The International Agreement To Gouge E-book Customers

Blue Tyson · 01-24-2012, 05:45 AM

http://www.crikey.com.au/2012/01/24/...ook-customers/

by Bernard Keane

"An international agreement between publishers has driven massive increases in the price of e-books for Australian readers, who also continue to be treated as mugs by companies selling the same titles more cheaply overseas.

Crikey’s tip last week about e-book prices has generated a big response from readers, with example after example of how prices had risen significantly in recent months and how titles were more expensive in Australia than overseas."

sabredog · 01-24-2012, 06:22 AM

Yep. Good one.

I love how these hypocritical bunch of prats wark on about piracy when they simply continue to encourage it by short sighted money grabbing arrogance.

azazel1024 · 01-24-2012, 11:22 AM

It may be worse in Australia (I don't really know), but it is pretty systemic from almost all major publishing houses in the US and probably world wide. Because it costs the publishers less to get an ebook in your hands, you should have to pay more (you know, because of the convenience to you for that electronic format and all).

On going investigation/court case in the EU and also know the US about price fixing and similar abuses against most of the major publishing houses.

Prestidigitweeze · 01-24-2012, 01:08 PM

It sounds as if it is much worse in Australia, given the quote in the OP:

Quote:

"[T]itles were [suddenly] more expensive in Australia than overseas."

As corporations increasingly enjoy the rights and status of persons, the CEOs who work for them go after short-term profits for themselves and ignore their companies' long-term interests—which amounts to zero personal loyalty to so-called persons.

Barcey · 01-24-2012, 05:25 PM

BOHICA or boycott. The choice is yours.

I think that Australia is similar to Canada in that the price of paper books was higher because of the large shipping costs (geography) and lower population density. The publishers were protected from international competition and were allowed to drive up prices. Now the publishers view these consumers as more tolerant of higher book prices but the consumers expect the larger cost savings. The publishers want geo-restrictions so they can continue to gouge. The examples that I've seen the problem is even worse in Australia.

ilago · 01-24-2012, 07:22 PM

Australia is a small isolated market. Until the internet became widely used most Australians had no idea how much they were ripped off in retail pricing for a wide range of products which includes books - paper and ebooks. IT products, of any kind, for example, are demonstrably more expensive in Australia.

There were almost no ebook reader options for many people a couple of years ago. Few retailers stocked the readers and the prices kept them more expensive than some laptop computers (Sony, I'm looking at you). I've had a Kindle since they first became available here in 2009. I had already been buying paper books from the UK and USA for many years - not always on price - mostly on product range. The range of books available in Australia has always been restricted to what suits the distributors. The prices of readers have now fallen quite a bit but now the supply of ebooks is a problem. It's only recently that Google Books have opened here. iBooks and Google Books are usually overpriced compared to overseas prices which are easy to check.

I will do without a book rather than pay 100% more than it sells in the USA and UK. That's without mentioning the books that "are not available in your area".

Now people can find out just how much the rip offs are. Whether the community can get the message over to the wholesale/distribution end of product supply chain I don't know. That's where the problem is. Most of them are monopolies or part of cartels.

Crikey has been following the ebook/paperbook ripoff saga for some time. I've been a Crikey subscriber for some years.

Retailers here are generally complaining quite loudly about loss of sales to on line purchases and want "something" done about it. They have failed to make any effort to use their buying power to deal with the wholesale/distribution agent's price gouging and instead complaining about their customer base failing to show interest in overpriced offerings.

caleb72 · 01-24-2012, 08:16 PM

Australian publishers - you've done it again. I guess it's about time they really made their move in this area given that they're starting to run out of bricks and mortar businesses able to stay afloat in this heavily protected and small market.

Of course, if the interest in reading is surging based on the availability and convenience of ebooks and popular devices, it would take an Australian publisher to stuff that up. Go Aussie!

sabredog · 01-24-2012, 08:24 PM

Yep, the Gerry Harvey school of business. Rip off and price gouge your customers then run crying to government when they find alternate and cheaper sources to shop.

ilago · 01-24-2012, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabredog

Yep, the Gerry Harvey school of business. Rip off and price gouge your customers then run crying to government when they find alternate and cheaper sources to shop.

That's the one.

Prestidigitweeze · 01-25-2012, 04:54 AM

Wow -- Mr. Harvey seems a sterling individual.

The rest of this post is for people who don't live in Australia and might be unaware of this touching philanthropist.

Obvious Source

Interesting that he advocates government intervention only for individuals with roughly $870,000,000 in the bank:

Quote:

He often states that no one is worth the millions they earn and that if they think they are worth more, they can be paid in options and shares. . . . In an interview in 2008 he described giving charity to the homeless as "a waste", and said that it was "helping a whole heap of no-hopers to survive for no good reason".

Glad his anti-overseas shopping campaign backfired so raucously.

sabredog · 01-25-2012, 06:40 AM

He is a wingeing dinosaur who destroyed many small electrical businesses. I will not shop in his stores period.

Another of his foot in mouth comments was that online shopping was a fad and would not last.

khalleron · 01-25-2012, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

Interesting that he advocates government intervention only for individuals with roughly $87,000,000 in the bank

Decimal point error - according to your 'obvious source' he has $870 million.

Prestidigitweeze · 01-26-2012, 01:26 AM

Typo corrected. Thanks for pointing it out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by khalleron

Decimal point error - according to your 'obvious source' he has $870 million.

carpetmojo · 01-26-2012, 06:03 AM

I must abandon my normal good manners, Mod's permitting, and say this chap sounds like a grade one scumbag.

Could not Oz think up a way to get a boycott going, and enable him to at least lose a few of his millions ?
Or at the very least affront his own high regard of himself ?

What a creep.

jehane · 01-27-2012, 02:08 AM

it's not an official boycott, but what Gerry's been whinging loudly about is the fact that people have discovered that his prices are absurdly high and have been shopping elsewhere, mainly online.

Australians have been ripped off in many sectors of retail for decades. Books, software, electronics, sporting goods, even clothes - levi's cost about 2-3 times as much as in the US. In the old days people used to buy a lot of stuff on overseas trips - i remember the long lines at duty free shops with people buying TVs - and that was back in the CRT days! Now that internet shopping exists and is becoming more widespread, people are taking to it in droves. The old excuses about shipping costs suddenly don't seem to exist for individual customers, which is counter-intuitive.

Books specifically are also subject to parallel import laws, which means if a local publisher picks up the rights then bookshops have no choice but to sell that version, even if it's 2 or 3 times as much as overseas. So bookshops have been bleeding heavily to Amazon and Book Depository.

01-24-2012, 05:45 AM	#1
Blue Tyson Blue Captain Posts: 1,595 Karma: 5000236 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Australia Device: Kindle Keyboard 3G,Huawei Ideos X3,Kobo Mini	The International Agreement To Gouge E-book Customers http://www.crikey.com.au/2012/01/24/...ook-customers/ by Bernard Keane "An international agreement between publishers has driven massive increases in the price of e-books for Australian readers, who also continue to be treated as mugs by companies selling the same titles more cheaply overseas. Crikey’s tip last week about e-book prices has generated a big response from readers, with example after example of how prices had risen significantly in recent months and how titles were more expensive in Australia than overseas."

01-24-2012, 07:22 PM	#6
ilago Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 21390 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Adelaide, Australia Device: kindle 2, iPad, Sony PRS T1, Motorola Xoom, 'droid phone, Kindle Touch	It's not just books Australia is a small isolated market. Until the internet became widely used most Australians had no idea how much they were ripped off in retail pricing for a wide range of products which includes books - paper and ebooks. IT products, of any kind, for example, are demonstrably more expensive in Australia. There were almost no ebook reader options for many people a couple of years ago. Few retailers stocked the readers and the prices kept them more expensive than some laptop computers (Sony, I'm looking at you). I've had a Kindle since they first became available here in 2009. I had already been buying paper books from the UK and USA for many years - not always on price - mostly on product range. The range of books available in Australia has always been restricted to what suits the distributors. The prices of readers have now fallen quite a bit but now the supply of ebooks is a problem. It's only recently that Google Books have opened here. iBooks and Google Books are usually overpriced compared to overseas prices which are easy to check. I will do without a book rather than pay 100% more than it sells in the USA and UK. That's without mentioning the books that "are not available in your area". Now people can find out just how much the rip offs are. Whether the community can get the message over to the wholesale/distribution end of product supply chain I don't know. That's where the problem is. Most of them are monopolies or part of cartels. Crikey has been following the ebook/paperbook ripoff saga for some time. I've been a Crikey subscriber for some years. Retailers here are generally complaining quite loudly about loss of sales to on line purchases and want "something" done about it. They have failed to make any effort to use their buying power to deal with the wholesale/distribution agent's price gouging and instead complaining about their customer base failing to show interest in overpriced offerings.

01-26-2012, 06:03 AM	#14
carpetmojo Wizard Posts: 3,117 Karma: 9269999 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: UK Device: Sony- T3, PRS650, 350, T1/2/3, Paperwhite, Fire 8.9,Samsung Tab S 10.5	Yuk...... I must abandon my normal good manners, Mod's permitting, and say this chap sounds like a grade one scumbag. Could not Oz think up a way to get a boycott going, and enable him to at least lose a few of his millions ? Or at the very least affront his own high regard of himself ? What a creep.

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01-24-2012, 06:22 AM	#2
sabredog Geographically Restricted Posts: 2,629 Karma: 14933353 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2	Yep. Good one. I love how these hypocritical bunch of prats wark on about piracy when they simply continue to encourage it by short sighted money grabbing arrogance.

01-24-2012, 11:22 AM	#3
azazel1024 Groupie Posts: 182 Karma: 346596 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Ellicott City, MD Device: Nook simple touch, iPad 2	It may be worse in Australia (I don't really know), but it is pretty systemic from almost all major publishing houses in the US and probably world wide. Because it costs the publishers less to get an ebook in your hands, you should have to pay more (you know, because of the convenience to you for that electronic format and all). On going investigation/court case in the EU and also know the US about price fixing and similar abuses against most of the major publishing houses.

01-24-2012, 05:25 PM	#5
Barcey Wizard Posts: 1,531 Karma: 8059866 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Canada Device: Kobo H2O / Aura HD / Glo / iPad3	BOHICA or boycott. The choice is yours. I think that Australia is similar to Canada in that the price of paper books was higher because of the large shipping costs (geography) and lower population density. The publishers were protected from international competition and were allowed to drive up prices. Now the publishers view these consumers as more tolerant of higher book prices but the consumers expect the larger cost savings. The publishers want geo-restrictions so they can continue to gouge. The examples that I've seen the problem is even worse in Australia.

01-24-2012, 08:16 PM	#7
caleb72 Indie Advocate Posts: 2,863 Karma: 18794463 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Kindle	Australian publishers - you've done it again. I guess it's about time they really made their move in this area given that they're starting to run out of bricks and mortar businesses able to stay afloat in this heavily protected and small market. Of course, if the interest in reading is surging based on the availability and convenience of ebooks and popular devices, it would take an Australian publisher to stuff that up. Go Aussie!

01-24-2012, 08:24 PM	#8
sabredog Geographically Restricted Posts: 2,629 Karma: 14933353 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2	Yep, the Gerry Harvey school of business. Rip off and price gouge your customers then run crying to government when they find alternate and cheaper sources to shop.

01-25-2012, 06:40 AM	#11
sabredog Geographically Restricted Posts: 2,629 Karma: 14933353 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2	He is a wingeing dinosaur who destroyed many small electrical businesses. I will not shop in his stores period. Another of his foot in mouth comments was that online shopping was a fad and would not last.

01-27-2012, 02:08 AM	#15
jehane Book addict Posts: 441 Karma: 2650464 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Antarctica/Australia/Ohio Device: Sony PRS-300/T1/Asus TF101	it's not an official boycott, but what Gerry's been whinging loudly about is the fact that people have discovered that his prices are absurdly high and have been shopping elsewhere, mainly online. Australians have been ripped off in many sectors of retail for decades. Books, software, electronics, sporting goods, even clothes - levi's cost about 2-3 times as much as in the US. In the old days people used to buy a lot of stuff on overseas trips - i remember the long lines at duty free shops with people buying TVs - and that was back in the CRT days! Now that internet shopping exists and is becoming more widespread, people are taking to it in droves. The old excuses about shipping costs suddenly don't seem to exist for individual customers, which is counter-intuitive. Books specifically are also subject to parallel import laws, which means if a local publisher picks up the rights then bookshops have no choice but to sell that version, even if it's 2 or 3 times as much as overseas. So bookshops have been bleeding heavily to Amazon and Book Depository.

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