4 ms·

"The publishers wanted to stop Amazon from using what one of them called “the wretched $9.99 price point,” according to court papers." I can't say that I care

by kemayo 15y ago

"The publishers wanted to stop Amazon from using what one of them called “the wretched $9.99 price point,” according to court papers." I can't say that I care about the specific price point... but when I see an ebook costing more than a physical copy which has to be printed and shipped to me, I feel a certain amount of annoyance knowing that it's the publishers who're causing that. Even costing the same is pushing it. Am I being reasonable in holding this position? Maybe not, economically. But I doubt it's an uncommon one.

thwarted 15y ago
Printed, stored, and shipped to you. While I'm not sure exactly what shipping costs across the industry (not just Amazon sales, where you can see exactly what you'll pay for shipping) for getting physical books into people's hands, shipping is only getting cheaper for e-books (some more recent Kindles don't support 3G whispernet, so there's an infrastructure middleman cut out, and the cost for shipping approaches zero as the cost for bandwidth approaches zero), there by widening the gap between physical and e-books.
nextparadigms 15y ago
Yeah, this is why I'm siding with Amazon for now. Publishers need to be hurt first, and then we see what we can do about Amazon's monopoly. At least right now I think Amazon is the lesser evil. The publishers may be more than one, but they are acting like a monopoly anyway (or oligopoly if you will) by trying to price ebooks a lot higher than they should cost. I don't care if they do it through the agency model, the wholesale model or the whatever model. The point is they are doing it, and at least Amazon was trying to bring the price down with the $9.99 price tag, and with the $1-$3 Singles, even if that's forcing the publishers' hand. For anyone out there still thinking the publishers weren't colluding - just think of it this way - no big publisher would've tried to price the ebooks $15 if the others didn't agree to do it as well. Also Apple wouldn't have agreed to have $15 prices for its books, unless the publishers forced Amazon to have the same prices, too. If the publishers are so worried about Amazon, maybe they should stop giving them so much power themselves as a gatekeeper by asking them to use DRM. Amazon has a huge lock-in because of that, and it's only getting stronger. If they know what's good for themselves, they will make e-books DRM-free yesterday (and obviously that doesn't mean giving Apple a pass on DRM either).
- Lewisham 15y ago
  What's totally bizarre about the publishers pricing is that other goods that have gone digital have benefitted by lower prices, or at least, temporary price drops. My knowledge is particularly in video games, but those Steam sales that keep popping up are not through the goodness of Valve's hearts. Publishers are doing gangbusters on those sales, and consumers are buying far more games than they'll ever play. They screwed up. The agency model wasn't necessarily bad, it's that they used it to screw the consumer to pay higher prices. Had they used it to lower prices, they wouldn't have this problem now, where they forced themselves into wholesale and let Amazon marginalize them further.
  - jorgem 15y ago
    Oh, I don't know. I remember CD's being more expensive than records. And DVD's were more expensive than VHS tapes.
    - joverholt 15y ago
      Those all involved physical supply and distribution chains, each with their own added costs. They also represented an advancement in technology. Yes, there are costs with digital distribution, but I find it hard to believe they are greater than distributing a physical product. My dad gave me a Kindle he got for free. I have a hard time paying $10 or $15 to buy a book I don't really own, among other reasons.
WalterBright 15y ago
If ebooks were priced at $.99 rather than $9.99, I'd be likely buy more than 10x as many books. They become a complete impulse buy, even if I just have a mild curiosity about the contents. Heck, the local thrift shop sells paperbacks for $.99, and I buy piles of them (and don't feel guilty if I never get around to reading them!). I wouldn't have bought any at $9.99.
- SlipperySlope 15y ago
  Right! I bought a number of ebooks from Amazon that were priced at $2.99 because, on impulse, I wanted to explore new authors in my favorite genre.

by kemayo 15y ago

thwarted 15y ago

Printed, stored, and shipped to you. While I'm not sure exactly what shipping costs across the industry (not just Amazon sales, where you can see exactly what you'll pay for shipping) for getting physical books into people's hands, shipping is only getting cheaper for e-books (some more recent Kindles don't support 3G whispernet, so there's an infrastructure middleman cut out, and the cost for shipping approaches zero as the cost for bandwidth approaches zero), there by widening the gap between physical and e-books.

nextparadigms 15y ago

Yeah, this is why I'm siding with Amazon for now. Publishers need to be hurt first, and then we see what we can do about Amazon's monopoly. At least right now I think Amazon is the lesser evil. The publishers may be more than one, but they are acting like a monopoly anyway (or oligopoly if you will) by trying to price ebooks a lot higher than they should cost. I don't care if they do it through the agency model, the wholesale model or the whatever model. The point is they are doing it, and at least Amazon was trying to bring the price down with the $9.99 price tag, and with the $1-$3 Singles, even if that's forcing the publishers' hand. For anyone out there still thinking the publishers weren't colluding - just think of it this way - no big publisher would've tried to price the ebooks $15 if the others didn't agree to do it as well. Also Apple wouldn't have agreed to have $15 prices for its books, unless the publishers forced Amazon to have the same prices, too. If the publishers are so worried about Amazon, maybe they should stop giving them so much power themselves as a gatekeeper by asking them to use DRM. Amazon has a huge lock-in because of that, and it's only getting stronger. If they know what's good for themselves, they will make e-books DRM-free yesterday (and obviously that doesn't mean giving Apple a pass on DRM either).

Lewisham 15y ago
What's totally bizarre about the publishers pricing is that other goods that have gone digital have benefitted by lower prices, or at least, temporary price drops. My knowledge is particularly in video games, but those Steam sales that keep popping up are not through the goodness of Valve's hearts. Publishers are doing gangbusters on those sales, and consumers are buying far more games than they'll ever play. They screwed up. The agency model wasn't necessarily bad, it's that they used it to screw the consumer to pay higher prices. Had they used it to lower prices, they wouldn't have this problem now, where they forced themselves into wholesale and let Amazon marginalize them further.
- jorgem 15y ago
  Oh, I don't know. I remember CD's being more expensive than records. And DVD's were more expensive than VHS tapes.
  - joverholt 15y ago
    Those all involved physical supply and distribution chains, each with their own added costs. They also represented an advancement in technology. Yes, there are costs with digital distribution, but I find it hard to believe they are greater than distributing a physical product. My dad gave me a Kindle he got for free. I have a hard time paying $10 or $15 to buy a book I don't really own, among other reasons.

WalterBright 15y ago

If ebooks were priced at $.99 rather than $9.99, I'd be likely buy more than 10x as many books. They become a complete impulse buy, even if I just have a mild curiosity about the contents. Heck, the local thrift shop sells paperbacks for $.99, and I buy piles of them (and don't feel guilty if I never get around to reading them!). I wouldn't have bought any at $9.99.

SlipperySlope 15y ago
Right! I bought a number of ebooks from Amazon that were priced at $2.99 because, on impulse, I wanted to explore new authors in my favorite genre.