Are e-book prices artificially high?

Contributor: Wicked Wahine Wicked Wahine
Maybe, as it turns out. The Department of Justice ruled against Apple and some publishers on that topic: link

What do you think? Will there be any consumer benefit to the ruling?
07/11/2013
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Contributor: Pete's Princess Pete's Princess
I think that the ruling was just if Apple conspired to keep prices artificially high. It is a shame that greed is so prevalent. Hopefully, prices will come down for those that like to read books digitally.
07/11/2013
Contributor: gsfanatic gsfanatic
They were artificially high. They're slowly getting better, and we'll see how things go
07/11/2013
Contributor: charmedtomeetyou charmedtomeetyou
It does annoy me how expensive they are, in some cases the same price or more than the paper version.
07/11/2013
Contributor: Herzer Herzer
I don't have problem with the price if the author is getting that much more, but I have a feeling they are getting shafted.
07/11/2013
Contributor: Wicked Wahine Wicked Wahine
When the paperback price is less than the e-book price then there's absolutely no denying that something is wrong. In this case, criminally wrong.
link

Yes, for the most part e-books are overpriced. E-books have no costs associated with raw goods, inventory, production, among others. Costs of distribution are near zero: e-book files are quite small (they are just text for the most part) and the transaction costs (buying one) is also inexpensive. Owners of e-books also have no right of first sale: the original buyer cannot sell, lend, give away, or otherwise let somebody else read it. You don't even really "own" an e-book: you have a license to read it. Compare this to regular books, which are cost a significant amount to print, have very high warehousing and transportation costs, take up lots or room, and often get returned to the publisher. The owner of a regular book retains right of first sale. So, it is more expensive to produce, and worth more to the owner.

So, that being said, why do we have situations like this:
Game of Thrones Paperback Collection, $20.59
Game of Thrones, Kindle Collection, $29.99
What...the.....#$&^

My whole thought is that the publishers don't want e-books: they were comfortable with their old models and old ways. The only reason that they are catching on is that Amazon (for the most part) is dragging the publishers into the 21st century. Hell, I read that the publishers wanted a price for mass market best sellers e-books to be 20 bucks or more. That would have effectively killed the concept of e-books. Which was what they wanted in the first place. It's like when Comcast says "Nobody wants gigabit Ethernet, we asked!" What they aren't saying is they asked "Would you want gigabit Ethernet service at $500 a month?"
07/12/2013
Contributor: Trysexual Trysexual
Yes definitely overpriced. Just like CDs were and are. Just like ticket fees from Ticketmaster/stubhub. They actually charge you extra to print them yourself! Unreal, what they get away with. If only people voted with their wallets, but instead most just pay it.

I've never bought an e-book. I prefer a paper copy.
07/12/2013
Contributor: lana'sart lana'sart
Quote:
Originally posted by Wicked Wahine
Maybe, as it turns out. The Department of Justice ruled against Apple and some publishers on that topic: link

What do you think? Will there be any consumer benefit to the ruling? ... more
I like that they are high
07/12/2013
Contributor: Wicked Wahine Wicked Wahine
Quote:
Originally posted by lana'sart
I like that they are high
Why's that?
07/12/2013
Contributor: SweetSaffron SweetSaffron
I've considered e-books, but when it's $12 to download a book to my phone, versus a penny plus $3.99 shipping to receive it as a used paperback, I'll take waiting a week over instant gratification. I'm cheap, and prefer physical books anyway. I felt very odd on a flight a few months back being the only one sitting there with a paperback, but at least I don't have to turn my book off during takeoff and landing.
07/12/2013
Contributor: Incendiaire Incendiaire
Ebooks annoy me; you have a document, you either send it to a printer to have it emblazoned onto sheets of paper, or you let the consumer download it directly, yet somehow the physical copy is cheaper? It's ridiculous.
07/12/2013
Contributor: Wicked Wahine Wicked Wahine
Quote:
Originally posted by Incendiaire
Ebooks annoy me; you have a document, you either send it to a printer to have it emblazoned onto sheets of paper, or you let the consumer download it directly, yet somehow the physical copy is cheaper? It's ridiculous.
OK, it's late, I haven't slept & I have a migraine, so I am sorry if the following comment is rambling & disjointed!

I know when I first was looking at e-books, the promise was that they would be cheaper. But, what also drew me was the supposed customization options, such as font and size selections. Well, the selection of fonts is rarely available and as far as I can tell, is dependent on the file you download, not your reader, what the heck?! And changing the size of the print is problematic because the whole formatting gets messed up and the entire spacing gets thrown off! For example, if I increase the size just a little, instead of seeing the correct paragraph structure, I get everything broken up into two line chunks regardless of sentences at all! It's especially difficult when reading conversation and you can't tell who is speaking. (It's hard to describe unless you know what I am talking about, sorry. Oh, I have a Nook.)

If I wanted to read on my damn computer, then I would, so NO, I don't want a tablet or anything other than a reader as my reader. What I want is to have a lightweight, portable reader that can deliver on the promises of different fonts and assorted visual options. I was dragged kicking & screaming into the e-Reader market and still see little benefit to me, as a consumer, to justify the cost of having one!

At least with everything else you buy, you have the right to re-sell it, such as CD's, books, clothes, DVDs, etc. But with e-books, as I've already said in my previous comments, you don't even own it, you only have a license to read it!

So why did I finally get an e-Reader and buy e-books? Well, I used to buy new & used books, but then my allergies got bad enough that I couldn't get used anymore. All the small bookstore were driven out of business & then the big stores all closed. And finally, a lot of what I read now is on smaller publishers, so even the print books are really expensive, so they do have cheaper e-book prices compared to their printed ones. But, I wait until they have promotions such as 50% off all their titles, plus a free e-book for every few you buy, stuff like that. The place I buy from always has a buy some, get one free deal, as well as running the publishing house deals every month.

And not only that, have you noticed the editing has gone to Hell? I am not just talking about e-books here, though they have some of the most egregious examples (and not just the self-published, either). But, even regular paper books by major publishing houses for big time authors are riddled with errors! It seems to me that in the last couple of years there have been more printing errors, flimsier book bindings, and poorer editing/spell checking/proof reading. Publishers have given up on original cover art in favor of digital manipulations. And editors have given up entirely. I find grammar and continuity errors in so many new books I read. It makes me sad.
07/13/2013
Contributor: peachmarie peachmarie
I think new books are a little pricey, After a year i think they should be like 5 dollars.
07/15/2013
Contributor: SourAppleMartini SourAppleMartini
I love e-books, because you can nearly always get them for free on the net. I have already saved myself over $1000 dollars this year, simply by downloading my Uni coursebooks instead of buying them from university bookshop.
07/18/2013
Contributor: stacylyn12 stacylyn12
Quote:
Originally posted by Wicked Wahine
Maybe, as it turns out. The Department of Justice ruled against Apple and some publishers on that topic: link

What do you think? Will there be any consumer benefit to the ruling? ... more
I think that they are high
07/18/2013
Contributor: lana'sart lana'sart
Quote:
Originally posted by Wicked Wahine
Maybe, as it turns out. The Department of Justice ruled against Apple and some publishers on that topic: link

What do you think? Will there be any consumer benefit to the ruling? ... more
not really
07/18/2013
Contributor: 702zombie 702zombie
this is really interesting. i so did not know this. thank you for posting. interesting read
07/18/2013
Contributor: Wicked Wahine Wicked Wahine
Quote:
Originally posted by lana'sart
not really
You already posted "I like that they are high" on the 12th!
07/18/2013
Contributor: KyotoAngel KyotoAngel
Quote:
Originally posted by SweetSaffron
I've considered e-books, but when it's $12 to download a book to my phone, versus a penny plus $3.99 shipping to receive it as a used paperback, I'll take waiting a week over instant gratification. I'm cheap, and prefer physical books ... more
...that last line is perfect. c:
Literally the only real benefit to e-books is that they don't take up any room in your house, but as a woman that still dreams of the day she's got a small library in her house, I'd much rather bulky ink and paper over an lcd screen and a battery (okay, so I'm thinking a combination library/crafting room/study...but still...walls upon walls lined with enough books to make Belle drop to her knees and praise the person that invented the printing press. xD ).
07/21/2013