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  $9.99 Ban. Are some ebooks becoming too expensive?

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  About a year ago, I noticed some ereaders rebelling against ebooks priced higher than $9.99. But it seems publishers are pricing a number of books above this price and that prices are moving up in general. What is your experience with ebook prices? And how much is too much for an ebook?

  Robert F started this discussion 2 years ago (edited). ( reply | permalink )

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  Lori A 

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  I've noticed some ebooks are more expensive than their hardcover or paperback counterparts. I think it's pretty ridiculous and don't understand why it happens. When I see an ebook is more than the physical book I tend to go with the cheaper option! :) I think an ebook priced at $9.99 or more is expensive.

  posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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    Gina C (edited)

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    I noticed this strange phenomenon too! What the heck??? A hardcover book should NEVER be more expensive than the Kindle Edition. That just sucks, but I've seen it happening and wonder what is going on, hopefully this strange trend will not continue.

    posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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  Robert F 

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  I agree. I think 2.99 - 9.99 is a reasonable price for an ebook, with less than 2.99 being a bargain.

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    David S 

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    I think what matters is who gets what. Like in music, the digital age *should* make the pie slice for the creator much bigger, even the biggest. Is this happening? I hope so. I like keeping up with this sort of thing in the music world by listening to Sound Opinions podcast. They report on filesharing, digital music, ipods, etc.

    posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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    Robert F 

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    It IS starting to happen. Amazon is giving its authors/publishers 70% of the list price on books over 2.99. That's a pretty huge cut, especially when you consider many authors keep the electronic rights.

    posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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    Gina C 

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    I feel like anything over $9.99 I can wait for. Prices seem to drop, as popularity wanes. I also agree anything UNDER $2.99 is a bargain --- and hey every once in a while a good one pops up for FREE. (I've seen this happen for a day and then the next day its back to regular price - STRANGE!)

    posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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  Aimee 

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  You know, when they offer up a free book (usually first in a series) I am more willing to buy the rest of the series, even if it is more than ten bucks a book. But when the ebook is more than the paper book that is when I don't understand their thinking. Sure, they need to make their money too, but if they can put the book out for cheaper then they can put the ebook out for atleast the same price.

  posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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  Sounour 

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  Any ebook which is more expensive than the paper book is not worth buying in my opinion. And by the way I really like paper books better. With paperback books around 8$ the maximum I usually am willing to pay is around 6$ ...

  posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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  cathysdesigns 

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  I started buying e-books from a site that did 80% e-books. Their print books cost from 8.99-18.99 depending on word count. All e-books are 50% of print price. They have been selling successfully this way for over 10 years. If a books comes out in print for 7.99 I refuse to pay more than $4 for the e-book. I can not sell it, lend it, pass it on or trade it so it is useless after I read it. If I buy the same book in paperback I can lend it to my daughter who can trade it to another who can then sell it.

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    Sounour 

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    if the ebook is DRM free I think 75% of the paper book is a good price

    posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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  Danielle M 

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  I refuse to pay for ebooks. Like Cathy said, you can't do anything with it after you've read it. So instead, I just download them from free torrents.

  posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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  Mary Ellen B 

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  I am a K1 owner, and stick religiously to the nothing above the 9.99 rule. I'm dying to read DeMille's The Lion and a book by Boyd Morrison, The Ark, but have learned to wait or reserve at the library. I recently have used this web site to look for price drops for The Kindle..you can also sign up to be notified by email if a book you want drops in price..

  
  

  http://www.kindleiq.com

  posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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    Robert F 

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    Thanks! Great to know. Was The Lion over 9.99?

    posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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    Gina C (edited)

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    Hey I agree, I abide by the same rule. I have a K1 and I've ALWAYS subscribed to the same rule. I ONLY buy a book if its less than $9.99 - period!!

    posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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  Linda L 

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  The prices are creeping up! When I first started buying ebooks, I was paying $4.99 to $6.99. On Kobo, they warned members that prices were going to go up and publishing companies were pushing this. They were not going to be allowed to sell at lower prices. Sounds like price fixing to me!!! I think $9.99 is the highest price I want to pay.

  posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

• Christine K (edited)

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  Okay, I have to admit I feel a little offended at free ebooks. Some author put there energy, imagination and a lot of time into it. Reading it without paying is just an insult to the author. On the other hand I agree with many of you here, anything over 9.99 is crazy.

  My favorite authors however, I still buy the good old print books. Apparently I'm old fashioned at the ripe age of 25. lol.

  posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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    cathysdesigns 

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    You shouldn't be offended. Most authors get paid up front for their work. Most times they are given arcs to be given to reviewers and bloggers before printing is started. many books are given out in contests and away by authors to get their stuff out there, this is called promotion. I have gotten arcs to review and free books from contests and authors to promote their work. There are some sites right now that are giving away free e-books to promote the publishers and some contests I've entered for free e-books to promote authors.
    I have gotten over 50 free e-books from doing this. I have also spent money getting the sequels or other books after I have read an author and like their work. This is how they get you to visit the sites, try a new author or a new genre. Take advantage, this is promotion, just like me handing you a needle and thread package with my company name and number to promote my sewing business.

    posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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    Aimee 

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    Cathy makes some great points. This is a great way for people to discover new books who then spend money to get the rest of the series or try other books. It tends to work in the authors favor!

    posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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  Melissa 

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  I read an article that discussed how ebooks were killing the revenue of publishing companies and therefore the royalties of authors and it made sense to me. Publishers make the most money off of their newly released hardcover books. Now, I believe the margin on those is too high but that it should be higher than paperbacks and ebooks. With ereaders, the publishing companies are not selling nearly as many hardcover books anymore because people are buying the ebooks immediately after publishing.

  With this in mind I am willing to pay more than 9.99 for a newer book. But, if it is already in paperback I won't spend more than that. If I am not dying to read it, I wait until the price drops a bit. But, I will never say "boycott." There are just too many books I NEED to read NOW!

  posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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  Linda L 

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  Five months ago I posted I would not want to pay more than $9.99. I have, of course, had to if I wanted to read many of the books I want and have thus paid up to $12.99.

  posted 2 years ago. ( permalink )

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