ebook cost

[stevebaz]

Hi from an avid reader of books of old. I haven't got a reader because the price of ebooks is totally prohibitive.

From conception to production books nowadays are digital. There is no manhandling of the product until plates are made and then printed. So why should ebooks cost so much? The book never ever leaves its electronic/digital home.

Until the industry gets real I shall not be buying a reader especially at the price the readers are. I do think readers are value for money and are a great idea.

I go through at least one book a week and sometimes two and at this pace I just couldn't afford ebooks.

I find it rather strange that there is very little said about the cost of the product in the press. Max Hastings the other day was extolling the virtues of the eReader - that had been given to him well loaded with books - but precisely because he had been given this prezzie he bypassed the cost of loading the eReader.

[TGS]

Hi stevebaz and welcome to MR.
Books don't have to be expensive . in fact they don't have to cost anything at all. I could happily spend the next few years reading the public domain books that members of Mobileread format shift, make look nice and upload here - if only I had time to do much leisure reading. Added to that there are independent authors and small publishers promoting their wares on various threads here. By the time you had got through those maybe the publishing industry will have got it's act together, (or maybe not)

[ImogenRose]

Welcome to MR! There are so many great, free books on Amazon to enjoy.

[MickeyC]

Hi Steve and welcome to MobileRead.

[sdmama]

I purchase very few ebooks that cost more than $7. What my ebook reader has done for me is to introduce me to many new authors. I use my publice library for my Grisham, Evanovich, Baldacci fix and use my Kindle and Sony Reader to read free and cheap ebooks. Quite a few of these 99 cent books have turned out to be terrific.

[stevebaz]

All very true guys, and I agree with you about the freebies, and low cost authors, but my point remains valid - Publishers cannot justify the prices they 'impose' on ebooks.

I too use my public library right up to the hilt - one or even two books a week. It seems to me that lending through ebooks is a way forward - great for holidays - but my library hasn't even thought about ebook lending.

If the publishers are not careful I can see like minded folk getting together and scanning the latest best sellars and passing them around to each other. - or even scanning the borrowed library books. The publishers seem to have the BT syndrome - head in the sand - until the the market slipped away from them and they've never caught up

[MickeyC]

There already are illegal web sites that do exactly what you are referring to. And the unnecessarily high price of eBooks is a major factor.

When Apple developed the iPod, the Music Industry wanted to charge a lot for a single song. Had they done that, the illegal song market would have been massive and the Music companies would have lost the fortunes they made by listening to Steve Jobs and keeping the price low.

Publishers have a love/hate relationship with eBooks. They very much want to sell them at the same price they sell pBooks for and make a fat profit. But, at the same time, they greatly fear that, were eBooks to get popular enough, major authors would bypass the publishers altogether and sell directly to the public.

[kennyc]

Welcome. The thing that got me into Ebook Readers was the massive availability of Classic Books from Project Guttenberg and Google Books as well as others and also Library checkout availability. I typically only purchase books if the "price is right." I do think the prices should be less, and have hope that one day in the future they will be. In the mean time I continue to purchase many books used via Amazon ... again when the price is right.

Enjoy!

[Katti's Cat]

Hi Stevebaz & welcome to MR.

Have to agree with you on the price on eBooks. However, there are so many freebies out there and since I am in this forum I discovered lowcost books from indie writers, that the reader has already paid for itself.

Here in Australia even pBooks are expensive so I am very choosy on which book I buy. If I really really want a book I put it on my wishlist now and wait till the price go down. Until then I amuse myself with library books, freebies.

We can rant and rave as much as we want but I don't think the prices will come down much until eReaders are more widely spread. At the end of the day no one has to justify a price - you can buy or not at the prices advertised. Vote with our feet (fingers in our cases) is all we can do.

[stevebaz]

I now operate on the time system. I don’t go to the pictures (The entry price!) I wait until the DVDs of it are being sold 2nd hand on Amazon or wait for it to come on TV.

The same with music. I have a good back catologue of CDs (20/30 years all CDs bought very cheaply - I haven’t got one pirate job in my collection)) so that I can wait till a number I like comes on a freebie - This week it was a Phil Collins CD -
Everything comes to him who waits. It’s often the case that only one or two numbers on a CD are worth buying.

I have a great collection of B/W films and my paperback library is great Dharma Bums, Catcher in the Rye etc

So until the price of ebooks comes down I shall continue with the public library and keep a watching brief on the ebook price.

I may get an eReader for holidays and reread the classics in the same way that I have bought a 8GB Nanostyle for all my holiday music - 200 pops, 150 jazz titles and a smattering of classics - My nanostyle is not an expensive iPod but a similar product at two thirds the price - happy days - patience is a virtue that pays dividends

[Lady Blue]

Hello stevebaz, and to the forum.

[robb01]

Welcome Steve!

[stevebaz]

Thanks, one and all, for the warm welcome.

Is there a great big elibrary on the "sky" or is it a fractured asset?
I must check out Mr Gutenberg's library - he should of hung in there before declaring himself bankrupt he's the kind of entrpreneur the ebook industry needs.

Cheers

[happy_terd]

hello and welcome to MR!!!