So, I decided to take a look at some of the eBooks that are ahead of me and there was something that struck me as odd. I saw eBooks for 14.99, 9.99, and 12.99, which doesn’t make much sense to me. These are all by established authors like George RR Martin, Terry Brooks, and Robert Jordan. Still, I don’t see the logic in pricing a digital book at the same price or more as a paperback/hardcover.
Here’s my reasoning on this. A digital book doesn’t incur the same amount of production costs that a physical book does. It’s easier to get your invested money back on a digital book because it’s so low. A new author asking for this much is simply ridiculous, which is why it rarely happens and even then I’ve never heard of it being successful. Yet, an established author doing this comes off as them (I know they don’t set their prices) taking advantage of their fans. Honestly, I can see that it works considering how many of these have moved ahead in the rankings. It just seems so strange to see an eBook priced that high unless I’m missing something here.
Has anybody ever bought an eBook for paperback prices?
Legends of Windemere 
I’ve never understood how ebooks can be more expensive than a physical book… hoping someone can shed some light!
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Me too. I saw a few that were over $20, but those were Game of Thrones 4-5 book compilations. At 4-5 dollars a book, it makes more sense. Doesn’t explain the other ones though.
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I think the publishers are riding the ebook wave and trying to get more money from those who would rather buy ebooks than paperback. Because these authors are popular, some people will buy them. Me personally? Library!! So many ebooks, so little time.
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That’s what I was wondering about. After being bombarded by people telling me that they would never buy an eBook for more than 2.99, this entire practice seems full of greed. I think it shows a little of why publishers aren’t as powerful as they used to be. One of the reasons eBooks took off is because paperback prices were becoming obscene. They’re kind of digging their own grave or, at the very least, showing that they care more about money than anything else. I’d like to say that I won’t do this if/when I get to that level, but I don’t think I’d have much of a say. Though I can be a mouthy ranter if I think something is wrong, so who knows.
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I choose electronic or print depending on factors like why I want the book, how I’m going to use it, etc. If I pay more for an ebook, it’s because the format is appropriate for how I’ll use it or because I want it now, now, now–at 3 a.m. on a sleepless night that’s the only book that’ll do.
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That makes sense. With season three of Game of Thrones starting up this Sunday, I’m thinking a lot of people are scrambling to get on the bandwagon or catch up with the series.
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I don’t think I have ever purchased and ebook for the same price as the physical book. If I was going to pay the same price as the paperback/hardcover I would purchase the physical book every time. I still love the feel of a good book in my hands. 🙂
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You really can’t replace that feeling. At least until they make a Kindle with a ‘real book’ feeling and it releases a new book scent every time you open it. 🙂
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After what you told me, I think $5 is the most an ebook should cost. I mean, wait long enough and you can get the paperback for that price! The hardcovers I get are usually $12-$20 anyway, so only people who REALLY want the ebook is going to pay that much.
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That’s what I’m hearing. I guess it appeals to the ‘I want it now’ crowd, but that still seems like highway robbery.
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I guess people who are trying to sell at those prices are well-off enough that they can afford to only have a ‘select few’ buy their work…
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It’s typically the established authors who could probably summon their fans to conquer an entire city if they felt like it. In George (Game of Thrones) RR Martin’s case, I’m pretty sure his fandom would trade their firstborn for his books.
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Yikes. Well, maybe someday you and I’ll be that way (I meant about being able to charge an arm and a leg for our work..not the firstborn kid thing!) 🙂
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Is an arm and a leg better or worse than a firstborn? At least the firstborn kid is in one piece. I have no idea what I’d do with a bunch of limbs or how I’d explain it to the police. 😉
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You always make me laugh! But I think a lot of loose limbs might be easier to get by with (or maybe bury somewhere) than a bunch of kids the cops think you kidnapped! 😉
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Good point. I’d be afraid of losing my own first born in the shuffle too.
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Yeah, that would be bad! lol
Anyhow, I hope you have a great day!
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Thanks. You too.
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I only “purchase” free e-books, or $.99 e-books. I think I once spent $4.99, but that was a one time deal. I do not believe I am alone on this either.
While I am not as yet officially certain of the cost of placing an e-book on Amazon(been meaning to ask people who have done it, but it seems a tad invasive to ask, you know?), I am certain that it costs probably 1-2% of what it costs to traditionally publish it. If that is the case, then it is indeed greed that is driving the price up. I believe that $.99-$2.99 is a perfect pricing point for and e-book. Anything more, and you are getting greedy. Am I wrong on this?
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To answer your non-invasive question, it cost me absolutely nothing to post an eBook on Amazon. A publishing company might have to pay some advertising fees or something, but that still doesn’t explain an extreme price. I can see $4.99 for an established author or a new author with marketing money behind him/her.
For my own books, I’m thinking of making the sequel start at $1.99 and eventually books 2-15 will be priced at $2.99 while the first book stays at .99 cent. The benefit of $2.99 is that it’s the lowest price you can use to get Amazon’s 70% royalty rate instead of the 35% royalty.
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Ah, thank you for the answer. So you designed your own cover then? You edit yourself obviously, so that eliminates a large expenditure I am sure. Interesting. Here I was wondering how much non disposable cash I was going to have to launch into it.
So $2.99 is the lowest for %70? I see. So many things I need to learn yet. Thank you very much.
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My wife’s cousin is a professionally trained artist in Arizona, so he does my cover art. I can barely make a stick figure without screwing up. So, that’s an expenditure along with some book debut advertising. Truthfully, your goal at the beginning shouldn’t be money, but to create a word-of-mouth fire. Getting onto an Amazon Top 100 List helps a lot, which becomes a level of free advertising. I can’t go into public details about how much I spent on the cover art, but the on-line marketing I spent wasn’t even 100 bucks.
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My mother bought the ebook for JK Rowling’s Casual Vacancy, which was something crazy like $20. I told her not to — that it was insanely overpriced — but she did it anyway. Madness!
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Dear god! $20 for digital words that take up less physical space than oxygen . . . I’m definitely trying to get into the right business. 🙂
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