Discussion Question – Ebook Prices
Posted by MAJan 30
Okay, I know I could be cooking, but the Kid is doing the dishes, so I can start off with a clean kitchen. But overnight, an article on Boing Boing caught my attention. It appears that Amazon has pulled all of Macmillian’s titles from it’s Kindle Store – because Macmillian wanted the price point of ebooks to be approximately $15, rather than Amazon’s $10. This is because they are one of the suppliers for Apple’s ebook application for the poorly-named iPad and the almighty Steve Jobs mentioned that ebooks might cost approximately $15.
Now, I have a Kindle, and love it dearly. Because of it – I probably read a whole lot more last year than I would have. The iPad doesn’t really interest me, and when I heard that the Apple’s ebook prices would be about $15, I shut down. See – $9.99 is the most I’ll pay for an ebook. I just can’t justify anything more – especially for a digital file with DRM on it. Would I pay more for non-DRM – probably not. And even at $9.99, I really have to think hard before I push that button to pay. But with that price point in mind – if I am to get a digital copy for that price or less (or even free), if I really like the book – I’ll pony up to pay for a hard copy.
So Macmillan, with your $15 price point – you never would have had me as a customer. Greedy publisher. And now – for pushing the issue – they are alienating everyone who would have bought books, but not an iPad. But boo on Amazon for pulling a power play like that. So both of them are at fault, and over something that I never would have purchased anyway. Which makes me wonder why I’ve spent so much time thinking about it. But it will probably be interesting to watch. Too bad it’s us consumers that get screwed.
Hi. Sara, here. I don’t like the $15 pricepoint either. I won’t pay that much. If I’m willing to spend that much, it will be for a trade paperback. My Kindle is first generation, and I like it. The iPad does tempt me, however. I think it was sleazy of Amazon to pull MacMillan’s books. That move is more damaging to the authors and the agents than it is to the publisher. Way to stick it to the little guy, Amazon.
Don’t get me wrong. Generally, I love Amazon. I get all my used and hard to find books there. In all honesty, I rarely buy hardbacks and only occasionally buy trade paperbacks. I borrow from friends or the library. I buy books on clearance. I made out like a bandit at Borders in the last days before closing. My list of books to read is so long that I don’t need to hit the topseller lists to find something to read. So $9.99 with DRM is not a price I’m likely to pay. In fact, though I have bought Kindle books, none of them have cost more than $5.99. Most of them have been free through Project Gutenberg. DRM has held me back from purchasing. I’m worried about being locked into the hardware. As an author (unpublished), I would rather see higher sales at a lower price point. ETA: I might have to change my mind about that at a later date, and I reserve the right to do so.
So, dear readers – what do you think? What is your price point for ebooks? What are your feelings on this issue?
3 comments
Comment by Jett on January 30, 2010 at 11:18 am
If I had my way, I’d never pay for eBooks. There are a bajillion websites that offer DRM-free, free eBooks. http://blog.text2go.com/2008/01/04/the-top-13-drm-free-ebook-sites/ is an example of free or super-cheap eBooks. As such, I do use Barnes & Noble’s eBook reader on my PC, and have bought a few eBooks from their website but have never gone over 8 dollars in price. I feel that 9 dollars is my maximum price point.
<3 Jett
Comment by Viv on January 30, 2010 at 12:50 pm
I’m speaking out of my shiny heiney here, because I don’t even have an interest in ebooks. I can read them on my Android, as I could have read them on my Palm and the experience loses something for me in the translation. My husband excitedly loaded ‘Peter Pan’ on my Palm years ago, and as much as I LOVE that story, I never got very far. I prefer the experience of settling in with a physical book, as it’s a rare treat and comfort issue for me to have the time for it. My wee brain can’t make the jump. I already have so many gadgets now that it’s a chore to go anywhere, and being able to just grab a little bundle of awesome that has no power requirements gives me a thrill.
That said, I could easily see spending $10 for an ebook if I had made the leap to ereaders. I don’t hesitate to spend that much on an album, if it’s something from a trusted artist so why not from an author?
A $15 purchase would be a rarity, because I am a frugal gal. That price point, being half again the base price, would quickly cut into the number of books I could afford and that just irritates me. The only way I would be able to justify it would be if it were an from a BELOVED author and I would insist on having added features similar to the ones you get with albums with added content such as music videos or extra songs. How an author would throw in valuable extra content to justify the increase, is not my problem. It’s theirs.
Comment by Dani in NC on January 30, 2010 at 2:40 pm
When I’ve jumped into discussions on ebooks in the past, I’ve always said that I prefer physical books. However, in the past couple weeks I’ve had the chance to download ebooks from my local library’s website and I’ve enjoyed them more than I thought I would. I’m still not a person who would buy one, though. The only books that I actually spend money on are knitting or cookbooks, and I prefer those in the traditional format where I can see all the glossy pretty pictures.
Even if I were a regular book buyer, I don’t think that $10 is a price point that would tempt me, much less $15. The last time I was tempted to buy a new book was when I saw a Sookie Stackhouse paperback (my current fave series) at WalMart for $5 a couple months ago, and even then I didn’t buy it. Publishers should work on keeping their current book buyers happy because they won’t attract people like me unless libraries are abolished
.