5 ms·

A lot of the anger seems to come from the fact that an ebook is cheaper to produce and distribute. As if the value of a book is in the wood pulp and ink...

by KC8ZKF 16y ago

goodside 16y ago
For $15.11, you can have the same book on a nicely bound hardback printed on acid-free paper. The production, storage, and delivery of this medium increases the cost of the book by 12 cents. If that 12 cents reflects the actual marginal expense of printing each copy, it begs the question why cheap mass-market paperbacks exist.
- InclinedPlane 16y ago
  Mass market paperbacks exist as a means of creating market segmentation. Book publishers release an expensive, high-profit version of the book initially and then release a lower cost version of the book later, to rake in volume sales. The result is that people who value the book more will be able to spend more money on it. Today this is done by releasing the high-profit version as a hardback volume and the low-profit version as a paperback, though in reality the production cost differences between the two are comparatively minor. And, as many people notice, after a paperback version comes out often the hardback version will be heavily discounted, nearly to the price of the paperback. But if the versions were identical and merely differently priced many consumers would complain. See also: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/CamelsandRubberDuckies.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/CamelsandRubberDuckie...
ben1040 16y ago
I think the ebook purchasers are getting a raw deal, but not because of production costs (though I think we all know it doesn't cost 12 cents to print and distribute this book). An ebook has less utility compared to a physical book; if I find an ebook entertaining or insightful I can't loan it to a friend or donate it. Because of that, I expect the price to be discounted by a few dollars. Since buying an iPad I've bought several Kindle ebooks and find them to be a fair price at ~$10 for a book that would cost $15 in dead-tree form. When the price is the same as a physical copy, it's worth it to me to just get the physical book. Getting the book delivered instantly does not, in my mind, outweigh the technical limitations imposed on an ebook.
- joubert 16y ago
  Are the technical limitations you mention just the DRM, or is there something else as well?
jonhohle 16y ago
Why shouldn't it be cheaper? As distribution has gotten cheaper food, physical goods, software, entertainment, and information have all gotten cheaper. Why should books be exempt? Looking at the prices, I would also feel Like as an ebook buyer, I'm either subsidizing the price of the physical version, which must cost more than $0.12 to manufacture and ship, or simply being charged a higher margin for the same (and in some cases lower fidelity) content.
- cstross 16y ago
  Nope. The cost of producing an ebook is around 90% of the cost of producing a paper book. This only seems counter-intuitive until you realize that 70% of what you pay for a book is slurped down by the retail distribution channel, 10% goes to the author, 10% goes to the publisher, and 10% goes on production costs. More here: http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/02/cmap-2-how-books-are-made.html http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/02/cmap-2-h...
  - joubert 16y ago
    Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but a retail distribution channel is necessary for physical goods (the 70% component you mention), unlike electronic products, which can be distributed at close to zero.
    - protomyth 16y ago
      The web does have costs and they are not "close to zero". People cost money either in salary or contracting.
      - joubert 16y ago
        Maybe were not talking about the same aspects of book distribution, but I would estimate physical distribution (inventory keeping, shipping) to cost much more than electronic distribution (uoloading to an ebook store).
danielford 16y ago
It's not just the cost of production for me, but also that when I buy an ebook I am decreasing the supply of that book in the used book market. This should cause used versions to be priced more highly, and increase the probability that someone will buy a new book from the publisher.
DannoHung 16y ago
I remain unconvinced that anyone but the copy editor and the author are superfluous in the creation of a great work of art. I will concede that there needs to be someone to run a storefront to sell the art, but his costs should be very, very small when the art is non-corporeal.
- joubert 16y ago
  I agree with you 100%. That's why I co-founded Fifobooks, which is a new DRM-free ebook marketplace, where authors: - retain all the rights to their work - maintain full editorial control - set the price at which their ebooks are sold (and keep majority of the revenue) - there is no fee to publish http://fifobooks.com http://fifobooks.com
- jasonlotito 16y ago
  That's sort of like saying anyone but the programmer is superfluous in the creation of a startup. Pretty much all startups I see posted here disagree. Most require other people involved. Sales, support, marketing, and even investors. Than you need people to manage that. At the same time, publishers can do something others can't: Provide an advance, something a lot of authors need to be able to write their books.

A lot of the anger seems to come from the fact that an ebook is cheaper to produce and distribute. As if the value of a book is in the wood pulp and ink...

by KC8ZKF 16y ago

A lot of the anger seems to come from the fact that an ebook is cheaper to produce and distribute. As if the value of a book is in the wood pulp and ink...

goodside 16y ago

For $15.11, you can have the same book on a nicely bound hardback printed on acid-free paper. The production, storage, and delivery of this medium increases the cost of the book by 12 cents. If that 12 cents reflects the actual marginal expense of printing each copy, it begs the question why cheap mass-market paperbacks exist.

InclinedPlane 16y ago
Mass market paperbacks exist as a means of creating market segmentation. Book publishers release an expensive, high-profit version of the book initially and then release a lower cost version of the book later, to rake in volume sales. The result is that people who value the book more will be able to spend more money on it. Today this is done by releasing the high-profit version as a hardback volume and the low-profit version as a paperback, though in reality the production cost differences between the two are comparatively minor. And, as many people notice, after a paperback version comes out often the hardback version will be heavily discounted, nearly to the price of the paperback. But if the versions were identical and merely differently priced many consumers would complain. See also: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/CamelsandRubberDuckies.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/CamelsandRubberDuckie...

ben1040 16y ago

I think the ebook purchasers are getting a raw deal, but not because of production costs (though I think we all know it doesn't cost 12 cents to print and distribute this book). An ebook has less utility compared to a physical book; if I find an ebook entertaining or insightful I can't loan it to a friend or donate it. Because of that, I expect the price to be discounted by a few dollars. Since buying an iPad I've bought several Kindle ebooks and find them to be a fair price at ~$10 for a book that would cost $15 in dead-tree form. When the price is the same as a physical copy, it's worth it to me to just get the physical book. Getting the book delivered instantly does not, in my mind, outweigh the technical limitations imposed on an ebook.

joubert 16y ago
Are the technical limitations you mention just the DRM, or is there something else as well?

jonhohle 16y ago

Why shouldn't it be cheaper? As distribution has gotten cheaper food, physical goods, software, entertainment, and information have all gotten cheaper. Why should books be exempt? Looking at the prices, I would also feel Like as an ebook buyer, I'm either subsidizing the price of the physical version, which must cost more than $0.12 to manufacture and ship, or simply being charged a higher margin for the same (and in some cases lower fidelity) content.

cstross 16y ago
Nope. The cost of producing an ebook is around 90% of the cost of producing a paper book. This only seems counter-intuitive until you realize that 70% of what you pay for a book is slurped down by the retail distribution channel, 10% goes to the author, 10% goes to the publisher, and 10% goes on production costs. More here: http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/02/cmap-2-how-books-are-made.html http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/02/cmap-2-h...
- joubert 16y ago
  Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but a retail distribution channel is necessary for physical goods (the 70% component you mention), unlike electronic products, which can be distributed at close to zero.
  - protomyth 16y ago
    The web does have costs and they are not "close to zero". People cost money either in salary or contracting.
    - joubert 16y ago
      Maybe were not talking about the same aspects of book distribution, but I would estimate physical distribution (inventory keeping, shipping) to cost much more than electronic distribution (uoloading to an ebook store).

danielford 16y ago

It's not just the cost of production for me, but also that when I buy an ebook I am decreasing the supply of that book in the used book market. This should cause used versions to be priced more highly, and increase the probability that someone will buy a new book from the publisher.

DannoHung 16y ago

I remain unconvinced that anyone but the copy editor and the author are superfluous in the creation of a great work of art. I will concede that there needs to be someone to run a storefront to sell the art, but his costs should be very, very small when the art is non-corporeal.

joubert 16y ago
I agree with you 100%. That's why I co-founded Fifobooks, which is a new DRM-free ebook marketplace, where authors: - retain all the rights to their work - maintain full editorial control - set the price at which their ebooks are sold (and keep majority of the revenue) - there is no fee to publish http://fifobooks.com http://fifobooks.com
jasonlotito 16y ago
That's sort of like saying anyone but the programmer is superfluous in the creation of a startup. Pretty much all startups I see posted here disagree. Most require other people involved. Sales, support, marketing, and even investors. Than you need people to manage that. At the same time, publishers can do something others can't: Provide an advance, something a lot of authors need to be able to write their books.