(Some) Kobo books more expensive than other ebooks

Ivo · 06-22-2010, 09:28 PM

I have been monitoring the prices for a particular book (Stephen Baxter, book title: "Weaver") for some time now, and noticed that while several other ebook editions lowered their prices (from around $15 to < $10):

1. Kindle US --> $8.39
2. Penguin US --> $6.99

Kobo edition is still $15.59 CND.

Would somebody from Kobo team please read this and lower the price. The paperback edition is $9.99 CND on amazon.ca.

RedRoverJ · 06-22-2010, 10:04 PM

Are you comparing US prices to Canadian prices? In my experience Canadian prices are always higher even when conversion is factored in. It's not exactly fair, but it is also nothing new.

Ivo · 06-22-2010, 10:15 PM

Canadian prices are somewhat higher, very true, but never almost twice as much as in the US.

For example, the US paperback edition of the book in question on amazon.com is $7.99 (which is the same range as the Kindle edition), while the Canadian paperback price is $9.99 (on amazon.ca).

I would expect Kobo ebook to be in the $10 range as well.

Squirsier · 06-22-2010, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedRoverJ

Are you comparing US prices to Canadian prices? In my experience Canadian prices are always higher even when conversion is factored in. It's not exactly fair, but it is also nothing new.

Still, Sony's eBook software has it for 6.99 US also available for Canadian Citizens.

We still have to shop around for the best prices!

Ivo · 06-22-2010, 10:30 PM

Thanks Squirsier, that is good to know!

I guess I could download Sony eBook and remove the protection. However, I don't think the problem is that Kobo is more expensive in general; prices are quite comparable to other eBook editions. The problem is that Kobo is slow to react. As I pointed out, everybody had this book in the ~$15 range until a month ago or so, and then they lowered their prices (about 2-3 months after the paperback edition came out). Kobo is just slow to take note.

AnemicOak · 06-22-2010, 10:36 PM

Sony has it for $6.99 (ePub, just like Kobo / will work on the Kobo). They list two editions at that price and in the past when they've done that one was the US version and one Canadian but I'm not sure how to check that. It's weird, but B&N lists it twice too for $6.99 (Kindle version is $6.99 for the US too).

Something does seem messed up at Kobo. When I search I find the book twice, once for $14.49 and once at $18.99

Perhaps email Kobo CS and inquire? They're database does seem to update slowly or on a delayed basis to everyone else.

mwlcarter · 06-23-2010, 12:19 PM

Yeah, the price of ebooks is still too high... An ebook should never cost more than a paperback edition. Sure, printing isn't the only production cost, but going from the author's Word document to ePub should allow for quite a cost savings compared to print editions.

Ivo · 06-23-2010, 01:31 PM

I am not sure about the process involved in eBook creation (as a digression, Atlantis does an excellent job for me, much better then calibre at setting the TOC for example), but the two results for each title seem to indicate two different publishers (e.g., Penguin and Ace Trade). It may just indicate that eBooks were created by two different publishers - there might be some difference in the formatting, fonts, etc, but otherwise it is the same book.

AnemicOak · 06-23-2010, 01:58 PM

Penguin and Ace are just different labels of the same company.

kremesch · 06-24-2010, 11:37 AM

Yes. Something is definitely amiss. Tom Clancy's Red Rabbit is 27.89 at Kobo, and approx. $7-$11 at various other eBook retailers. If this is a glitch, methinks it should be fixed. If not, I'm unlikely to buy the book from Kobo.

ETA: I just noticed it's also at Kobo for 6.97 as well. There's two from different publishers.

wrenn1 · 06-24-2010, 03:02 PM

I thought the prices were set by the publishers and each country has their own publisher?

Mememememe · 06-24-2010, 05:31 PM

I imagine what you guys are talking about is a matter of territorial rights.

If the book is published internationally, it's often the case that different publishers hold rights in different territories. For example, Random House holds the Canadian rights to Life of Pi, while I believe Penguin holds rights in other territories. I haven't checked, but I would imagine you will find different prices for that book, depending on which edition you are looking at. Kindle, presumably, carries the US edition, while Kobo carries the Canadian edition.

Even on Kobo alone, you will find different prices for the same book. Colin McAdam's "Fall," for example, will show up in two different editions if you do a search on Kobo. It is $2 more expensive for the Canadian edition. If you're in Canada, you won't be able to buy the cheaper edition, since it would be illegal for Kobo to sell it in Canada -- that publisher doesn't hold Canadian rights.

Prices for books from Canadian publishers will necessarily be higher since Canadian publishers have a much smaller market to serve, and need to set higher prices in order to make up for the lower profit margins.

Also, different ebook suppliers have different arrangements with publishers. Kobo is among the more publisher-friendly, which is why they have the best selection of titles. Kindle tries to force pricing that makes ebook publishing unprofitable. The downside, of course, is that Kobo is unable to offer many titles for as low a price as Kindle ... but that's because Kindle is predatory.

Ivo · 06-24-2010, 07:52 PM

Interesting explanation. The book I mentioned is offered by Ace and Penguin Group US, the same publishers that sell these books for much less in the US.

Maybe it is not profitable to sell ebooks at the same price range as paperback editions, so they have to sell them for much more in Canada to make up for their losses. (This same book, in paperback, in Canada is sold for $9.99 CND, and in the states for $7.99.)

Aside from Canadian story, your argument about profitability (or lack of it) is weak. Kindle edition of this particular book in the US is $9.41, so I'm not sure what makes it unprofitable if the paperback edition costs $7.99. They surely didn't use dead trees, nor transport the books, and yet you claim that more expensive ebook is less profitable than cheaper paperback. Unless the paperback is also not profitable, even more so then ebooks.

AnemicOak · 06-24-2010, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ivo

Kindle edition of this particular book in the US is $9.41, so I'm not sure what makes it unprofitable if the paperback edition costs $7.99.

Kindle edition for me (in the US) is $6.99

dorino · 06-24-2010, 08:44 PM

With the Kobo, if you buy from Sony's store, you don't need to do a thing to it to get it working on the kobo. Same as if bought from kobo.

06-22-2010, 09:28 PM	#1
Ivo Member Posts: 22 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Toronto, Ontario Device: kobo	(Some) Kobo books more expensive than other ebooks I have been monitoring the prices for a particular book (Stephen Baxter, book title: "Weaver") for some time now, and noticed that while several other ebook editions lowered their prices (from around $15 to < $10): 1. Kindle US --> $8.39 2. Penguin US --> $6.99 Kobo edition is still $15.59 CND. Would somebody from Kobo team please read this and lower the price. The paperback edition is $9.99 CND on amazon.ca.

06-24-2010, 11:37 AM	#10
kremesch Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kindle, Kobo	Yes. Something is definitely amiss. Tom Clancy's Red Rabbit is 27.89 at Kobo, and approx. $7-$11 at various other eBook retailers. If this is a glitch, methinks it should be fixed. If not, I'm unlikely to buy the book from Kobo. ETA: I just noticed it's also at Kobo for 6.97 as well. There's two from different publishers. Last edited by kremesch; 06-25-2010 at 12:32 PM.

06-24-2010, 07:52 PM	#13
Ivo Member Posts: 22 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Toronto, Ontario Device: kobo	Interesting explanation. The book I mentioned is offered by Ace and Penguin Group US, the same publishers that sell these books for much less in the US. Maybe it is not profitable to sell ebooks at the same price range as paperback editions, so they have to sell them for much more in Canada to make up for their losses. (This same book, in paperback, in Canada is sold for $9.99 CND, and in the states for $7.99.) Aside from Canadian story, your argument about profitability (or lack of it) is weak. Kindle edition of this particular book in the US is $9.41, so I'm not sure what makes it unprofitable if the paperback edition costs $7.99. They surely didn't use dead trees, nor transport the books, and yet you claim that more expensive ebook is less profitable than cheaper paperback. Unless the paperback is also not profitable, even more so then ebooks. Last edited by Ivo; 06-24-2010 at 07:58 PM.

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06-22-2010, 10:04 PM	#2
RedRoverJ Zealot Posts: 125 Karma: 314 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Canada, Eh! Device: Kobo	Are you comparing US prices to Canadian prices? In my experience Canadian prices are always higher even when conversion is factored in. It's not exactly fair, but it is also nothing new.

06-22-2010, 10:15 PM	#3
Ivo Member Posts: 22 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Toronto, Ontario Device: kobo	Canadian prices are somewhat higher, very true, but never almost twice as much as in the US. For example, the US paperback edition of the book in question on amazon.com is $7.99 (which is the same range as the Kindle edition), while the Canadian paperback price is $9.99 (on amazon.ca). I would expect Kobo ebook to be in the $10 range as well.

06-22-2010, 10:30 PM	#5
Ivo Member Posts: 22 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Toronto, Ontario Device: kobo	Thanks Squirsier, that is good to know! I guess I could download Sony eBook and remove the protection. However, I don't think the problem is that Kobo is more expensive in general; prices are quite comparable to other eBook editions. The problem is that Kobo is slow to react. As I pointed out, everybody had this book in the ~$15 range until a month ago or so, and then they lowered their prices (about 2-3 months after the paperback edition came out). Kobo is just slow to take note.

06-22-2010, 10:36 PM	#6
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	Sony has it for $6.99 (ePub, just like Kobo / will work on the Kobo). They list two editions at that price and in the past when they've done that one was the US version and one Canadian but I'm not sure how to check that. It's weird, but B&N lists it twice too for $6.99 (Kindle version is $6.99 for the US too). Something does seem messed up at Kobo. When I search I find the book twice, once for $14.49 and once at $18.99 Perhaps email Kobo CS and inquire? They're database does seem to update slowly or on a delayed basis to everyone else.

06-23-2010, 12:19 PM	#7
mwlcarter Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Location: St. Catharines, ON Device: Kobo eReader	Yeah, the price of ebooks is still too high... An ebook should never cost more than a paperback edition. Sure, printing isn't the only production cost, but going from the author's Word document to ePub should allow for quite a cost savings compared to print editions.

06-23-2010, 01:31 PM	#8
Ivo Member Posts: 22 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Toronto, Ontario Device: kobo	I am not sure about the process involved in eBook creation (as a digression, Atlantis does an excellent job for me, much better then calibre at setting the TOC for example), but the two results for each title seem to indicate two different publishers (e.g., Penguin and Ace Trade). It may just indicate that eBooks were created by two different publishers - there might be some difference in the formatting, fonts, etc, but otherwise it is the same book.

06-23-2010, 01:58 PM	#9
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	Penguin and Ace are just different labels of the same company.

06-24-2010, 03:02 PM	#11
wrenn1 Addict Posts: 259 Karma: 48576 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kobo	I thought the prices were set by the publishers and each country has their own publisher?

06-24-2010, 05:31 PM	#12
Mememememe Connoisseur Posts: 98 Karma: 7542 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kobo	I imagine what you guys are talking about is a matter of territorial rights. If the book is published internationally, it's often the case that different publishers hold rights in different territories. For example, Random House holds the Canadian rights to Life of Pi, while I believe Penguin holds rights in other territories. I haven't checked, but I would imagine you will find different prices for that book, depending on which edition you are looking at. Kindle, presumably, carries the US edition, while Kobo carries the Canadian edition. Even on Kobo alone, you will find different prices for the same book. Colin McAdam's "Fall," for example, will show up in two different editions if you do a search on Kobo. It is $2 more expensive for the Canadian edition. If you're in Canada, you won't be able to buy the cheaper edition, since it would be illegal for Kobo to sell it in Canada -- that publisher doesn't hold Canadian rights. Prices for books from Canadian publishers will necessarily be higher since Canadian publishers have a much smaller market to serve, and need to set higher prices in order to make up for the lower profit margins. Also, different ebook suppliers have different arrangements with publishers. Kobo is among the more publisher-friendly, which is why they have the best selection of titles. Kindle tries to force pricing that makes ebook publishing unprofitable. The downside, of course, is that Kobo is unable to offer many titles for as low a price as Kindle ... but that's because Kindle is predatory.

06-24-2010, 08:44 PM	#15
dorino I'm odd. Take note. Posts: 325 Karma: 779 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Montana Device: deceased PRS-600, Nook STR	With the Kobo, if you buy from Sony's store, you don't need to do a thing to it to get it working on the kobo. Same as if bought from kobo.

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