A news flash about a bargain…
“When it comes to eBook prices, I don’t know anything—but neither does anybody else, so I feel comfortable expressing an opinion. I think the best price point for new eBooks is $9.99, and $4.99′s ideal for books that have been around a while.”
To my considerable surprise, Open Road reduced the price of Writing the Novel From Plot to Print all the way from $9.99 to $1.99. I’m not sure they meant to drop it that far, and I’m not sure how long it’ll stay that low. Carpe diem, y’all…
For full details, along with links, and news about lower prices on my other books for writers, click here.
I feel that I should be able to get an around-for-a-while eBook for about what it would cost to purchase and ship a used paperback, so your $4.99 price makes good sense. I’m not going to buy Game of Thrones on Kindle for $12.99, for example, when I can find a nice used paperback for five bucks on Amazon, eBay or Half.com.
eBook retailers are shooting themselves in the foot in charging these too-high prices. They could be doing far more volume, and make so much more money, if they weren’t so stupid about this stuff.
I agree completely, Tod. But it’s not the retailers, it’s the publishers, esp. the major houses. I don’t understand their thinking, and I’m not sure “thinking” is the right word for it. I’ve heard publishers explain that low eBook prices would undercut the sale of their hardcover editions. In the first place, that’s not necessarily true; but more to the point, so what?
I understand their fear of sales being cannibalized, but you can’t cannibalize a sale that never would have happened in the first place. I almost never buy new hardcovers, as I typically cannot justify the expense of spending $25 on something I’ll use for just a couple of days, especially when it equals half of my utility bill. I pretty much always wait for the paperback.
Perhaps publishers, like many of our elites, cannot imagine what it’s like not to have $25 to buy a new book?
The belief is that physical books can’t compete with ebooks if they only cost 3.99 or lower. Musical CDs are already on the way out. The big six has an entire business model dedicated to physical books. If they went digital, authors would only need them for editing, something that they can get for hire. All that is left is “legitimacy.” I think lower prices are better for everyone, especially the reader/customer.
I sympathize with publishers. They’ve set the rules and controlled things for a long time. But things change and new business models must be created to survive. My brother has run a professional color photo lab in Maryland for more than 30 years. Guess what the digital camera did to his business? I owned and operated a computer business for 20 years. You wouldn’t believe how many times we had to adjust our way of doing business and incorporate new products and new methods. Only those people who remain flexible and open to finding solutions can survive. Publishers are learning the hard way. Either find new ways to make profits or sink into obilivion.