The cost of books

[delkytlar]

Over on barbarienne's LJ, she's posted about a cadre of Kindle owners who are making claims that the big publishers don't want ebooks to succeed as a viable format for reading.  I leave it in her capable hands to debunk that nonsense.  However, one comment that I read there, and have seen elsewhere, drives me insane.

The comment is that "printing makes up

Comments

[melinafandom]

My problem is less with publishers who reasonably price their books -- e.g., more expensive when the hardcover is first released, then reduce the price later when a trade or mass market paperback is released, but with those who keep ebook prices consistently expensive, which makes ebook readers feel like we just don't matter. Maybe Macmillan can explain why this title is still at $20 for the ebook version at Fictionwise, when the $6.99 paperback has been out for years now? This is the same company that is telling us they're going to do it differently in the future, but why is that believable, given their past (and current) practices

[delkytlar]

The sort-of-short answer is that right now, under the standard ebook model that Amazon and Fictionwise use, Macmillan does not have control of pricing. So, if there is a complaint to be made, it should be made to the retailer, who sets the prices. (It's entirely possible, considering that Fictionwise is now part of B&N, and since it has been reported that the corporate part of B&N is not fully up-to-date on Fictionwise's business and practices, that the new owners simply don't know there is a problem

[melinafandom]

The sort-of-short answer is that right now, under the standard ebook model that Amazon and Fictionwise use, Macmillan does not have control of pricing.

I was told that Macmillan's arrangement with Fictionwise was currently an agency model. If that's not correct, that it is Fictionwise's fault, though it's hard to see why those particular titles fell through the cracks. Carey's Hachette-published titles in the same series, now in paperback, are $7.99 there.

The only place that publishers currently have control over pricing of ebooks is on their own websites. Currently, that Kushiel book is selling in ebook format on Macmillan's website for $14 (if I had to guess, the price was probably set based on a trade paperback model, rather than a mass-market model, but that price is in keeping with the pricing model Macmillan has been talking about with Amazon). This in itself is a problem for me. I don't understand why an ebook should ever be priced higher than the retail price of the least-expensive paper edition available (which, given

[melinafandom]

Ok, I will write! If nothing else, I'm curious about what the answer might be :)

ETA: The prices are the same at ereader.com, $14 and $20.95 for the two Macmillan titles, and $7.99 for the Hachette titles.

[delkytlar]

I posted in another reply that I talked to Digital Macmillan, and promised to give them the info about the error. They are surprised, saying that there is a system for transmitting price change data to Fictionwise. Either this title slipped through the cracks here to at Fictionwise. They feel pretty confident that our data transmitted, as the right price shows in our internal systems.

[delkytlar]

I just heard from my friend at Digital Mac. She says that the current list price should be $14 on that Kushiel title. I'm not going to debate pricing schemes with her right now, but I expect I'll have to try to get an understanding of why we are doing this. It may be related to this new pricing policy. I've also given her a link to this thread, so she can see the other examples Robotech_Master mentioned. Hopefully, this thread will produce some level of results that will ease some of your concerns.

[melinafandom]

I hope so. Because if someone thinks that's the "right" price for a book that's been out in paperback for years, it's not very hard to see where the "they want to kill ebooks" conspiracy theories come from. It's also just disrespectful -- just because I read on a device doesn't mean I'm stupid, or will just click "buy" for any price that's thrown at me, regardless of circumstances.

But this very issue is why a lot of Kindle users don't believe what Macmillan is saying right now. Why should we believe things are suddenly going to change? Let's see it, and then I'll believe it.

[robotech_master]

I really would like to know the details.

It's interesting that now we know for a fact that in at least one case that the e-book price is set intentionally higher than the book.

It sure does cast more doubt on the credibility of Macmillan's "variable pricing" plan.

[delkytlar]

Interesting. Ereader used to (when they were owned by Palm) only make corrections if the publisher sent them in (I used to send them corrections every so often when I was at DAW).

[delkytlar]

Could be. The guys at Peanut/Palm/eReader were really good about looking after their community. I can see them responding to such input.

[melinafandom]

Just FYI, here is the response from Fictionwise:

Hi,

I apologize for the price discrepancy. The publishers set the prices and some providers don't update their ebook pricing as quickly as others.

Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.

Best Regards,

Linda
Fictionwise Support Team

============================================================
You wrote:
Hi, I was wondering why Kushiel's Avatar and Kushiel's
Chosen, both by Jacqueline Carey, were priced at $20.95 and
$14 respectively, when both titles have been available as
under $8 mass market paperbacks for years? I thought
perhaps it might be an oversight, as the other titles by
this author that are in paperback are all $7.99. Thanks for
your help.

[delkytlar]

So, the vendor to whom you complained blames us for providing incorrect information, and we blame the vendor for failing to upload all of the correct information we provided? There is no easy answer here. I have no idea who is at fault in this case, only that an error occured. However, compare responses. The person at Digital Macmillan admitted that the digital list price was incorrect, through whomever's error, and that it would be updated. The vendor simply blamed someone else, and gave you no resolution at all. Looks to me like the publisher did the right thing (even if the list price isn't ultimately what you thought it ought to be, that's a separate issue). From a customer service perspective, the publisher did better.

Here from barbarienne's post

[folklorefanatic]

I'll definitely give you that the publisher's response is better in terms of customer service, but as a consumer, it's the end result that matters to me. In this case, Carey's books haven't changed price afaict.

Granted, the problem was just brought to Macmillan's attention, but this isn't the lone instance of overpriced digital books I've seen by far -- not even within Fictionwise. Laurell K. Hamilton's titles come to mind.

[delkytlar]

I was told that Macmillan's arrangement with Fictionwise was currently an agency model. If that's not correct, that it is Fictionwise's fault, though it's hard to see why those particular titles fell through the cracks. Carey's Hachette-published titles in the same series, now in paperback, are $7.99 there.

I don't know who told you that, but Fictionwise's Publisher Info page is clear that it's not an Agency model. Publishers provide the raw files, and Fictionwise does the conversion. Publisher gives a list price, and Fictionwise set the Sales price via varying discounts from List Price. No different than Amazon's current model.

This in itself is a problem for me. I don't understand why an ebook should ever be priced higher than the retail price of the least-expensive paper edition available (which, given paper discounts, still means the ebook would actually cost more in most cases