RAND Lowers e-Book Prices

[Gideon]

You'd think they'd have learned from the music industry.... Take a hit for a bit, get in front of the technology at a reasonable price and without DRM and save themselves a lot of time and money fighting it.

But nope... they're going to end up with Amazon having them by the short hairs and dictating terms just like Apple did to the music biz and they'll cave after propping competitors that play by their rules and fail miserably, and having the sheer hubris to try to charge $30 bucks for a DRM laden ebook.

Unfortunately, it's going to drag us all through it as well.

But, selfishly and short sightedly, I hope they suffer terribly for their stupidity and greed and get it handed to them in the end!

[jairizarry]

This is great! I can't wait until Sony actually has the titles ready to go. BTW, is there a convenient place to see what titles are coming?

[CCDMan]

Most of us no longer write checks. How about music? Now it is time for the publishing companies to adapt or die. The Kindle 1 & 2 & Sony e-readers are leading the way.

Indeed! Although one caveat here is rural broadband penetration. The best I can get here is 1.5 mbps DSL no matter what I am willing to pay. That makes Netflix streaming, for example, so low quality that it is unwatchable. Hopefully the government will properly execute their plans to fix this. Some things cannot be left to the profit motive. If it had been, rural folks would still be using candles and oil lamps and communicating by pony express....

It is clear that the publishers indeed are still living in the past with a tech that has not changed much since Gutenberg. They will get it one way or the other sooner or later whether they like it or not. Should be fun to watch.

[Over]

I wish other publishers acted like RAND. ebook technology reduces certain costs associated with pbooks. Some people see it as an oportunity to lower the prices for the public, others see it as a wider profit margin oportunity.

[Olympus]

Dear Sir,

I am an early adopter and proud owner of the CyBook Gen3 (a versatile e-book device).

For this summer I wanted to read Falcones “Cathedral by the Sea” (appropriate while going on vacation to Spain)

I find a paperback for £4.29 at Amazon.Co.Uk, but I prefer not to waste suitcase-space on books as I can now store many many books in a small device.

I spent a lot of time to find any electronic version of this title, in the end I found your site and then you insult me by (all) charging me $ 17,- for an electronic version via your website although you safe on costs for:
- Paper
- Storage
- Printing
- Distribution
- Resellers-margin
- Sales-representatives

I was prepared to pay £3 - £4 for this title as this is comparable to the price of the printed version.
Apparently you do not (yet) appreciate me as a (potential) paying customer.

Regards,

Too bad I don't like Ryan's books - but I do appreciate a honest publisher

[Sydney's Mom]

Originally Posted by jgilliam1955

Has anyone used the "REDBOX" for DVD rental or Netflix? How much has changed over the last 10 to 20 years on DVD rentals? A lot of people are looking for what is convenient for them. DVD rental stores will be going away as more people run to the DVD rental machine right down the block or click on the TV to rent a movie instantly from Netflix. This is why the e-book readers will get better & more people will buy one. The publishers are saying a ebook is only 2 to 3 dollars cheaper than a regular hardcover book. Right now they do not want to deal with the coming storm. If an author can bypass the publisher & sell his book cheaper & make more money on the internet, why shouldn't he.
Most of us no longer write checks. How about music? Now it is time for the publishing companies to adapt or die. The Kindle 1 & 2 & Sony e-readers are leading the way.

We have them in the local supermarkets. The best thing is you can order a movie online, and it will be reserved for you. And you can return it anywhere. So I find what I want at the closest redbox, and then return it at the one 4 blocks from my house. I have DirectTV, and they have movies on demand, but they are $4.99. The most I have ever kept a redbox rental is 4 days, and that is still cheaper.