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elmo3
February 19, 2010 11:50 AM
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With very little editing, the above could be written about the movie industry, the music industry, etc.

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proliance
February 20, 2010 9:46 AM
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I thought the first post would remark that the above could be written about the tax codes.

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socritic
February 19, 2010 11:53 AM
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a ha ha ha HA HA! Ok, so let me get this straight. You're distributing digital copies, so no print, paper or distribution chain, for more money? You must think we're all stupid. Luckily, there's a little thing called the market, and in recent years it's shown the ability of consumers and the internets to fight companies that try to extort unjustified cost burdens. Lets see how this plays out.

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johnjamesthree
February 19, 2010 4:07 PM
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You really need to realize that COST has nothing to do with PRICE. Two items may cost a company the same to produce, and you can be charged vastly different prices. That is the MARKET. If you feel ebooks are too expensive, then you can stick to paper backs or hardcovers. Back when CD's came on the scene there was a price gap. The actual cost of production was significantly lower, but the record industry realized that early adopters are willing to pay more for that right. The first laptop I bought was heavy and had speeds that were less than desirable.The price for it was crazy. Today, I can buy a faster, lighter and more durable laptop for about 10 per cent of what I paid for the first one.

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Viciouspixie
February 19, 2010 12:48 PM
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Agreed, I like the tactile experience of reading a book. On a plane I can keep reading my book as long as I like without being told that I must now turn off my electronic device. I don't have to worry about running out of batteries or accidentally dipping it in the tub (I can easily replace a $9 book I drowned in my bathwater if need be.. or Iron it back to reasonable shape ^_______^)

The only benefit is taking less physical space by having a massive collection of my books now in one device. However if I suddenly have to pay more for electronic copies, why bother? Also.. I'd hate to lose the darn thing somewhere.

No.. they're going to have to do much better for the ebooks/kindles/ereaders to really take off - at least for me.

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Wrathernaut
February 19, 2010 12:46 PM
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The actual printing is about the smallest cost in a book. Writers still need to be paid the same, marketing still is just as expensive, and editors still need to get paid.

They are welcome to charge the same price for a e-book as for a paperback or even hardcover on new releases, the consumer can pick their poison.

So long as they don't try and hide why the price is what it is, it's fine.

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Persistence - Long viv revolisyon an konsomatè yo!
February 19, 2010 12:03 PM
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I'm a fan of flipping pages of paper. I buy used books. I like having a full bookshelf. I never pay hardcover msrp and I certainly wouldn't if it were a digital copy. I agree with your statement. The cost of distribution drops through the floor with an e-format. Too bad these companies are so f-ing greedy and think we're brain dead.

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YouDidWhatNow?
February 19, 2010 11:54 AM
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...how about consumers stop participating in a system that robs them of ownership rights of the stuff they buy?

If no one would purchase stuff when the Ts & Cs that come with it are offensive, then vendors/publishers/etc. would have to change.

As with people who buy an iPhoney only to later complain about all the baggage that comes with it, once you buy it it's too late to complain - you have positively affirmed that you are OK with the baggage. There is one way, and one way only, to encourage change to said baggage - refuse to buy the product until the Ts & Cs are adjusted to be acceptable.

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grumpygirl
February 20, 2010 2:02 PM
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And that is why as much as I like the idea of e-books and e-book readers, I haven't bought one. Why would I pay money to be scammed?

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H3ion
February 19, 2010 11:56 AM
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This argument is like saying that if you can afford an expensive car, you should pay more for gasoline, tires, etc. I've looked at e-book devices and couldn't see any advantage over a printed book other than portability of an entire library. But I don't read an entire library at any one sitting so the portability differential between a Kindle, for example, and a paper book is meaningless and I haven't made the jump to an e-book device. I would offer that the differential between an e-book and a paper book should be more akin to the pricing difference between hard cover and paperback with the e-book falling on the paperback side. Of course there's always the public library which beats the daylights out of buying either e-books or paper copies.

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Elcheecho
February 19, 2010 2:20 PM
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you do realize people with higher performing (and priced) cars do indeed pay more for higher performing parts? of course, then there's chris' point that the content isn't matching the hardware in performance.
but i have no problem with the point that if you're buying a pricy reader that you can probably afford a pricier ebook.

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danielem1
February 19, 2010 12:55 PM
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THIS. why did these stupid ereader sellers think saying \"you can access 10,000 books any time any where\" would sell me on the device? The most people read is one, maybe two books at once and I've never been out and thought \"you know what, I have 5 minutes, and I really really want to read X right now.\"

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tamaracks
February 19, 2010 12:22 PM
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I do think there are more advantages than being able to carry your library with you all the time. There's also reduced space taken up in your home, the ease of sorting and managing your library, and I think an ebook reader is possibly lighter than hardcover or some trade paperback books for carrying in your bag. I do have a lot of books, so I wouldn't mind freeing up some shelf space and being able to get my hands on the copy immediately instead of hunting for it. And I do often carry books with me to read. Any of these points obviously might have varying value to you or others.

That said, I also value longevity and rereading my books many times. DRM is a big fat minus in those categories that has so far discouraged me from buying into the whole ebook thing, so overall I agree with you, I just wouldn't say that there are no benefits to an ebook.

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AllanG54
February 19, 2010 12:20 PM
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The fact is, though my car wasn't that expensive it uses 8 quarts of synthetic when I change the oil and premium gas and oh....tires run about $200 each but I knew that going in. If there's something you want bad enough, you're always willing to pay for it.

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kmw2
February 19, 2010 4:42 PM
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Sure, but that doesn't mean that if you buy a car knowing it need $200 tires and suddenly six months down the road your mechanic tells you he won't replace them unless you buy the $600 tires, you're not going to feel annoyed.

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Loias calls you out if you can't RTFA
February 19, 2010 12:05 PM
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Well-stated arguements. You don't need your library on an airplane, you only need one, maybe 2-3 books with you at any time if you're a hardcore reader. Which makes the fact that all your books are in one reader not that advantageous. The benefits comes from having one single \"book\" with all your content, the benefit of a smaller carbon footprint, and the benefit of LOWER PRICES because you are effectively lowering a publisher's overhead.

Publishers, understandably worried about the continued decline of interest in physical books, are trying to gouge the market. Instead they should love the idea of charging more than their overhead needs but still having it be lower prices than a real book.

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pecan 3.14159265
February 19, 2010 1:38 PM
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When I went on vacation, we drove instead of taking an airplane. Then we actually got to our destination, and I spent about a week relaxing, and reading books. Between the drive there and back, and the time in between, I read five books and had started a sixth. A kindle would have been very helpful! I had a big bag of books, some of which were only available in hardcover or the larger paperbacks.

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GuJiaXian
February 19, 2010 12:04 PM
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I do and always will prefer a paper book to my Kindle, though my Kindle is invaluable when traveling.

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That1Guy
February 19, 2010 12:04 PM
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Isn't that why they recommend premium unleaded?

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Preyfar
February 19, 2010 11:57 AM
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By this argument, Apple could raise the price of all Apple software by 20% because \"Consumers are willing to pay more for an Apple computer\" but generally, that's not the case. This is the worst argument ever.

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solkanar512
February 19, 2010 12:22 PM
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In the same vein, they've forgotten that people pay a premium for things like better customer service. It's not simply a matter of wanting to throw money away.

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YouDidWhatNow?
February 19, 2010 3:49 PM
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No they don't. Look at consumer behavior - lowest price wins. Customer service is not something that consumers are willing to pay extra for. They'll bitch about getting bad service, but they will still buy at the lowest price, even from vendors they've experienced bad customer service from in the past...because it's all about the price.

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Loias calls you out if you can't RTFA
February 19, 2010 11:57 AM
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Amen, brother. Preach on!

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zlionsfan
February 19, 2010 6:10 PM
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word. This is what I suspect the publishers have had in mind all along ... yeah, there might be some legitimate reasons for having control over pricing, but I doubt those are the first ones on their list when they get control. (Although pricing Twilight books high might be doing us a favor ... hey, I read them too, I'm just saying ...)

Good point on the proofreading. Some items are worse than others: the last issue of Analog I read was filled with mistakes, but the Terry Brooks novels I've read are mostly cleaned up.

I'm not irrational about ebooks, at least I don't think I am, but I'm not going to spend more just because it's an ebook. In fact, I'm probably looking to spend less than I would on a paperback for the reasons Chris mentions above. Want more of my money, publishers? (Especially in a recession?) Give me more value.

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That1Guy
February 19, 2010 12:03 PM
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..or, instead of paying more, I can just download pirated copies of the books for free.

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FigNinja
February 22, 2010 2:06 PM
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This is what makes the publishers just seem downright delusional to me here. They're competing with free and raising the price. Yeah. That's going to work.

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Postal
February 19, 2010 12:06 PM
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Which is exactly what people do to get away from draconian DRM restrictions.

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howie_in_az
February 19, 2010 4:52 PM
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Which only cause corporations to increase their DRM efforts because they don't listen to their customers.

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NeverLetMeDown
February 19, 2010 1:17 PM
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No, they do it because they are happy to steal when they can get away with it.

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KyleOrton
February 19, 2010 12:04 PM
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I can't wait until someone cracks this and I can find pirated books online. I'll still buy books, still use the library, but that should make $10 from Amazon look mighty appealing to these guys.

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FilthyHarry
February 19, 2010 12:24 PM
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A. They're already there.

B. Corporate thinking would be to RAISE the prices to make legal purchasers make up the loss caused by theft.

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robocop is bleeding
February 19, 2010 12:11 PM
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Hey, publishers - since buying my Kindle I BUY MORE BOOKS. I've crossed the savings line of initial Kindle investment vs Money Saved so am now able to buy more titles with the same amount of money I have budgeted to books. That means if you make 5 bucks (or whatever) off of each title sold, you're making more money off me! If you raise the prices of ebooks, I'll BUY LESS BOOKS.

It will be harder to convince friends and family members into buying ebook readers too - one of the first questions I'm asked is \"How much do the books cost?\" If I say \"15 dollars, same as at the bookstore\" they won't want to invest in a reader and will instead stick with your antiquated model that...

....ssssaaaayyyy... I see what you did there.

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bravohotel01
February 19, 2010 1:36 PM
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I agree - I will buy more books if they are at a price that I see as fair.

I have a REALLY hard time justifying paying MORE for an ebook from the publisher than what I'd pay for the paper version from Amazon (O'Reilly, I'm looking at you!)

Nitpick to parent: \"Less\" is an amount, \"Fewer\" is a count. Something weighs less than something else. You have fewer somethings than you did before.

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robocop is bleeding
February 19, 2010 1:43 PM
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Whoops, you're correct. I was full of publisher rage and post-lunch caffeine!

Given that your parentheses punctuation is off, I'm sure you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

;)

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pecan 3.14159265
February 19, 2010 1:40 PM
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I noticed the less vs. fewer as well, especially since it was in all caps. In my mind, I thought, \"less is an amount!\"

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stanfrombrooklyn
February 19, 2010 12:11 PM
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OK. You've pulled one sentence from his speech and spun an entire article in a complete opposite direction from his intention. What are you? The National Enquirer? In no way, shape, or form does this sentence imply that because someone bought a $250 Kindle that they should be charged more for an ebook. Nice one Consumerist.

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Rectilinear Propagation
February 19, 2010 12:53 PM
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OK, so what was his intention with that statement?

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hansn
February 19, 2010 12:11 PM
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I'm a grad student and have seriously thought about buying a ePaper device, since I go through about a 500 pages of readings a week (which then go into filing cabinets). $300 is a good deal of money on my budget, but it is also only about a semester's printing costs.

So no, simply because a person buys an eReader does not mean they can afford to spend more on books.

The problem is one of monopolistic pricing. Amazon now is acting as a consumer's union (albeit for their own purposes), which is one of the few ways to induce monopolists to change their prices. No wonder that the monopolist publishers are upset.

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PencilSharp
February 19, 2010 3:50 PM
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True that.

Would love to see the day when universities realize just how much cold hard cash they're leaving on the table with the current textbook scheme, when they could just cut their professors in on the action with a university-provided e-reader full of digital books that the profs wrote, for a good deal less than the Textbook Mafia is charging...

Hey, I can dream...

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littlemoose
February 19, 2010 1:40 PM
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Agreed! Or if you got a Kindle as a gift, should you be unable to load it with books because it's too expensive?
Like any new form of media, figuring out the distribution and pricing models is difficult and takes some growing pains. Consumers' response to companies' attempts is valuable and helps develop a more efficient model and price point.

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KimnCocoa
February 20, 2010 11:12 AM
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\"Agreed! Or if you got a Kindle as a gift, should you be unable to load it with books because it's too expensive? \"

I have 2 eReaders. Both were gifts. One is a Kindle the other a Cooler. Love them both. I am currently working to get the books in my home library that I read and reread onto the readers because I have to downsize. I just have to. I love reading actual books... I buy very few anymore (Yay Library!!!) and I love eReaders. As someone who used to (until the eReaders came along) on every trip took 2 bags of books for every 1 bag of clothes... I LOOOVE the portability. I love not being limited to what I have in my bag. My back loves me now! Yay eBooks. I will not pay more than the $10 pricepoint. I don't for \"tree\" books and I won't for eBooks.

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Mr_Human
February 19, 2010 12:14 PM
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\"but the truth is that there are plenty of customers who indeed bought a Kindle to save money over the long term. \"

Citation?

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
February 20, 2010 12:42 AM
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i suppose it would have saved me money when i had to rent a larger moving truck to bring all my books in an interstate move. but... i wouldn't give them up for anything

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JohnQPublic
February 19, 2010 12:18 PM
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I bought glasses; Does that mean I can afford to pay more for regular books?

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fantomesq
February 19, 2010 12:19 PM
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I don't get why the publishers have a problem with Amazon (or Apple, for that matter) selling a book for $10 versus $12 or $15. Amazon was known for having paid $13 or more to the publisher for the books they sold for $10. Now at $15, the publishers make 70% of that, or $10.50 each. The Amazon pricepoint was a publisher's gravytrain. Its not sustainable but as long as Amazon wasn't flinching, why push to end it early.

Sure people can afford to buy books at the higher price but human nature and the nature of the market means that they won't buy as many at the higher price and the higher price may well be a net loss for the publishers compared to the $10 price. Seems that the publishing industry hasn't actually learned the lessons they should have from the music industry. Print publishing is largely failing these days. Newspapers and magazines should be jumping at the chance of a new revenue source.

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TailsToo
February 19, 2010 1:21 PM
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It's just like with movies - the studios got fat on stores spending $18 for a new DVD that they would sell the week of release for $15.

Well at some point that kind of bad vendor relationship ends. In the case of DVDs, WalMart became the #1 seller, and now that they have that much power, they can push back for lower prices, or else your movies will be $20 and you'll sell tens of thousands less.

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FilthyHarry
February 19, 2010 12:22 PM
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Funny thing, I'm sure someone who torrents ebooks for free is basically thinking the same thing about the publishing industry (they can afford it). Glad to see they understand and accept that mentality.

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jmhart
February 19, 2010 12:24 PM
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Dugg

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jmhart
February 19, 2010 12:27 PM
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I think this deserves a \"Digg This\" link. This article, wonderfully written, needs to be seen in as many places as possible.

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JulesNoctambule
February 19, 2010 12:31 PM
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I spent a total of fifteen dollars for twenty books this week, most of which were out of print or otherwise hard to find. To hell with 'ebooks'; I'll stick with used books.

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KimnCocoa
February 20, 2010 11:05 AM
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Heeee. I spent $9 on 40 eBooks this week. :-)

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MeowMaximus
February 19, 2010 1:09 PM
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Yep, I Just LOOOVE my local used bookstores! as i mentioned in my article below, I spend about $1,000 a year on books, I hate to think what that would be if I bought em all new. OTOH, I do have certain favorite authors for whom I am unwilling to wait, and buy the hardback as soon as it comes out on Amazon.

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dancing_bear
February 19, 2010 5:08 PM
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No kidding: You have to buy a reader, then pay for a e-book that I don't really own, and can't give to a pal to read? Who is signing up for this raw deal? Could their really be book noobs?
I can't imagine how long it will take me to spend $300 on used books, but it is a long, long time and a lot of books. Buy a used book, pass it on, sell it back, buy another.
Yesterday, I scored two large format Peanuts anthologies for $6 each at the used book store, the kid's are very happy today. They have color too!

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vladthepaler
February 19, 2010 12:31 PM
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I buy a carton of orange juice every week. I'm well enough off that I could afford to pay $20 for it. However, if I do not feel like it is *worth* that price, i won't buy it even though I can afford it.

If I can buy the same orange juice in a different carton, one that allows me to pour a glass for my friends if I want, for less money, I'll probably decide that the $20 restricted-use carton isn't worth the money.

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dwb
February 19, 2010 12:34 PM
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Chris, this is one of the best posts I've read on Consumerist.

I find it strange that the publishing industry want to bring ebooks to us on their terms. They claim we don't understand - but would understanding their costs make us buy the books at any price? We're only going to buy their books when we see them as a value, and right now ebooks aren't weighing in.

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quieterhue
February 19, 2010 12:38 PM
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These publishers drive me crazy! On the one hand, they complain about people wanting lower prices and better value for ebooks. On the other hand, they whine that people are buying used physical books on Amazon for a fraction of the price of new. You can not at the same time argue that both physical and digital books are poaching your new-book market, because if people are buying ebooks, there are far fewer physical books for people to sell off second-hand. Fix your industry and get the eff over it.

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raydeebug
February 19, 2010 12:40 PM
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I'm interested in an Ebook device, but I'm not interested in re-purchasing my entire library at \"full price\" or more than full price just for the perceived convenience of the a digital edition. Digital books cost practically nothing to produce OR distribute once the original manuscript is made; they are essentially pure, unvarnished profit. How much of that profit does the author see?

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Jabberkaty
February 19, 2010 12:46 PM
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If anything, digital publishing will reduce overhead (eventually) and make it so authors could (feasibly) make more money.

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SuperFlyJedi
February 19, 2010 12:46 PM
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When they try to sell me a 1.2 mb file for 10$ i get a little annoyed and tend to find away around paying.
Cory Doctorow gives his books away in PDFs or txts, when ever I finish one I always went out and bought a physical one to keep on a shelf or lend to friends. one of his books I bought several times because i kept giving it away!
I don't like boot legging my media but I don't like being extorted of all my money for a little entertainment. Can't we find a middle ground?

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Heresy Of Truth
February 19, 2010 12:55 PM
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I'd kill for a good ebook solution. I can't carry heavy books around. Especially text books. Yet, the drm issue, and the cost point is ridiculous. I can go into a used bookstore, and buy everything I need for less. I'll juggle books, and use a rolly cart, rather than pay the ebook publishers for books sans pictures, and overpriced to boot.

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TakingItSeriously is a Technopile
February 19, 2010 12:58 PM
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This is the reason why I now use an independant ereader application on my Ipod Touch. I will not buy a dedicated eReader device.

I also dropped eReader off my Ipod Touch. eReader tied me directly to ePublishers (eReader and Fictionwise), and disabled my ability to (easily?) add ebooks of my own to my eReader Library (BAD move).

I have many eBooks for books which I already own (all in hardcover/paperback) which did not come from legitimate ePublishers. I have several eBooks written by literary friends that they sent me. I will not pay physical prices for digital media. They save money and pass the \"cost\" o to me? I think not.

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2 replies
February 19, 2010 1:03 PM
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FTA \"People who can afford an ereading device can afford all proposed ebook prices.\"

And everyone CAN make their own pipe bombs and CAN shit on their door-stops.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

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MeowMaximus
February 19, 2010 1:03 PM
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There are three reasons why I will not (as yet) buy an E-book reader:
1. E-Books cost too much - $10 is too much, $5 is the most I would pay, and $3 seems to be the \"right\" price point.
2. I will not buy an E-Book or reader that uses proprietary formats, or any form of DRM. Furthermore, once I buy an E-Book, I must *OWN* it. One of my biggest problems with the Kindle is that Amazon can \"revoke\" any book I happen to have bought. This is insane! I don't understand their attitude, especially when compared the the wonderful way they handle their Music store. (are you listening Amazon?)
3. Despite the convenience, I love the feel and experience of a real book. E-Readers have to offer added value for them to be able convince me to switch.

Having said that, I do own several hundred E-books. Free ones. Downloaded from legitimate sources like the Baen Books free library, in PDF or RTF format, and I read em on my PDA. Its not the same experience as reading a regular book, but it is convenient for when I am traveling, for example. Its also hard to argue with the price.

On average I spend about $1,000 a year on books (yeah, I read a LOT). If the makers of E-book readers want to capture a piece of that, they need to make it worth my while.

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Traveshamockery
February 19, 2010 1:08 PM
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Regardless of his attempts at justification, the ultimate test comes when it's time to pay for the goods. If a customer feels an ebook isn't worth $15, they won't pay it, no matter what kind of wild emotional appeals Michael Cader throws out there.

Vote with your dollars, consumers. It's the only language EVERY company understands.

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vastrightwing
February 19, 2010 1:09 PM
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Consumers have, in fact, proven to be irrational and willing to shell out tons of money for stuff where costs are almost nothing. Look at SMS text messaging. We all know SMS costs nothing (or very very little) to the carrier, yet millions of people are willing to pay amazing amounts of money to send texts. Printer ink: consumers pay an ungodly amount of money to print on paper and then throw the paper out shortly. The publishing industry is simply trying to figure out how much we’re willing to pay for digital content. It turns out, not very much. They are pissed!

I rationalize it this way: content has very little monetary value: let’s call it zero since it’s so close to zero, that trying to assign any meaningful number will be difficult. Therefore, what have we been paying for in the past? In the past, we paid for the ability to have the information delivered to us. News came on news papers, stories came on books and music came on black vinyl discs called records. In short, publishers were paid for the value they added by making information and music available on some kind of tangible media: records, newsprint, books and all the associated shipping and distribution. Today, publishers add zero value. None. News is written by one person on his personal computer and it goes directly to the consumer over a network the consumer pays for. Again, where is the value of the publisher? Music is recorded by a band on their digital PC/workstation and is posted to a server and the consumer directly downloads the music. So where is the value being added by the publisher?

The answer is the publisher adds value by utilizing DRM in conjunction with laws to make all of this stuff artificially scarce. When there is an infinite amount of goods, there is no value. So, by using DRM and draconian IP laws, publishers are creating false value. The publishers lobby the government to create IP laws so they can hire lots of lawyers to take away all of your property if you are caught defeating DRM. Make no mistake, publishers know that DRM can’t work by itself, so they add value by enhancing DRM with the force of the federal government. Since only the American government isn’t enough, they are fighting a global war to force all countries to impose strict IP laws. Ever heard of ACTA? This is scary stuff. Go look ACTA up on Google. This my friends is how publishers are adding value: they are going to beat the heck out of you and use your own government to arrest you and fine you because they already know they can’t add any value you and I are willing to pay for.

Again, DRM is only a tool for publishers to be able to use the government to control you and make you pay. Without DRM, it would be impossible for publishers to say they were protecting their IP. By you breaking DRM, you are now breaking the law. So who got the law passed? Personally, I’d like to see patents and copyrights go away or be rolled way back so that protection only extends a few years and can only protect tangible things. I’m sick about what Monsanto and the rest of their industry is doing with patents to our world food supply [cough]Food Inc[cough]. The publishing industry is doing the very same thing.

Sorry for the length of this post.

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TailsToo
February 19, 2010 1:09 PM
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You would think that the publishers would be happy - they can distribute more copies to more people easier than before with a much lower cost.

Instead, they want to try and charge more than a physical copy.

I was planning to buy a book from the Kindle store on my iPhone, but they wanted $5 more for the electronic version that the print version. Instead I went to my library and checked it out for free.

Just like the movies/music industries, the book publishers better learn to adapt or they'll die.

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Scuba Steve
February 19, 2010 1:10 PM
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eBooks are worth much less to me than Regular books. They don't decorate my house, they don't retain any value after I purchase them. I won't ever buy them.

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Alter_ego
February 19, 2010 1:18 PM
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Here's the thing. I don't pirate books. Most of the authors I read are not huge best sellers, and I want to support them. I spend 250-300 on books a month. The minute my e books go from the five dollar digital price to their fifteen dollar list price, I start pirating two third of my books, since I don't want to stop reading, and there isn't fifteen dollars of value in a digital book. Making an easily stolen format MORE expensive seems like a really bad direction to be going in the the publishers.

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Shadowman615
February 19, 2010 1:21 PM
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It's not what people can afford to pay, it's what they *will* pay that matters.

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mrmysterious
February 19, 2010 1:28 PM
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I bought my first ebook device 3 years ago but stopped using it due to the terribly designed Sony store, I found it was more convenient to just buy the book.

This year I received a Kindle for Christmas and love it. I just bought another one for my wife's birthday. The convenience of buying the books put me over the top, but all this talk of raising prices is really starting to make me mad.

Look at the amount of money made by Apple and the music industry thanks to iTunes. They offered the ability to buy a single song instead of the entire album. Now, when I want a new song I buy the new music legally instead of downloading it via bit Torent or something else. I do it because the opportunity cost (.99 or 1.29) out weights the cost of finding the torrent and downloading it.

If they raise the price of ebooks to over $10, the reverse is going to be happening. At $20 for a ebook my time and money is better spent going to the library or downloading a pdf or doc of the book and sending it to my Kindle.

Publishers, the music industry, and the movie industry have to realize that the digital market place is driven by a careful balance of convenience and cost. They have to realize that if you upset this balance by increasing costs I'm going to find it more convenient to get my content illegally (or legally at the library).

By having their ebook (or movie or music) distributed by Amazon or Apple they are not having to worry about shipping, production, shelf space, paying for end caps at the store, etc. They basically take content that they already have and package to a willing marketplace that wants the convenience of instant digital gratification. If I'm not going to get my instant digital gratification at a reasonable cost then I'm going to get it for free.

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ElizabethD
February 19, 2010 1:37 PM
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That practice is heinous. However, it doesn't affect me since I am not a consumer of electronic books.

On a meta level, I am torn because my heart wants to support publishers, authors, etc. But my shrewd consumerist mind tells me, \"Don't buy! Borrow -- from the library. Or buy used for a buck at library sales, yard sales, etc. Or swap with friends.\"

Public libraries are so amazing. I now only buy a book if I'm really certain I want to keep or re-gift it. Not sure what my choice might mean (if multiplied by 10s of thousands of readers) to the book and ebook industry.

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adub1979
February 19, 2010 1:46 PM
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I have the latest kindle and love reading on it, so much so that my wife and I have read 8 books since receiving it for Christmas. Of course, 3 of those for me were public domain classics (ie. no $$$). I think that 10 is fair for a book but at 15, i would surely slow down to my normal pace of 1 a month and utilize the library like I was prior.

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Sajanas
February 19, 2010 2:02 PM
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The print costs of books is very cheap, only a dollar or two per book, since the real cost is in the editing and promotion. At the same time, with ebooks, you won't have to jockey for shelf space in stores with other titles... once its out, you can keep it out, and it won't have to go out of print ever. So a ebook could conceivably continue making money long past the point where a normal book would no longer be on shelves. Popular authors could sell more of their whole spectrum of books too, since it would be easy to read through the whole bibliography of an author, without being constrained by books being out of print, or unavailable or what not. Also, making digital media cheap makes people more likely to buy it. Seriously, how easy is it to impulse by books at a used bookstore when they're only $3 to $5?

As far as the ebook vs regular book, I could see a definite advantage in some academic settings, where a doctor or lawyer could carry a full library of legal or medical texts around with them (though the tech will need to get better... it would be hard to do without pictures and color). Course, if they keep pricing ebooks similarly to the paper version, the cost of assembling such a library would be insane. I wonder if the printing cost of very color/graphic art intensive books is more than say, a Stephan King novel... enough to see an actual reasonable reduction in price.

I'm interested to see where this will head in another decade or so, but I'm still more than happy to read from my local library for free and avoid all this problem.

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Aviran
February 19, 2010 2:12 PM
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My mother has a Nook... because it allows her to read a larger font. She doesn't have a lot of money and books publish in the large font are minimal.

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SkuldChan
February 19, 2010 2:25 PM
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Software companies are like this too - typically though the download version costs the same as the physical disk (like the sims 3 - which costs the same in the store as it does to download it).

Only reason I like downloadable content is a) price (its typically cheaper) and b) variety/selection.

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Xoltan99
February 19, 2010 2:39 PM
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I have a Kindle 2 and have for a few months now. I don't buy books, never have and never will. I either rent the ebooks from the nypl, read public domain books or il pirate the others. Or I get my periodicals from different websites like Springer.

If I cant get my book in one of the 3 ways above, then Il buy it. I would never pay for an ebook.


Though I still love my kindle and think its one of the best things ive ever owned. I have less eye strain on it, than even a real book. I love the greyish background. So I think its silly for people not to get a ebook reader just becasue they dont intend on buying ebooks from amazon or other places. I have lots of the newest titles, all for free. Haven't even spent a cent other than the initial $259 for the unit.

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Razor512
February 19, 2010 2:39 PM
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Hey there, I see you own a house, that dollar menu cheeseburger is now going to cost you $500 because if you can afford a house then you can afford this cheeseburger at the new price.

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Kman
February 19, 2010 2:47 PM
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Of course I can \"afford\" to buy more expenive ebooks. But my goal is to be rich, and you can't get rich if you buy everything you can afford.

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wenhaver
February 19, 2010 3:32 PM
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My husband used to be the dude who grabbed the text out of the InDesign layout files for books, and turned them into XML, ebook conversion-ready files. He KNOWS how much it costs to do that sort of thing. About 10 months ago, he got laid off because they could do his job (that he was already under-paid for, mind you) for a fraction of the cost in India. So publishers who claim that it's JUST SO EXPENSIVE to create the ebook file? They are full of crap. Full of it.

Furthermore, one of my very, very few indulgences is having an ebook reader. I've had one for about 10 years now. I read a lot. Some ebook blogger recently quoted a publisher talking about \"voracious readers\" who buy 15 books a year. Ha! That's a slow month for me. But I don't drive a fancy car. I buy my clothing off clearance racks or from thrift stores. I don't drink, and I can count the number of movies I've seen in the theater in the past year on 2 fingers. What I do is read. How DARE they imply that I have money to burn just because I have an ereading device? I give up a lot of other things to feed my habit, and keep to a strict budget with it. Stopping now before I turn incoherent with rage.

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dblevins
February 19, 2010 3:42 PM
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Very soon the authors will discover they are NOT getting their fair share of the money we pay for books: the \"publisher\" keeps most of it. Hopefully, the authors will have an \"ah ha\" moment and discover they've given their publisher a digital copy (most of them use computers), The publisher has \"promoted\" (maybe) the book, turned the digital copy in to a paper copy and asked an enormous price for it (authors get a smidgen). Next, reprinted it with a soft cover, again asked an enormous price (authors get a smidgen of a smidgen), then \"published\" a digital copy, again asked an enormous price (authors get a smidgen of a smidgen of a smidgen).

The \"ah ha\" is 1) I've the only digital copy of my book, 2) I can publish it with very little cost, maybe zero, 3) if I add some value for the reader in the form of scare commodity that the zero or small cost ebook of mine entices the reader to buy (see www.techdirt.com 's CwF+RtB), I can make a FORTUNE by by-passing the \"buggy whip\" publisher and keeping all the profit to myself.

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dblevins
February 19, 2010 3:39 PM
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Very soon the authors will discover they are NOT getting their fair share of the money we pay for books: the \"publisher\" keeps most of it. Hopefully, the authors will have an \"ah ha\" moment and discover they've given their publisher a digital copy (most of them use computers), The publisher has \"promoted\" (maybe) the book, turned the digital copy in to a paper copy and asked an enormous price for it (authors get a smidgen). Next, reprinted it with a soft cover, again asked an enormous price (authors get a smidgen of a smidgen), then \"published\" a digital copy, again asked an enormous price (authors get a smidgen of a smidgen of a smidgen).

The \"ah ha\" is 1) I've the only digital copy of my book, 2) I can publish it with very little cost, maybe zero, 3) if I add some value for the reader in the form of scare commodity that the zero or small cost ebook of mine entices the reader to buy (see www.techdirt.com 's CwF+RtB), I can make a FORTUNE by by-passing the \"buggy whip\" publisher and keeping all the profit to myself.

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overanddone
February 19, 2010 4:04 PM
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Yeah, you guys can afford to pay more so we can get fatter. Never mind the fact that ebooks cost a tiny fraction of what it takes to produce an actual book. Pay up so we can please our stockholders!

It's high time for authors to form an e-publishing consortium where they can sell their ebooks directly to consumers. The same goes for musicians and filmmakers -- and anyone else who actually produces something they want to sell. Promote yourselves, people. Tell the zombie corporations to take a hike. I say long live the creative spirit and down with greedy corporations who gobble up the lion's share of profits, leaving those who actually create the product with nothing but table scraps...if they're lucky.

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dolemite
February 19, 2010 4:32 PM
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This would be like if PC game makers said \"if you can afford a $1,500 pc to run our game, you can afford $89.99 to play it. Ummm no...I am supplying my own hardware, therefore you need to sell the game cheaper to me than to say...someone that merely has to pay $199 for an XBox.

Gotta laugh at guys like this. On one hand, they want to ream everyone, then they cry \"pirates!\" when their sales numbers go down. Umm no, not pirates, I am just not going to be reamed by the RIAA, MPAA, or book publishers. I'll just do without.

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Cant_stop_the_rock
February 19, 2010 4:42 PM
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Wholesale prices on eBooks are about $5 less than hardcovers, so publishers are making less profit on eBooks than on printed books.

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MattO
February 19, 2010 5:46 PM
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you know, i have a kindle, and this really pisses me off - i am one of the peiople who bought it cause it was cool....but i ALSO bought it because ity SHOULD cost less for ebooks than regular books....and though i know it will never make up for the premium i paid for my kindle, i absolutely LOVE it. i am currently reading a real hardcover book, and i am having such a hard time getting into it....i am so used to the kindle....and i just love it...everything about it - but publishers need to realize the future is in digital media....

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diamondkim
February 19, 2010 8:37 PM
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Fantastic post. Bravo. Should publishers continue to be unreasonable and small-minded about the direction and future of literature and technology, then they will learn that consumers are not the mindless sheep that they believe the mass market to be. We will simply NOT BUY INTO IT. Gotta love libraries.

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dg
February 20, 2010 12:58 AM
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the only reason I've considered buying a tablet or ebook is so I can have multiple volumes with me for reference purposes. It has nothing to do with the price I'm willing to pay for a book. In fact, because the book is digital - you have SOME lower costs, I want to share in that advantage. I want to pay LESS. You don't get to make more because your costs are lower and the price stays the same. I'm not that stupid.

As a consumer - you are competing against the price the pirates set. ZERO. Give me a value add, I'll give you some money. Rip me off, and I'll go where I get the best value.

The sooner the old guard is gone, the better. RIAA, MPAA, publishers, clip art nitwits... get rid of all of them. Let's move on already.

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anduin
February 20, 2010 11:13 PM
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Have these ebooks not been cracked or something like that? I wouldn't be surprised to see ebook piracy go on the rise.

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Bagumpity
February 21, 2010 12:30 AM
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Absolutely true. The price for e-books should be about 2 to 3 times the amount for a physical IOP (ink on page) book. The reason: Piracy. Plain and simple, the amount of ebook piracy is going to spike big time over the next three years. People actually paying for the books they read will be a thing of the past, like buying music. DRM will attempt to compensate, but really it can't. With music, cracking DRM meant putting up with degraded signal. With ebooks, the book either makes it through into cleartext or remains in the cypher. There is no gentle degradation or bearable loss. Even a single line of garbled text will be unacceptable.

Digital watermarks will not work very well either. Once multiple versions are cracked and in the clear, subtractive reconciliation will allow ebook pirates to remove the watermarks without sacrificing grammar or spelling.

Like it or not, ebook piracy is coming. Therefore, the publishing industry needs to compensate in one of two ways: Either ensure that pricing becomes a trivial commodity (99cts/book like music) making the purchase/no-purchase decision irrelevant, or price the ebook so that the loss due to piracy is passed along to the consumer. My gut-feel estimate is that the end price will be about 2 to 3 times more than a IOP version of the same novel, despite the huge savings realized by not having to print, ship or shelve ebooks.

And speaking of distribution, the explosion in ebook readers means that unless there's a channel lock-in like Amazon's Kindle, distributors will have to pay big-time to support ALL the formats, plus give a significant chunk of the pie to each party who controls a pipe to an ebook. The only question I have is: When will the ISPs get smart and realize that they are owed a slice as well? After all, it's their intartubes these books are flying across, right?

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burnedout
February 21, 2010 12:11 PM
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In fact, I'm willing to pay more for hardbound copies of titles that I love -- maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I love the smell of books and for classics or favorites I'll pay more for that.

But for the latest bestseller that I download to my Kindle for summer reading, I actually think $9 is too much. I will NOT pay more than that for any title, and would probably download more junk titles if they were in the $5-7 range. And even then my conscience will be niggling at me for not just getting them for free at the library (yes, the dreaded \"L\" word to the publishing folks...).

Publishers have to accept that they're selling crap. I will read their crap because I read a lot and am willing to sift through a lot of garbage to find the good stuff. But I won't pay top dollar for junk, and at the moment I have plenty of options to satiate my book addiction without paying their ideal price.

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