|
|
|
Written by Tamara Mazzei
|
|
Thursday, 26 June 2008 |
|
I've recently been exploring the world of e-books with some success. While I'm certain I'll never give up traditional books entirely, I'm now convinced that there are some definite advantages to e-books. The best thing about e-books is that I can have one right NOW without having to drive to the bookstore.
I have, however, noticed that some publishers appear to be making a huge mistake: pricing their e-books at the same level as their printed books. This is idiotic. Do they think readers are morons?
If I purchase a printed book, there are a number of things I can do with it. I can give it away, I can sell it, I can use it as a doorstop, or I can just display it on my bookshelf. What can I do with an e-book besides read it? I'm not allowed to print it. I'm not allowed to copy it. As far as I can tell, I'm not allowed to sell it. I can leave it on my computer to take up space, in case I want to read it again, but that's about it.
To add insult to the injury that I, as a reader, can do less with an e-book than I can with a printed book, I know that the cost to produce an e-book is a fraction of what it costs to produce a printed book, and there is no inventory to maintain. I have heard the argument that publishers are afraid of diluting sales of their printed titles by selling the same titles as e-books as the justification for this pricing scheme, but I think it is ridiculous. E-books are worth less than printed books and should be priced less as well.
When I set out to try e-books, I decided upon an arbitrary upper limit of $10 per book, with the idea that I would only spend that much for books I really wanted to read. For others, I would aim to spend less. I've purchased and read about 15 books in the last two weeks, and so far, I've only hit the $10 limit once. There were a number of books that I would have purchased had they been priced at $10, but not at $18.99. Not for an e-book. And, unfortunately for the authors of those books and their publishers, not the printed books either. That's the thing -- not every book is published as an e-book, so the marketplace is smaller. That gives each book a larger potential chance to find readers. I was willing to experiment with all the available books, and in fact, most of the books I chose were by authors I had not read before. However, I was not willing to pay such a high price for an unknown product that I perceived to be overpriced. Instead I chose other unknown products with better prices. I was very satisfied.
If I am going to spend $18.99 on a book, I want a printed book that I can display in my bookshelf. You cannot decorate your living room with e-books. |
|
Last Updated ( Thursday, 26 June 2008 )
|
|
|
Publishers 
