eBook prices getting stupid

[OmahaStar]

If people start downloading these books for free, the publisher has no one to blame but their own greedy selves. More than $20 for an ebook that's been out for over a decade? Screw that. I won't pay. There is no justification in the world for those kinds of prices.

And more than 20 for Reap the Whirlwind? Are you kidding me? If I didn't already have it, I sure wouldn't have bought it.

[Zedferret]

Reap the whirlwind is £3.99 in the UK on amazon, as are couple of the others. The rest are expensive at £8.99.

Some odd is happening here, out of print old books shouldn't be sold as new, it will only force people into piracy.

[cdgodin]

I'm glad I got Reap the Whirlwind digitally when it was $8, then.

[JD]

Technobuilder wrote:

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I've been giving some serious thought to purchasing an E-Reader Device of late.

Since Trek Lit continues to be a big part of my regular book purchases, I've debated switching over to E-books only once I do.

This pricing model/trend is making me rethink where I was heading.

I still think $8 bucks a pop is high, but I enjoy the quality stories and like adding to my collection of Trek Books.

Not sure I could justify the costs of getting an E-Reader and then paying 10-18 bucks for each book...

E-Books should be making it easier to purchase older and out of print titles, not more frustrating.

All of the new releases are the same price as the paperbacks, so as long as you stay away from the old books you won't be paying any more.
EDIT: I was just looking at Trek e-books, and they actually have the first two Cold Equations books for only $5.99 and the third for $7.59. It seems weird to me that they would be marking the newest books down like that, while they mark the older books way up. I would think it would be the other way around.

[Patrick O'Brien]

Defcon wrote:

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Wouldn't make a difference, I think. The retailers still have to base their prices on what the publisher demands if they want to make a profit, as the publisher gets 70% of the digital listing price no matter what, as I've learned recently. And S&S seems to think it's a good idea to base the prices on over-priced TPB reprints.

My comment was more of a sarcastic little snipe at somepeople here who always made it look as if we would get eBooks almost for free once the evil agency pricing is gone.

Don't worry Defcon, unlike your avatar I do understand sarcasm. I should have had this guy at the end of my comment

[ATimson]

JD wrote:

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EDIT: I was just looking at Trek e-books, and they actually have the first two Cold Equations books for only $5.99 and the third for $7.59. It seems weird to me that they would be marking the newest books down like that, while they mark the older books way up. I would think it would be the other way around.

The older books are more expensive in their current print incarnation (as print-on-demand tomes) than new releases (as offset-print mass-market paperbacks). The ebook price follows the lead of the print price.

[JWolf]

If S&S does not do something about the prices, it's going to effect the entire Star Trek line as people are going to stop reading when they come up to the eBooks that are prices out of the realm of reality.

Vanguard is being priced out of reality. So when they find out that some of the stories do use elements of Vagnuard which they have not read in full or at all due to unrealistic pricing, they won't read the 24th century Trek eBooks.

I feel the Entire Trek line is in trouble with some eBook prices so far out of the realm of reality.

[BillJ]

JWolf wrote:

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If S&S does not do something about the prices, it's going to effect the entire Star Trek line as people are going to stop reading when they come up to the eBooks that are prices out of the realm of reality.

Vanguard is being priced out of reality. So when they find out that some of the stories do use elements of Vagnuard which they have not read in full or at all due to unrealistic pricing, they won't read the 24th century Trek eBooks.

I feel the Entire Trek line is in trouble with some eBook prices so far out of the realm of reality.

I don't think a few e books with out-of-whack pricing is going to threaten the line. People will simply hunt down the books used if they feel the e book is too expensive.

[OmahaStar]

BillJ wrote:

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I don't think a few e books with out-of-whack pricing is going to threaten the line. People will simply hunt down the books used if they feel the e book is too expensive.

Or, more realistically, they'll do a quick google search and download it for free, while probably saying something like "fuck you, S&S!" The publisher setting stupid prices like that is hurting themselves, and the authors.

[tomswift2002]

You know, I just thought that I'd check Kobo (used to be owned by Canadian bookstore chain Chapters-Indigo, and is now on its own)---and Kobo currently has A Fury Scorned for just $7.99!

And I did a comparison on Chapters.ca (the online division of Chapters-Indigo that still lists books on Kobo, since Kobo is still their official ebook partner) and chapters.ca is showing that for the TP here in Canada it is currently $21.99 (SRP)/$16.71 current sale price, while the ebook version is $7.99 and the current Mass Market list price (even though the book is no longer available in MMP form) is $7.99. Check it out http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/home/s...ed&pageSize=12


Another book I checked (just off the top of my head) is Voyager Spirit Walk book 2, and the Mass Market price is currently at $10.99, while the Kobo e-book edition is $9.99.

TNG #29 Sins of Commission by Susan Wright currently has the TP at $21.99 (with a reorder next to it), the MMP is at $6.99 and the ebook is at $9.99.

It seems like for those of us here in Canada with Kobo are getting the better deal.

[vorador33]

My biggest problem with eBook prices is the cost of the eBook exclusives like IN TEMPEST’S WAKE which in the UK for the Kindle cost £3.99 which is the same price as most of the full novels.

[Deano2099]

OmahaStar wrote:

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Or, more realistically, they'll do a quick google search and download it for free, while probably saying something like "fuck you, S&S!" The publisher setting stupid prices like that is hurting themselves, and the authors.

And of course, for multi-book series, they'll find that copy of Vanguard Book 3 in a pack that contains all the rest of the Vanguard books also.

And after that, what are the chances of them going back to pay for books 4-8 when they already have them on their computer for free?

[JWolf]

Deano2099 wrote:

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And of course, for multi-book series, they'll find that copy of Vanguard Book 3 in a pack that contains all the rest of the Vanguard books also.

And after that, what are the chances of them going back to pay for books 4-8 when they already have them on their computer for free?

Agreed. Once they find out how easy it is to find the eBooks for free, they very well may not go back to paying for all they can get for free. It's driving paying customers to the dark side.

[JD]

They've finally marked the first Eugenics Wars book down to $7.99.

[JWolf]

JD wrote:

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They've finally marked the first Eugenics Wars book down to $7.99.

BooksOnboard has the audiobook version for $7.29. Also, they have the eBook version for $5.33