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iBook pricing - what are publishers thinking?

H

h00ligan

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 10, 2003
3,042
142
London
AtLas shrugged kindle edition -$9.99. Atlas shrugged in iBooks -$27.99. Ridiculous.

$9.84 new plus shipping for paperback

Much less used.

Publishers need a magic light switch to flip to save them. You can't charge more for something that costs you less to make. Period. The kindle price could be overcome. The iBooks pricing at 3x shows serious flaws. This is just one example..there are many more.
 
Well, people can vote with their wallets. I won't buy anything I think is too expensive, and if everyone does this they will have to lower prices. Of course, I wouldn't download Atlas Shrugged for free, but I guess that is irrelevant..
 
Atlas Shrugged Kindle = Hank Rearden
Atlas Shrugged Paperback = John Galt
Atlas Shrugged iBooks = Wesley Mouch = FAIL

Everyone should read this book sometime in their lifetime, preferably earlier.
 
Unless there are some added features like you have in iTunes with videos and iTunes LP, that's ridiculous. I get a premium price for new releases, but when something hits paperback it should be MUCH cheaper. If there are special features with the book, there should also be a standard edition that's just the book.

If you have taken a look at magazine and news apps, you'll find out that publishers are apparently not the smartest people in the world. When someone spends $500 for a device for reading electronically, they expect cheaper media. If it costs more to distribute an ebook, then something is wrong with the company.
 
Publishers are preying on the loyal Apple fan base. They know that Apple fans will buy at any price just to please Steve Jobs :D
 
pooryou said:
Well, people can vote with their wallets. I won't buy anything I think is too expensive, and if everyone does this they will have to lower prices. Of course, I wouldn't download Atlas Shrugged for free, but I guess that is irrelevant..
Click to expand...

That's a sad opinion no matter which way you lean.

Agreed on voting with the wallet.
 
Boiler said:
Atlas Shrugged Kindle = Hank Rearden
Atlas Shrugged Paperback = John Galt
Atlas Shrugged iBooks = Wesley Mouch = FAIL

Everyone should read this book sometime in their lifetime, preferably earlier.
Click to expand...

Agreed and already read. Which is why I chose it as my sample study. Fundamentally the book pricing is out of order, especially considering many apple iPad owners would be used bookstore patrons, demographically speaking. I think the amount of greed From3 publishers of books and apps could undo the importance of the new device.
 
I predict we'll see price adjustments in the near future like we are seeing in the App Store currently. If not publishers will learn that the favorite edition is neither the Kindle edition, nor the iBooks edition, nor the dead trees edition, but the Bittorrent edition. Not condoning it, but we know how this story ends, so to speak, when rational minds do not prevail.
 
The version of atlas shrugged on iBooks was the centennial version which is why it was more. The mass market version which is cheaper is not offered on iBooks. But the centennial version is priced higher everywhere
 
pooryou said:
No it's not. Not everyone shares your taste in literature, sorry.
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Learn the phrase "know thy enemy" and get back to me. I personally feel it's an important read no matter then side of the fence on which one sits. Atlas Shrugged is most certainly a bipartisan read..especially for those who hold education as paramount. But thanks for trying to insult or hijack with politics. In an evaluation of literature its place is apparent. It's one example....again there are many more. So back to then discussion of ridiculous book pricing.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
I predict we'll see price adjustments in the near future like we are seeing in the App Store currently. If not publishers will learn that the favorite edition is neither the Kindle edition, nor the iBooks edition, nor the dead trees edition, but the Bittorrent edition. Not condoning it, but we know how this story ends, so to speak, when rational minds do not prevail.
Click to expand...

Agreed.
 
h00ligan said:
Learn the phrase "know thy enemy" and get back to me. I personally feel it's an important read no matter then side of the fence on which one sits. Atlas Shrugged is most certainly a bipartisan read..especially for those who hold education as paramount. But thanks for trying to insult or hijack with politics. In an evaluation of literature its place is apparent. It's one example....again there are many more. So back to then discussion of ridiculous book pricing.
Click to expand...

I have not said one word about politics in this thread, you assume too much. I also haven't insulted anyone.
 
JediZenMaster said:
The version of atlas shrugged on iBooks was the centennial version which is why it was more. The mass market version which is cheaper is not offered on iBooks. But the centennial version is priced higher everywhere
Click to expand...

Good info. I'll search for others, of which there are plenty. I'll post back tomorrow.
 
Many Kindle books are sold below cost in an attempt to corner the market. Kindle prices will not last forever.
 
Heh, I wondered if this thread would be about Atlas Shrugged, which I noticed the other day. I find it somewhat amusing that this book of all books is priced at over 3x of any sane value.
 
I'll pay the high prices, these publishers and artists deserve it, we really don't need it to get any worse in publishing.

I hate to break it to you but super cheap and free for very long is going to screw us all in the long run. So get over that you paid $500 for a device, no one asked you to and we need to keep people in business or they won't buy YOUR products or services either.

Get off your fat rear ends and go read a damn book already...
 
An issue being lost as the world goes digital.....

Is that many (if not most publishers) have shareholders that they have to be accountable to. The iPad right now changes the game for the short term - till consumers speak.

I thinks some publishers are looking for higher prices with multimedia content. Imagine one of the Harry Potter books with video links to clips from the movies.

What we have are companies that live and die by the P/L statements - and a growing number of folks (myself included) that want lower pricing due to digital delivery saving costs in printing/delivery/mark-up.

As an example; I would love to buy an iPad to be able to sync up in the morning and get the full printed version of the Washington Post. Ads and all. But not at the cover price of 75 cents - given their subscription sales they have. Or worse yet - I would love to get back to reading magazines like Time.

But not at $4.99 cover price - when I can buy it for 70 cents for the printed version through a 6 month subscription. I don't do that right now for it not being convenient to carry 6 or so magazines that I would like to read on a regular basis. I might be a bit ADA when it comes to reading... but moods change on a whim for me.

I like the idea of being able to pick and chose what I read - when ever I want. That is what the iPad is promising.
 
Consultant said:
Many Kindle books are sold below cost in an attempt to corner the market. Kindle prices will not last forever.
Click to expand...

That applies mainly to new hardcovers where they are $9.99 vs a hardcover retail of $28 (sold at 40% off for $17). For paperbacks, retail is generally under $10 so selling the ebook at $9.99 or less isn't below cost.
 
Chip NoVaMac said:
Is that many (if not most publishers) have shareholders that they have to be accountable to. The iPad right now changes the game for the short term - till consumers speak.

I thinks some publishers are looking for higher prices with multimedia content. Imagine one of the Harry Potter books with video links to clips from the movies.

What we have are companies that live and die by the P/L statements - and a growing number of folks (myself included) that want lower pricing due to digital delivery saving costs in printing/delivery/mark-up.

As an example; I would love to buy an iPad to be able to sync up in the morning and get the full printed version of the Washington Post. Ads and all. But not at the cover price of 75 cents - given their subscription sales they have. Or worse yet - I would love to get back to reading magazines like Time.

But not at $4.99 cover price - when I can buy it for 70 cents for the printed version through a 6 month subscription. I don't do that right now for it not being convenient to carry 6 or so magazines that I would like to read on a regular basis. I might be a bit ADA when it comes to reading... but moods change on a whim for me.

I like the idea of being able to pick and chose what I read - when ever I want. That is what the iPad is promising.
Click to expand...

Exactly... It's really simple... Digital delivery shoiuld be the same price as print, minus the cost of printing and delivering the print copy... Plus a little for the extra work required, and apple's cut as the distributor. In the end, it should come out as a discount for the reader. Anything else, and people know they're getting screwed.
 
It's the same bandwagon iGouging as we saw when the app store opened. The prices will come down.
 
As someone who has worked in publishing for 20 years I get frustrated at comments like an eBook doesn't cost the same as a physical book to produce.

It's faulty logic.

The same marketing, publicity and staff are required to get a book published no matter what format it's in. The argument that it costs nothing to produce an eBook only applies to books ONLY released as eBooks.

But, for example - the latest Stephen King novel. Whether you're buying an eBook or hard copy - the overall cost is the same. It's not like publishers just say - ok - we need to make money to earn back our printing costs - so hard copies we'll charge for and eBooks we won't. How is that fair to the people buying hard copies - to supplement your eBook?

A book is a book is a book. You're not getting any more or any less than someone buying a hard copy other than convenience.

Now - I'm not advocating they should be charging MORE for an eBook. But if publishers charge the same or even a LITTLE less than a hard copy, I don't see where all the complaints are coming from.

There's a underlying "theme" in today's society of "entitlement."

You aren't entitled to a cheaper book because you have decided to read it in a particular format.

It would be better to think of the value of what you're getting instead of what format it's in.

As I said - a book is a book is a book. You're paying for the book and getting the book.
 
samcraig said:
As someone who has worked in publishing for 20 years I get frustrated at comments like an eBook doesn't cost the same as a physical book to produce.

It's faulty logic.

The same marketing, publicity and staff are required to get a book published no matter what format it's in. The argument that it costs nothing to produce an eBook only applies to books ONLY released as eBooks.

But, for example - the latest Stephen King novel. Whether you're buying an eBook or hard copy - the overall cost is the same. It's not like publishers just say - ok - we need to make money to earn back our printing costs - so hard copies we'll charge for and eBooks we won't. How is that fair to the people buying hard copies - to supplement your eBook?

A book is a book is a book. You're not getting any more or any less than someone buying a hard copy other than convenience.

Now - I'm not advocating they should be charging MORE for an eBook. But if publishers charge the same or even a LITTLE less than a hard copy, I don't see where all the complaints are coming from.

There's a underlying "theme" in today's society of "entitlement."

You aren't entitled to a cheaper book because you have decided to read it in a particular format.

It would be better to think of the value of what you're getting instead of what format it's in.

As I said - a book is a book is a book. You're paying for the book and getting the book.
Click to expand...

I have to agree - the additional cost of putting a book on paper is negligible.

I work in the pharmacy realm and nothing frustrates me more than people saying "Why does that pill cost $6 a tablet, they probably make it for pennies." Of course, neglecting the fact that the cost of that tablet has to cover years (sometimes decades) of salaries for researchers, marketers, etc. at the drug company, not even counting the number of drugs that millions of research get pumped into and then never make it to market.

When you buy a book/CD, you're not buying the physical plastic and paper - you're paying for the art and the authorship (is that a word? LOL).
 
One can argue that a dollar or two should be drawn from the price on an ebook because cutting down trees and printing books is cheaper then digital distribution, with that said it shouldn't be a huge difference but I think 5USD cheaper for an ebook is reasonable.
 
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