E-Books Not Ripping You Off As Much As Previously Thought
by MICHAEL TUNISON / BOOKS / IPAD / PUBLISHING
A constant chorus of complaining greets iPad e-books sold online for a figure exceeding $5. The logic being that the online delivery capability removes a large percentage of overhead and logistical costs, and besides, why can’t everything be free I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT!
As with most things, it’s not quite that simple. The New York Times was able to breakdown the differences in expenses between hardcover books sold for $26 and an electronic version sold for $12.99. As you can see on the chart to the left, the publisher makes a slightly larger profit with the electronic version, but they’re hardly fleecing the customer as much as some would like to believe.Sure, the prices could stand to be slightly, but I’m in agreement with the writer at Gizmodo, who gives these reasons for why that’s unlikely to happen in this structure:
1) Ebooks are currently less than 5 percent of book sales. 2) Paper booksellers can’t compete at these prices, especially indie booksellers. 3) There is no equivalent paperback market with lower costs to eke out more money later in a book’s life (especially if the hardcover flops). 4) All of the publishers’ other costs, like editorial and office space, came out of that $4 or so a book. 5) Most books don’t make that much money.
It may not be the answer book buyers are looking for, but such as the practicalities of the publishing world on the Internet. That is, people find a way to download books onto the mobile devices for free, thus further crippling publishing much in the way of the recording industry.
— January 20‚ 2009 —
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