Cost of eBooks vs dead-tree books

[ownedbycats]

Something confusing. eBooks seem they should be cheaper - the costs tend to be one-time to produce the file, and then whatever costs there are to host the file on a web-server (or letting Amazon/Kobo do it and take a cut).

Seems like it'd be less than printing the book and handling the logistics of getting it out to the retailer.

Still, the eBooks are commonly more expensive. What gives?

[hobnail]

You don't think the author should be compensated?

On Amazon the Kindle books are rarely more expensive than the printed books.

Also, with printed books the publisher controls the price, with ebooks I think the price is more under the author's control.

[Apache]

How many threads have we had on this subject?
Apache

[issybird]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Something confusing. eBooks seem they should be cheaper - the costs tend to be one-time to produce the file, and then whatever costs there are to host the file on a web-server (or letting Amazon/Kobo do it and take a cut).

Seems like it'd be less than printing the book and handling the logistics of getting it out to the retailer.

Still, the eBooks are commonly more expensive. What gives?

Just speaking theoretically, why should something’s being cheaper to produce mean it sells for less? Suppose people are willing to pay even more for ebooks (as it seems they are, according to your postulate). Why not charge what the market will bear?

Books are fungible, but they’re not all that fungible. It’s not like selling spuds.

[binaryhermit]

Originally Posted by hobnail

Also, with printed books the publisher controls the price, with ebooks I think the price is more under the author's control.

Actually, (at least in the US) dead tree books the retailer pays wholesale and the retailer charges whatever they want, for the most part, the publisher sets eBook prices thanks to Apple illegally colluding with publishers back in the day.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by hobnail

You don't think the author should be compensated?

On Amazon the Kindle books are rarely more expensive than the printed books.

Also, with printed books the publisher controls the price, with ebooks I think the price is more under the author's control.

What does charging more for an ebook that a paperback have to do with the author's compensation? Or is this just a red herring?

If you are talking about indie publishing, the author has more control though Amazon has some nasty habits when it comes to sales and prices. For the Big 4/5 and their cousins, the royalties are set in the contract but the prices are under the publisher's control.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by Apache

How many threads have we had on this subject?
Apache

And how many pages in each thread? (for a given definition of "page", of course)

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Apache

How many threads have we had on this subject?
Apache

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

And how many pages in each thread? (for a given definition of "page", of course)

Too many threads with too many pages no matter how you define a page.

[DiapDealer]

My standard response: I value ebooks more, so I refuse to compare their prices to the price of a format I value much less.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

My standard response: I value ebooks more, so I refuse to compare their prices to the price of a format I value much less.

I don't even look at paper book prices. But I have a hard limit to how much I'm willing to pay for an ebook. 10 €, no more. More than this, I just wait for the price to drop.

[DiapDealer]

I'm fine with the retail prices. The time I spend with (and the enjoyment I derive from) a good book more than justifies the cost. Compared to some of my other vices, real ebooks are still a bargain--even at retail prices.

[Pajamaman]

Yeah, publishers are ripping readers off. Assume the position.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by issybird

Just speaking theoretically, why should something’s being cheaper to produce mean it sells for less?

Because with the current 'only paying for a license' crap, the value of an ebook is actually less than the paper book.

The publisher can't legally break into your house and take back a paper book. But they can revoke your access to the eBook at any time for any reason and there's not much you can do about it (aside from making a non-DRM'd backup, which is a legally grey area in some regions).

[ps67]

It's just a curiosity and it has no statistical value but I took the ranking of the 20 best-selling books in Italy according to the publisher Feltrinelli and I made the comparison between the price of paper books and that of ebooks.

Apart from a book that did not have an ebook, there are 19 left. I also removed Moby Dick of Herman Mellville which I found surprisingly in the ranking because I wanted to compare only new books and there are 18.

The average price of paper books is € 19.73, for ebooks it is € 11.71 that is 59.33%. I don't know if it is too high, however I rarely find an ebook whose price is higher of the price of paper book. Of course, in other countries the situation may be different.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Too many threads with too many pages no matter how you define a page.

What's fascinating is that no matter how many times it's been debunked, people still make the same bogus assertions. It's purely an emotional response where facts don't matter in the slightest.