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> An e-book should in all fairness cost perhaps a third or fourth of a paper book The market is not about fairness. The prices are about what some segment of

> An e-book should in all fairness cost perhaps a third or fourth of a paper book The market is not about fairness. The prices are about what some segment of the market will pay. > it is hard not to see that the market is simply not offering the best solution. They are selling physical books for folks who want the traditional experience and the reuse benefits you describe, and Ebooks for folks who want the convenience of that experience. So they continue to cater to their paying customers. It doesn’t seem reasonable to follow a race to the bottom with people who pirate ebooks. Some folks just do not pay for content. One side effect of higher prices of the traditional publishers is that it opens a door to self published authors offering books in the lower price range you mention. These are often quite popular so obviously they are aware of the price point impact but for now are happy with capturing the premium market. > Compare this with piracy in games, music, and video, which is comparatively rare Can you cite figures for that? I would expect video and music and pc games to all have far higher rates of piracy.

Freak_NL 7y ago
> The market is not about fairness. The prices are about what some segment of the market will pay. It's all about perceived fairness. If a price doesn't seem fair and alternatives exists (e.g., paper books, piracy), consumers look elsewhere. > One side effect of higher prices of the traditional publishers is that it opens a door to self published authors offering books in the lower price range you mention. The masses want the new John Grisham, Danielle Steel, or whatever is popular right now. The odd self-published author gaining a small audience does not offset this. > […] but for now are happy with capturing the premium market. […] Can you cite figures for that? I would expect video and music and pc games to all have far higher rates of piracy. The publishing industry is rather miffed at not getting as far with e-books as they thought they might get. I don't have exact figures (although they shouldn't be hard to find), but publishers and their representative bodies have been complaining about e-book piracy in the media a lot. In 2014 Dutch research company GfK estimated that only 10% of e-books on e-readers was paid for legally: https://www.ad.nl/economie/e-readers-staan-vol-met-illegale-boeken~ae4b1f74/ https://www.ad.nl/economie/e-readers-staan-vol-met-illegale-... An interesting related article from a Dutch newspaper from a month ago for who can read it: https://www.volkskrant.nl/cultuur-media/keurige-boekendieven-hele-leesclubs-doen-samen-met-een-e-book~bc49076f/ https://www.volkskrant.nl/cultuur-media/keurige-boekendieven... Nobody bats an eyelash at loading hundreds of pirated epubs on grandpa's new e-reader, and book clubs happily share their digital copies in Facebook groups. The situation may vary by country, but in the Netherlands the vast majority of people pay for cable television or streaming services like Netflix, buy CD's or tracks on ITunes or subscribe to Spotify, and game on consoles or use Steam. Piracy is marginal; except for e-books, where it is commonplace.

Freak_NL 7y ago

> The market is not about fairness. The prices are about what some segment of the market will pay. It's all about perceived fairness. If a price doesn't seem fair and alternatives exists (e.g., paper books, piracy), consumers look elsewhere. > One side effect of higher prices of the traditional publishers is that it opens a door to self published authors offering books in the lower price range you mention. The masses want the new John Grisham, Danielle Steel, or whatever is popular right now. The odd self-published author gaining a small audience does not offset this. > […] but for now are happy with capturing the premium market. […] Can you cite figures for that? I would expect video and music and pc games to all have far higher rates of piracy. The publishing industry is rather miffed at not getting as far with e-books as they thought they might get. I don't have exact figures (although they shouldn't be hard to find), but publishers and their representative bodies have been complaining about e-book piracy in the media a lot. In 2014 Dutch research company GfK estimated that only 10% of e-books on e-readers was paid for legally: https://www.ad.nl/economie/e-readers-staan-vol-met-illegale-boeken~ae4b1f74/ https://www.ad.nl/economie/e-readers-staan-vol-met-illegale-... An interesting related article from a Dutch newspaper from a month ago for who can read it: https://www.volkskrant.nl/cultuur-media/keurige-boekendieven-hele-leesclubs-doen-samen-met-een-e-book~bc49076f/ https://www.volkskrant.nl/cultuur-media/keurige-boekendieven... Nobody bats an eyelash at loading hundreds of pirated epubs on grandpa's new e-reader, and book clubs happily share their digital copies in Facebook groups. The situation may vary by country, but in the Netherlands the vast majority of people pay for cable television or streaming services like Netflix, buy CD's or tracks on ITunes or subscribe to Spotify, and game on consoles or use Steam. Piracy is marginal; except for e-books, where it is commonplace.