what's up with amazon kindle book prices?

[nageov3t]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/045...pf_rd_i=507846

I've had my kindle for a couple years and this is the first time I've actually seen a physical book priced more cheaply than an electronic copy.

I mean, really amazon? as convenient as the kindle is and as much as I love it, I'm not going to pay $13 for an e-book when I could get a brand new, physical copy for $10.

 

[gorcorps]

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Cha...1&USRI=Changes

B&N charges the same thing.

 

[mundane]

..

 

[DaveSimmons]

Publishers demanded that Amazon let them charge more. Amazon wanted to keep ebook prices lower to grow the market but the publishers want teh monies.

Most kindle books are cheaper than hardcovers or (once the paperback is out) the same price as a paperback. Not ideal, but not Amazon's choice.

If you want cheap (even free) SF & fantasy go to baen.com.

 

[Jzero]

I'd like to think the premium is imposed by the technophobic publishers.

This. Idiots.

 

[JD50]

Agreed, the price of e-books is absurd. I buy a ton of technical books from Amazon and the e-book price is usually the same as the dead tree copy, it's ridiculous. They should at least include a free digital copy when you purchase the book in dead tree form.

 

[Spoooon]

If Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc., all used one format, does anyone think prices would drop? They'd have to compete for customers based on their ebook prices as opposed to their catalog of ebooks.

Or do the publishers have enough clout that there wouldn't be much impact on pricing?

 

[DaveSimmons]

If Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc., all used one format, does anyone think prices would drop? They'd have to compete for customers based on their ebook prices as opposed to their catalog of ebooks.

Or do the publishers have enough clout that there wouldn't be much impact on pricing?

Publishers control the content and its pricing, just like the music companies do for MP3s and iTunes. Apple used to have 99 cents for all songs pricing, but the music companies made them raise the price for hit songs in order to let Apple go DRM-free.

So no. Publishers made Amazon raise their prices on NY Times bestsellers when the iPad came out. More competition, higher prices.

 

[corkyg]

Actually, it is a very common practice to drop prices on existing stock when a new model is about to emerge this month.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2086843

 

[DaveSimmons]

Actually, it is a very common practice to drop prices on existing stock when a new model is about to emerge this month.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2086843

That's competition for the hardware, which did save me $70 on my new Kindle 2 (woot!).

Spoooon meant competition for the books / content.

 

[corkyg]

My bad - confused it with an earlier thread. Nice move on trhe $70, Dave.

 

[Bateluer]

I'd like to think the premium is imposed by the technophobic publishers.

This.
Amazon and B&N need to start leveraging their influence as distributors to force these idiots into the 21st century.

 

[boomhower]

This.
Amazon and B&N need to start leveraging their influence as distributors to force these idiots into the 21st century.

Isn't that what they did when the Kindle first came out and they were selling books for ~$8? Then the publishers said to hell with that and made them raise prices?(Even though Amazon was the one eating the loss so why the publishers cared I never figured out)

 

[Inspector Jihad]

didn't want to make a new thread so i'll put this here...anyone know if amazon will do a subscription plan for kindle books? its working with music and, you know, regular books. i'd prolly pay like 20-25 bucks a month for unlimited access.

 

[EarthwormJim]

This.
Amazon and B&N need to start leveraging their influence as distributors to force these idiots into the 21st century.

They did, till Apple ruined things.

Apple helped with music prices. I guarantee you we'd never be able to buy 1 song at a time vs. whole albums today if it wasn't for Apple. But in the case of books, Apple has not made things better.

 

[gorcorps]

didn't want to make a new thread so i'll put this here...anyone know if amazon will do a subscription plan for kindle books? its working with music and, you know, regular books. i'd prolly pay like 20-25 bucks a month for unlimited access.

I don't remember hearing anything, but that'd be a solid idea for Amazon or B&N to one-up the other. Of course I'm not sure what kind of market there is for such a thing. There can't be many that read a full 2-3 books every month to make it worth it.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

I don't remember hearing anything, but that'd be a solid idea for Amazon or B&N to one-up the other. Of course I'm not sure what kind of market there is for such a thing. There can't be many that read a full 2-3 books every month to make it worth it.

i figured just about anyone that owns a kindle could do atleast 3-4 books a month. my mom and her book club people could do that in a week

 

[gorcorps]

i figured just about anyone that owns a kindle could do atleast 3-4 books a month. my mom and her book club people could do that in a week

Dayum. Maybe I'm the minority that barely reads even with an ereader. It's not that I can't read fast, it's that there's so much else I could be doing

I've read maybe 2.5 books since I've had my nook... which I guess has been a little over a month. Still, that's with me being in the "OOO NEW TOY" mode.

 

[nageov3t]

Dayum. Maybe I'm the minority that barely reads even with an ereader. It's not that I can't read fast, it's that there's so much else I could be doing

I've read maybe 2.5 books since I've had my nook... which I guess has been a little over a month. Still, that's with me being in the "OOO NEW TOY" mode.

I'm a pretty avid reader, but it really varies depending on the book and what's going on in my life.

sometimes, 1 book will last me 2-3 months... other times, I'll plow through half a dozen in a single month.