Comments on: Cheaper E-Books is a Good Thing http://thebillfold.com/2012/04/cheaper-e-books-is-a-good-thing/ Everything About Money You Were Too Polite To Ask Wed, 22 May 2013 17:39:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: stuffisthings http://thebillfold.com/2012/04/cheaper-e-books-is-a-good-thing/#comment-628 stuffisthings Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:07:49 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=1484#comment-628 @blahstudent Yeah, I'm just going to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartel#Long-term_unsustainability_of_cartels">leave this here</a>. @blahstudent Yeah, I’m just going to leave this here.

]]> By: blahstudent http://thebillfold.com/2012/04/cheaper-e-books-is-a-good-thing/#comment-621 blahstudent Thu, 12 Apr 2012 21:00:18 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=1484#comment-621 @Emily Gould@facebook how is a publishing industry built on illegal price-fixing a "sustainable culture"? amazon may engage in predatory, abusive practices--but that does not justify what is alleged to have happened here. @Emily Gould@facebook how is a publishing industry built on illegal price-fixing a “sustainable culture”? amazon may engage in predatory, abusive practices–but that does not justify what is alleged to have happened here.

]]> By: blahstudent http://thebillfold.com/2012/04/cheaper-e-books-is-a-good-thing/#comment-617 blahstudent Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:39:30 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=1484#comment-617 By: Megan Patterson@facebook http://thebillfold.com/2012/04/cheaper-e-books-is-a-good-thing/#comment-612 Megan Patterson@facebook Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:17:21 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=1484#comment-612 @stuffisthings Well, publishers are very, very hesitant to change. They're very scared of ebooks. That's why it's kind of a mess. But yeah, they do need to think about it. @stuffisthings Well, publishers are very, very hesitant to change. They’re very scared of ebooks. That’s why it’s kind of a mess. But yeah, they do need to think about it.

]]> By: stuffisthings http://thebillfold.com/2012/04/cheaper-e-books-is-a-good-thing/#comment-598 stuffisthings Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:50:06 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=1484#comment-598 @Megan Patterson@facebook If I knew anybody in the money/sales side of the publishing industry, here's what I'd say to them: "Look at what has happened in the video games industry in the last 5 years. Look at Steam. Look at indie bundles. Look at the crazy sales and the 'pay what you want' deals. Look at the direct sales from publishers, and look at Good Old Games. Look with an open mind, and see if you can see any parallels at all to your own industry, and see if you can think of anything you might do differently." That's sincere advice. I love books and I want to see them go the way of the serious PC game (another thing that I love which is flourishing) and not the music CD or the cassingle. @Megan Patterson@facebook If I knew anybody in the money/sales side of the publishing industry, here’s what I’d say to them: “Look at what has happened in the video games industry in the last 5 years. Look at Steam. Look at indie bundles. Look at the crazy sales and the ‘pay what you want’ deals. Look at the direct sales from publishers, and look at Good Old Games. Look with an open mind, and see if you can see any parallels at all to your own industry, and see if you can think of anything you might do differently.”

That’s sincere advice. I love books and I want to see them go the way of the serious PC game (another thing that I love which is flourishing) and not the music CD or the cassingle.

]]> By: Megan Patterson@facebook http://thebillfold.com/2012/04/cheaper-e-books-is-a-good-thing/#comment-590 Megan Patterson@facebook Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:01:21 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=1484#comment-590 @stuffisthings Most people do not read a lot though. People who read more than a couple of books a year are a minority. BUT people who do have e-readers do tend to be in the group of people that do read a lot, and people with e-readers do buy more books than people without, because it's so easy to buy them and (usually) cheaper. The problem with what you're proposing is that publishers don't get to offer the deals like that, it's Amazon and such, it's out of their hands at that point. Personally I think that the industry needs to be way more vetically integrated in order to make money, but since amazon has already pretty entrenched in the ebooks game, I don't think publishers can go "oh, you can only get your ebooks directly from us now". @stuffisthings Most people do not read a lot though. People who read more than a couple of books a year are a minority. BUT people who do have e-readers do tend to be in the group of people that do read a lot, and people with e-readers do buy more books than people without, because it’s so easy to buy them and (usually) cheaper.
The problem with what you’re proposing is that publishers don’t get to offer the deals like that, it’s Amazon and such, it’s out of their hands at that point.
Personally I think that the industry needs to be way more vetically integrated in order to make money, but since amazon has already pretty entrenched in the ebooks game, I don’t think publishers can go “oh, you can only get your ebooks directly from us now”.

]]> By: stuffisthings http://thebillfold.com/2012/04/cheaper-e-books-is-a-good-thing/#comment-584 stuffisthings Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:50:07 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=1484#comment-584 @Megan Patterson@facebook OK, even if you have no idea how many copies the book might sell, my argument is that you will always sell MORE copies at a lower price point -- possibly a lot more. I make decent money and I read a lot, and I would buy a lot more books if I could get them on my Kindle for, say, $5. I would much rather buy three books for $15 than one book for $10. Assuming that all three were from the same publisher, that's $15 from me, rather than $10 (or $0). Additional cost to them, for the books whose authors they've already paid advances to, and whom they have already paid someone to edit, proofread, lay out, and design a cover for? Zero. I'm just waiting for one publisher to break ranks and give this a try. I guarantee they will make a boatload of money and every other publisher will fall over themselves trying to imitate. @Megan Patterson@facebook OK, even if you have no idea how many copies the book might sell, my argument is that you will always sell MORE copies at a lower price point — possibly a lot more. I make decent money and I read a lot, and I would buy a lot more books if I could get them on my Kindle for, say, $5. I would much rather buy three books for $15 than one book for $10. Assuming that all three were from the same publisher, that’s $15 from me, rather than $10 (or $0). Additional cost to them, for the books whose authors they’ve already paid advances to, and whom they have already paid someone to edit, proofread, lay out, and design a cover for? Zero.

I’m just waiting for one publisher to break ranks and give this a try. I guarantee they will make a boatload of money and every other publisher will fall over themselves trying to imitate.

]]> By: Megan Patterson@facebook http://thebillfold.com/2012/04/cheaper-e-books-is-a-good-thing/#comment-575 Megan Patterson@facebook Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:56:15 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=1484#comment-575 @stuffisthings On physical books, I think Amazon gets like a 60% discount? (I know, it doesn't make sense to me either). The standard is between 30-40% if I remember right. @stuffisthings On physical books, I think Amazon gets like a 60% discount? (I know, it doesn’t make sense to me either). The standard is between 30-40% if I remember right.

]]> By: Megan Patterson@facebook http://thebillfold.com/2012/04/cheaper-e-books-is-a-good-thing/#comment-574 Megan Patterson@facebook Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:54:37 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=1484#comment-574 @stuffisthings I don't think they think that, but they literally have no idea of how well a book is going to sell. It's a very weird industry in terms of making money, because you basically make as educated a guess as you can and pray that they sell. (I am in publishing) @stuffisthings I don’t think they think that, but they literally have no idea of how well a book is going to sell. It’s a very weird industry in terms of making money, because you basically make as educated a guess as you can and pray that they sell. (I am in publishing)

]]> By: Megan Patterson@facebook http://thebillfold.com/2012/04/cheaper-e-books-is-a-good-thing/#comment-573 Megan Patterson@facebook Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:52:34 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=1484#comment-573 While I agree that an ebook should never cost more than a physical book (although now that I know why a physical book costs so much, it does KIND OF make sense. Paper man, it is literally like oil), I don't think Amazon should be able to set their prices at whatever they want, because there have been some issues with them setting it too low (even in one case offering it for free, because the author was giving out free sample chapters somewhere). While I agree that an ebook should never cost more than a physical book (although now that I know why a physical book costs so much, it does KIND OF make sense. Paper man, it is literally like oil), I don’t think Amazon should be able to set their prices at whatever they want, because there have been some issues with them setting it too low (even in one case offering it for free, because the author was giving out free sample chapters somewhere).

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