ebook price increase--they've lost their minds

[MrBill_TX]

I ordered a nook just a few days after it was released. I'm an alpha geek, and know what sometimes happens to early adopters, so I decided to cancel the order. 

I watched this board pretty closely after people started receiving their nooks. After reading about the issues that the early adopters were experiencing, I was convinced I made the right decision.

I had pretty well convinced myself to order the nook when version 1.1 of the software came out. But after reading about the problems with this release, I again decided to hold off. 

Fast forward to late last week: I went in to my local B&N store and there was a big sign at the nook counter that said "In Stock!" I thought that it was about time to roll the dice: Version 1.2 of the software was out and most people said that things were pretty good with their nooks. I figured I'd buy the nook this Friday, spend the weekend getting used to it, buy a couple of ebooks for it, and then next week, take it on a business trip.

And tonight, I see that B&N raised the prices on ebooks by a significant amount. 

I had always considered that an ebook reader would be economically feasible in the long run, because eventually, ebook prices would generally be lower than hardcovers and paperback. But B&N, whether because of internal processes or pressure from publishers, pushed their prices in the wrong direction.

I think I'll stay out of the ebook reader market until I can see that it'll be economically feasible, at least through the major retailers.

Spring Design is supposed to be releasing their new ebook reader (called "Alex") sometime in the next few weeks. (They're the company that filed suit against B&N over the nook.) The press release said that they've signed an agreement with Borders for ebook distribution for the Alex. 

It will be interesting to see what Borders does with their ebook prices once the Alex is available.

[bklvr896]

Ebook prices seem to be all over the place right now.  I had a book in my wishlist, Crawlspace by Sarah Graves.  It is now $18.57, which is more than the hardback.  I checked the other sites, and it ranges in price from $12.99 to $25.00.  The only site that has not increased the price from $9.99 is Amazon.

I never wanted a Kindle, I didn't want to get tied to buying books only at Amazon and I'm really happy with my Nook, but B&N needs to explain what is going on.  Why the sudden increases?  Is it the publisher?  As much as I love reading on the Nook, I will buy paperbacks if they are cheaper, especially if I can get them at the used book store.  I'm on the waiting list at the library right now for a couple of books that I want to read, but am in no big hurry.

I've searched around and found there are several libraries in SoCal that you can get a library card even if you aren't a resident of the county or city.  I figure the more library cards I have, the more books I will be able to access.

[FrogAlum]

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bklvr896 wrote:

Ebook prices seem to be all over the place right now.  I had a book in my wishlist, Crawlspace by Sarah Graves.  It is now $18.57, which is more than the hardback.  I checked the other sites, and it ranges in price from $12.99 to $25.00.  The only site that has not increased the price from $9.99 is Amazon.

I never wanted a Kindle, I didn't want to get tied to buying books only at Amazon and I'm really happy with my Nook, but B&N needs to explain what is going on.  Why the sudden increases?  Is it the publisher?  As much as I love reading on the Nook, I will buy paperbacks if they are cheaper, especially if I can get them at the used book store.  I'm on the waiting list at the library right now for a couple of books that I want to read, but am in no big hurry.

I've searched around and found there are several libraries in SoCal that you can get a library card even if you aren't a resident of the county or city.  I figure the more library cards I have, the more books I will be able to access.

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I've gotten several books through the LA County library, easy as pie!  I'm in OC...

[celloboy]

I totally agree...the increase is insane and one book that I want is even more expensive than buying a hard copy from a bookstore at an airport.  Apparently even though Amazon has conceded to the publisher's demand, most of their books are still selling for $9.99.  When I checked the site the book that I want was selling at BN for close to $21, and it's selling at Amazon one cent cheaper than 10 bucks.  Go figure...I am defecting to Kindle.

[saukko]

With all the talk of the sudden price spikes- how about a thread for all the books where the ebook license currently costs MORE than the dead tree copy

To Start

The Shining 22.75 ebook     7.19 Mass Market Paperback ( saw this on another thread, had to look it up myself)

[Starearedkid]

One for the Money (Stephanie Plum Series #1) ebook: 18.19; mass market paperback: 7.99

Sleeping Arrangements ebook: 17.82; hard cover bargain: 5.38; mass market paperback: 10.04

Those are the two biggies. Most of my books went up to between 8-10 dollars on my wishlist, when they were in paperback for 7.99

Those two though were the biggest jumps. I give myself a set amount of money for ebooks every month--so instead of getting 4-6 a month depending on the prices, I may only end up with two. Unfortunately the authors and publishers will be losing out--because the books that I don't buy since prices are too high--I'll just borrow from my friends. So they would have been getting more money from me, but now that I have to pick and choose which books I want--they are losing out. 

[DenisePW]

I think this price increase is being driven in part by the greed of the retailers (can you hear me now, B&N?) as well as the obnoxiousness of the publishers.  REALLY? Where can it possibly be reasonable to charge MORE for an ebook that can be read AT MOST twice (given the licensing, & "lend me" policy) than it costs to purchase a paperback??  I am a little outraged at paperback pricing, too, but this ebook pricing is beyond insane. 

I will now seek other sources for my reading material. I read A LOT---so waiting a few months for a book is not an issue for me.  I will get it from a library eventually, or not read it at all.  I won't pay $14-16-18 or more for an ebook.  I could live with (AT THE MOST) $12,,,,,but beyond that---this is just for entertainment.   

[ScrappersNook]

DenisePW, I'm with you...reading is entertainment only for me also...tho I do love to read, I will not pay the inflated prices they are now asking...I can wait till it's my turn at the library to receive the ebook on loan, and if the prices go back down, then I will buy it if I want.  Still love my Nook and not sorry I bought it...enough free book and books from other places that we can read until B&N bring their ebook prices back down to within my price range.

[EffieTX]

I will just be putting books galore on my wishlist and when the price is at a point I think is reasonable I will buy it.   I have read hardbacks and paperbackbooks for 50 years.. If there is a book I just have to read and its cheaper in hardback or paperback its no hardship to buy the book in that version to read...

[ReadingBum]

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-City-and-the-City/China-Mieville/e/9780345497512/?itm=2&USRI=th...

check that one out.  the ebook cost more than the hardcover...

You know I have no problem buying hard or soft cover book.  But I bought a nook and it cost me a bit over 300 dollars with a case.  I recently got it too, and now prices shoot up like this.  If prices go up all over, I'll have to go back to hardcovers and softcover books.  and that 300 dollars I spent would have been a waste. But luckily Kobobooks.com still have good prices. 

[SlaughterS]

What is it with book publishers ?  Its like they just don't get that ebooks should be *cheaper* than paper backs - not more expensive

Paperback price  $7.19 - Link

e-book price    $10.79 - Link

[ericDylan]

i agree with you but i see where they are coming from. i cant remember the article i was reading but there was a spokesperson for a publisher and he said that the best place for e-books are in-between paperbacks and hardbacks. it is the best way to keep everybody happy. the ones who want e-books and the ones who want publishers to stay in business so they can have their tree killers haha. i mean think about it. you didn't buy a 260 dollar product so you could save those 4 dollars. it would take a crapload of books for you to save money that way. you really bought for the convenience and ease of use. or at least i did and those are the best qualities.

[harkinat0r]

When you realize how little the author is getting from that though, you start to realize that maybe paying the lowest possible price that they can work this down to may not be the best plan.  On a given eBook, BN is getting a cut (roughly 30%).  The remaining 70% is split between the author and the publisher with the majority of that going to the publisher.  So, when you are buying that $6 eBook, in some cases less than $1 of that may be going to the author.  You can see pretty quickly that unless you are Dan Brown or Stephanie Meyers you are probably going to need another job on the side.  It's true that they should eliminate all materials and manufacturing cost because these books are digital, but the authors are pretty much getting hosed more often than not.

[oceans1]

I don't know where it will all settle in or what we can expect but this was at ABC news today

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=9764037

[Taye]

I personally don't believe that e-books should cost more than paperbacks.  I noticed that St. Martin's Press have some e-books priced at $14.00 that's just plan ridiculous!  I've decided not to buy books or e-books from them.  I'll just wait until the books are at available at my library to read them.  I would think they would love selling e-books because whether you end up loving or hating the book you can't return it.   I hope more publishers don't try and inflate e-book prices.

[Wiggum]

With so many Ereaders out and more to come, it would appear that more people are reading these days.

If they keep raising the prices of the eBooks then you will end up seeing the eBooks go the Music route and less and less people will be paying and more will just download them from torrent sites, or wait it out at the libraries to get a copy. 

[debiant]

Actually when it comes to the companies selling the ebooks, I was under the impression from several sources that they are currently taking a loss on a lot of ebooks.

[LoseTheRadiosMa]

You're right about it being about the convenience & ease of use being a reason for buying any e-Reader. I'm not sure I'd be happy paying full retail for an e-Book, but I can see where the publisher is coming from as well. Whether or not you're buying a book made from trees or bytes, it's still a book. My hope is that if B&N has to follow suit, they allow Reader's Advantage members to use their discounts & at the same rate as the paper equivalent.

[Phigment]

Fortuantly for me I prefer to read Sci-fi, so I purchase my books, all DRM free at the BAEN website. Which costs $15.00 for 4 ebooks that are to be released that month, same time as the soft cover version. They also sell the books individually at between $4.00 to $6.00 each. Did I mention they were DRM FREE? You can even D/L the book at fraking RTF format. and BAEN has been selling ebooks for about 10 years. They also pay thier authors double royalty so they're more on board with ebooks. And the publisher still makes a profit.

Keep in mind, they don't have to create multiple copys of 1 ebook. They just need to make 1 good ebook copy then (most likely RTF) then use Calibre to convert it to the most commonly used ebook reader formats. Now I think $4 to $5 is fair to pay If i know the author is getting even more royalties. And I'm all for paying the author what he's worth. I vote with my Dollars, and if i don't like what the author writes i won't buy it.  So the publishers really need to get on board and lower the prices of ebooks, they're way outa line on the price.

[ScrappersNook]

I too will not be buying ebooks if the price goes up - not when I can sideload and read them for  free from the library, I just can't see paying that much when they can only be lent once, and if I want to read a certain book a second time, I'll just borrow it from the library again.  Also, I don't mind waiting until the price goes down, after the book is not so new.  But, that's just me.