Kindle book pricing?

[FenderPriest]

Can someone explain the Kindle's book pricing? I find it a little prohibitive to the advantages of the Kindle when the e-book price is a mere $1 cheaper than the hard copy price, or even more! I haven't gotten a kindle, but am thinking about it. Thoughts on the pricing?

 

[puritan628]

In general, I have not found the prices to be much less than a hard copy, as you pointed out. The "savings" is in the portability as well as a few other minor features (highlighting, note taking), but those can be done in hard copies as well. The ability to pull up any book I have and refer back to my notes by carrying around my iPhone (I use the Kindle app, which is free for the iPhone) is phenomenal.

Just this weekend I made an out-of-town trip to see a very dear friend and I think I referenced at least three, if not four, passages from that many different sources as we discussed the Lord. THAT is worth every penny. Plus, you can get a LOT of books for free.

 

[FenderPriest]

Just this weekend I made an out-of-town trip to see a very dear friend and I think I referenced at least three, if not four, passages from that many different sources as we discussed the Lord. THAT is worth every penny. Plus, you can get a LOT of books for free.

Indeed. Those are two of the main attractions to getting one.

 

[Andres]

I disagree. I have found many books where the Kindle price difference was anywhere from $5 to $10 cheaper than the hard copy. Not to mention you save another $3 to $4 in shipping. As if that is not enough, there are free book specials for the Kindle that come out about every week. I've yet to see Amazon offer free hard copy books!

 

[FenderPriest]

The books I've looked at have largely been books in the business, economics, management, leadership category. For example, Amazon.com: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable (J-B Lencioni Series) (9780787960759): Patrick Lencioni: Books: Reviews, Prices & more is $12.49 hard-copy, and $11.24 on kindle. I know that the book is still a book, and worth a particular price margin, but even still, anything over $10 for a book that sells for $12 hard-copy seems a little ridiculous to me. Maybe it's just the iTunes training, but being digital, I know they've saved money by not printing the copy I'm buying.

 

[Andres]

well here's an example that I find to be more the norm for the books I come across. Below are the Amazon prices for the new George Bush biogpraphy that just came out.
Hardcover $18.77
Paperback, Large Printe $20.47
Kindle edition $9.99
And again, if you order either of the physical copies of the book, you will have to add at least $4 for shipping. Add all this up, and a person would be saving over 50% off the price by buying the Kindle version.

 

[puritan628]

You're right Andres - I should have qualified my statement - my frame of reference for hard copies is the discount shelf at Barnes & Noble. So if I pay $6.98 for a discount hard copy at Barnes & Noble and then turn around and pay $9.99 for a Kindle version of a similar genre, my perception is a bit skewed within that genre.

 

[FenderPriest]

On the shipping point, personally I either make my orders up to free shipping, or recently I've gotten into Amazon Prime w/ free 2 day shipping through Amazon Mom. So a book price is a book price to me. Not saying that's how it is for everybody, but it's rare that I pay $4 for shipping.

 

[Tripel]

Plus, you can get a LOT of books for free.

How do you find the free books? In an older thread someone mentioned a certain RC Sproul book was free for a limited time. When people suggest you "just keep an eye out" for the free ones, what does that look like?

 

[Andres]

On the shipping point, personally I either make my orders up to free shipping, or recently I've gotten into Amazon Prime w/ free 2 day shipping through Amazon Mom. So a book price is a book price to me. Not saying that's how it is for everybody, but it's rare that I pay $4 for shipping.

wow. okay nevermind. it seems you have already convinced yourself so what was the point of this thread again?

---------- Post added at 12:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 PM ----------

Plus, you can get a LOT of books for free.

How do you find the free books? In an older thread someone mentioned a certain RC Sproul book was free for a limited time. When people suggest you "just keep an eye out" for the free ones, what does that look like?

it looks like checking in here at the PB for the threads where people share what's free or on FB where PB friends share which ones are free. Or you can go search the Christian section in the kindle bookstore and place the books offered in order from lowest priced to highest priced. When you do this the free ones appear first.

 

[Dwimble]

If you go to the Kindle store at amazon.com, there is a link on the left that says something like "free ebook collections." It gives links to different sites that have them. You can also sort books by price, look at the kindle top sellers sorted that way, and so on. There are literally millions of free books available online through a variety of sites.

Oh, and as to the shipping thing, we have Amazon Prime, too. For us it is well worth the price because we order stuff regularly...not just books. That free two-day shipping is great when sending gifts or when ordering stuff for the house.

 

[FenderPriest]

On the shipping point, personally I either make my orders up to free shipping, or recently I've gotten into Amazon Prime w/ free 2 day shipping through Amazon Mom. So a book price is a book price to me. Not saying that's how it is for everybody, but it's rare that I pay $4 for shipping.

wow. okay nevermind. it seems you have already convinced yourself so what was the point of this thread again?

Ha! No, I'm just wondering what the logic is behind the pricing because it seems that the industry is valuing their product higher than they should. Not so much a question about getting one, but understanding the culture of the e-book.

 

[Andres]

On the shipping point, personally I either make my orders up to free shipping, or recently I've gotten into Amazon Prime w/ free 2 day shipping through Amazon Mom. So a book price is a book price to me. Not saying that's how it is for everybody, but it's rare that I pay $4 for shipping.

wow. okay nevermind. it seems you have already convinced yourself so what was the point of this thread again?

Ha! No, I'm just wondering what the logic is behind the pricing because it seems that the industry is valuing their product higher than they should. Not so much a question about getting one, but understanding the culture of the e-book.

what's the logic behind any product's pricing? supply and demand? greed? capitalism? (or are those one in the same). I think the publishers set the price based on what they deem people will pay. Myself and others have shared several reasons why people would be willing to pay the Kindle prices, so I think its a wrap. Perhaps you could contact one of the publishers or ask someone on here who works in publishing. I can think of a few people on this board who have authored what i would consider to be major books with major publishers. Perhaps PMing one of them could shed some light on this.

 

[Dwimble]

I agree that they are frequently over-priced. But I think a buck a song is overpriced for iTunes and other digitally delivered media as well. But ultimately prices end up being whatever the market will bear. If people didn't pay those prices then they'd come down.

 

[Elizabeth]

I follow this blog for freebies...some good kindle tips, as well.
fkbt.wordpress.com

 

[Der Pilger]

I think people often assume that just because something is in digital format, and not in print, that that should slash the price drastically. That really is not the case, though. When you buy a book, you are paying mainly for the content, not the medium. That content is the same whether the book is in digital format or in print format, and to produce that content they have to pay copy editors, illustrators, and who knows what other kinds of staff. As another example--and one I'm familiar with because I work on a magazine staff--consider the publication of an issue of a magazine. Whether the articles find their way to the newsstand or the web site, the production process used is the same: Layout, editing, fact-checking, and input must occur no matter what.

 

[OPC'n]

i have found the kindle books to be cheaper AND you don't have tons of books overfilling your library! Of course the ipad book store is soooooooooooo much better as it has color plus you can download the kindle app and get your kindle books onto your ipad with color!!! woot!