(I’ll preface this post with, A lot of publishers seem to get it, based on most prices found on Amazon’s Kindle store. This post is really derived from an interesting question i was asked over twitter.)
Beyond the ridiculously obvious “you get nothing physical” there’s a lot of reasons why an eBook shouldn’t cost as much as any printed version of the same book.
Let’s look at what goes into the price of a printed book vs. an eBook.
| eBook | Paper | |
|---|---|---|
| Writing | of course | |
| editing | Sure | |
| marketing | Some will argue it’s value, but yes | |
| printing | Nope, not even a little | yup, and binding, and color correction, etc. |
| distribution | The Internets | trucks, and stores |
| Stores | the Internets again | shelf space, depreciation, discount selling |
So given that several important factors in price (setting a price that when discounted due to depreciation is still profitable for example) don’t apply to eBooks, why should we as consumers be expected to pay a price similar to that of a hardback book, for an eBook?
While the cheap consumer part of me wants eBooks to be $.99 i acknowledge that it’s a bit unrealistic, since a great deal goes into writing a book, and while a single song is $.99 an entire book, shouldn’t be. Should a book be over $10 for the eBook version? No.
I feel a certain amount of pity for the publishing industry. While the music and movie industry got their heads kicked in, and alienated customers by the thousands, the book industry (rather than learn) watched from a far (i presume) assuming they were immune. Then Amazon came and fucked it all up for them.
Now they’re doing the same thing those other two industries did (killing speach to text on the Kindle, charging $15 for an eBook, etc), and not surprisingly the same type of backlash is being felt.
Publishing at least seems to have learned a little from their cousins in movies and music, but not enough I think.
I was a skeptic, I love books. I love the feel of paper, the weight, the act of holding it in your hands, all of it. I love traveling with books and putting ticket stubs in the book. My books are like time capsules.
That said, it’s truly incredible that this device exists. Part of me is sad, that it spells the end (by and large) for printed books. The idea of a wall of books, ones I’ve read and need to read, lining my house just resonates with me. I’d have a real and true library in my house if there was room and money for it. It’s not. Like I said above, the printed book just feels special, and while the Kindle is awesome, it’s not a book, it’s a device and it feels like a device.
