairly new to eInk technologies, ebooks, etc.. I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me on why ebooks are so expensive? It just seems that since the storage and bandwidth costs are almost inconsequential, that ebooks should be considerably less expensive than their paper bound brethren. Yet what I'm finding is that many ebooks are near the same price in most cases, and even MORE expensive in certain instances. To site an example I wanted to purchase an ebook by Noam Chomsky. I shopped around a bit, checked several online shops, i.e. Fictionwise, Sony's ebook store, etc. Then for giggles I checked some prices on the paper physical copy from several retailers. What I found was alarming and ever so disappointing. The physical book was actually CHEAPER including shipping and handling! So here's the dilemma. Do I buy the more expensive ebook, whereby I'm really only purchasing some 'license'? Or, do I purchase the physical book that I have legitimate ownership rights to, that I can share with my family and friends (without having to 'borrow' out my $300 eReader device)? Just my opinion I suppose, but the greed of the publishers and distributers will destroy any chance of there being an "ebook revolution". Your thoughts?

-Abisha

[Ervserver]

check to see if your local library has ebooks available to check out, then your cost would be free. You wouldn't even have to leave the house, as long as you have internet access

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by Abisha

I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me on why ebooks are so expensive?

Greed.

[Qualm]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

Greed.

The pricing principle prevalent in Capitalism (charge as much as the market will bear) + limited supply. By limited supplier I mean limited suppliers, or essentially a cartel.

It's even worse for eBook readers themselves - eInk screens are manufactured by one company, there is no meaningful competition. In the future there may be alternative screens that are viable for eBook manufacturers to use, but right now we have a monopoly supplier situation.

[giedre]

That's why I buy 99% of my ebooks from Amazon. Once you get past the price of the ebook reader itself, I find it's a matter of who's got the largest selection of books for the best price {for me}.

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by Qualm

It's even worse for eBook readers themselves - eInk screens are manufactured by one company, there is no meaningful competition. In the future there may be alternative screens that are viable for eBook manufacturers to use, but right now we have a monopoly supplier situation.

True, assuming you want an eInk screen. There are lots of other ebook devices that don't use eInk though.

[Falbe Publishing]

Ebook prices are often high because publishers are testing the market. They want to see if people will pay a price similar to a paper book for a product that has significantly lower production costs.

[Cookie Monster]

It's like the early days of mp3 downloads. Publishers and music companies both thought they could sell their products at a price very close to the price charged in retail shops. In doing so they would be reaping a much larger profit margin as they wouldn't have to manufacture a product or pay a cut to the retailer, wholesalers, transportation etc.

The problem with that model is it doesn't work. It just smothers the market for ebooks at birth

[Abisha]

Originally Posted by Falbe Publishing

Ebook prices are often high because publishers are testing the market. They want to see if people will pay a price similar to a paper book for a product that has significantly lower production costs.

No need for testing! Here's the answer: Current prices = boycott the product all together! Yeah, sad to say, as things are now, my Sony Reader is going to limit itself to Project Gutenberg and my University readings. Who knows, maybe some executive at a large publisher will stumble-upon this thread and take a hint. (One can dream)

-Abisha