The eBook versions presumably do? To sync up the release of print copies is far more trouble than it's worth, as we've seen, it doesn't even happen within the same country, let alone internationally. And because of the models they work on, most book stores just don't have the space to keep loads of books 'in the back' for weeks waiting for a publication date. Stuff comes in, and goes out as soon as they can sort it. Frequent your local book store, buy lots of stuff there, chat to the staff, and maybe you start finding that when Trek books come in they end up getting out there faster!
Supply and demand is tricky with electronic products though. Technically, supply of an eBook is infinite, so the price should tend towards zero. Which is silly, of course, but shows how much digital distribution breaks even the basics of our economic models.
That's interesting. It's notable if that is the case, then it supposes that Pocket are happy with just limiting their market to 'people who want to read Star Trek fiction'. Which may well be the case these days. Though it totally ignores the wider field of people who just happen to like Star Trek and also read books - in which they're competing with every other book ever published.
Absent Enemies has a $2 list price, more comparable to the Doctor Who titles. I wonder if it's an experiment to try to see if the price point is viable or helpful for sales, or if it's really that much shorter?
I seems to me like Trek stuff is occasionally more expensive than other the non-Trek versions of the same products. Maybe it was just me, but when they were first coming out it seemed like the Trek DVDs tended to be more expensive than other, similar TV series DVDs.
I'd argue that's been true of Pocket Books for... well... forever, and not just limited to the eBook world.
It's the nature of the tie-in business. The market is generally limited to people who want to read about the property.
That said, I'm totally sympathetic to those who think that Pocket prices their eBook originals above where they should. The comparable Doctor Who eBook originals (last year's anniversary stories, this year's Time Trips) are priced at at roughly half the price as a similar Star Trek eBook. I understand the production costs argument for the pricing of eBook originals, yet I look at the price and wonder if Pocket is really trying to "win" in that market.
Maybe Amazon.co.uk is different, but Amazon.com is more than willing to use jiffybags unfortunately.
