This ebook thing is expensive!!!

[Finnedog]

You find an author you like and you read a book of theirs and love it, can't put the iPad down, you get done and just get a sample of another book by them and then you buy that one also.

Where does it end??? It is just to easy to buy books like this!!

I can't imagine why an author would not want his books to be sold electronically, I have dropped more money on books in the last few weeks than I have in the last ten years.

 

[Dannyboy85]

I'm not a book reader... But the same goes for the app store.. I don't have too go to the store browse the isles crowed with people... I just hop online read the reviews...and buy lol it's too easy.....

 

[davidhburton]

I can't imagine why an author would not want his books to be sold electronically, I have dropped more money on books in the last few weeks than I have in the last ten years.

Strangely it's not most authors that don't want readers to pick ebooks, it's more the publishers because it doesn't help their paper business. That's also why most traditional publishers are charging so much for ebooks. And what irks me is when I see a hardback cheaper than the ebook. Grr. That said, I LOVE sampling - and if I like? Click! Purchase! Brilliant! I now reserve paper books as collector's items for the books I want to collect (like Jordan's Wheel of Time series).

 

[iPadCharlie]

Well the publishing business literally goes back to the days of Gutenberg and it hasn't changed all that much since his time!

And publishers should worry about their paper business! This is precisely why teeny tiny little Borders is attempting to buy Barnes & Noble since both of their "brick & mortar" store locations are hurting.

Even libraries are slow on the uptake with electronic documents. My wife works for a library system with something in the neighborhood of 10 million pieces in their collection, but their 'ePub" collection is only a few thousand. And until recently, these were not even legally viewable on Apple mobile devices.

[/RANT] off

 

[davidhburton]

I'm not sure that publishers are taking the right approach with this though. In a number of ways, they're like the music industry when mp3's were priced way too high, if they were even offered at all. That inconvenience and high price led to a lot of piracy (remember Napster?). I'd like to hope that the publishing industry would learn from that lesson and focus on lower prices for ebooks (since there's no warehousing, paper costs, etc) and more content in ebook format. It's certainly an interesting time right now in the publishing world.

 

[Simon Wood]

I think publishers are slowly coming around to the idea of ebooks. I work with a number of traditional publishers and they seem to be slowly getting it. Originally, they were digging their heels in. I think we're in that transition period that the music industry went through.

I'm just glad people are buying books.

 

[Gemnilocs]

I'm not a book reader... But the same goes for the app store.. I don't have too go to the store browse the isles crowed with people... I just hop online read the reviews...and buy lol it's too easy.....

yep buying books and apps is way to easy...I have to put limits on myself and make wish lists for apps and books. because I would get carried away.

 

[davidhburton]

Don't get me started on the apps....

 

[Izzybeff]

I've found the only way to control how much I spend on books is to use gift cards. The one credit card I use give points and I use the points to buy itunes gift cards $50 at a time. That way I'm limited to what the gift card will pay for.

Although, I may have picked up a few while out shopping this month to throw in my own stocking. But hey, I might as well get what "I" want as long as i'm doing the shopping, right.

I can't wait till Overdrive has an iPad app so I can actually borrow electronic books from my library. They say it will be soon.

 

[gentlefury]

And unfortunately as was mentioned, greedy practices on digital media NEVER leads to an increase in profit....only an increase in piracy!! Want to charge $70 for a Blu-Ray? People will download them until the price gets to a reasonable amount. Want to charge $300 for a 3D version of a movie (or $2500, since some movies are only available with the purchase of a television) well that too can be downloaded at little to no expense. Disney you don't want to even sell your titles....is the result people foaming at the mouth for the awaited rerelease??? Nope. Downloaded.

Companies are run by old people that still believe they are selling tangible products when the truth is the only thing we want is the contents of the plastic discs and paper volumes!!

I pay for Netflix and Hulu Plus. I buy media on iTunes. I rent movies occasionally on my PS3...I buy books on iBooks and amazon, and magazines on Zinio! I am done with wasteful containers!! The publishers of this content need to finally get that!!

 

[iPadCharlie]

That's why I get such a kick out of these kids that say that Steve Jobs is out of touch with reality and he just doesn't "get it" because the iPad won't do Flash and doesn't have a USB port.

What they don't get is the fact that the iPad is a "consumption device" made for consuming content from iTunes. Apple's net worth is somewhere in the neighborhood of $222 BILLION. At this point Apple is worth more than Microsoft (net worth = $219 billion) and is even greater than the GDP of the entire country of Ireland.

How much do you think Apple would be worth if Steve Jobs really did "get it" ???

 

[epb]

I'm not sure that publishers are taking the right approach with this though. In a number of ways, they're like the music industry when mp3's were priced way too high, if they were even offered at all. That inconvenience and high price led to a lot of piracy (remember Napster?). I'd like to hope that the publishing industry would learn from that lesson and focus on lower prices for ebooks (since there's no warehousing, paper costs, etc) and more content in ebook format. It's certainly an interesting time right now in the publishing world.

I was just discussing this with a co-worker. I read the first Sookie Stackhouse novel on Sunday on my iPad and I've since read 3 more. The first 8 in the series are offered on Amazon for $7 each, the same as paper, though there are none of the expenses of paper publishing. Rather than buy the rest as e-books, I hit a used bookstore and snagged the other 3 books for a dollar apiece, and after I'm done I'll just dump them.

For $3 or so I'd have bought them as e-books and Ace Publishing would have made another sale, and likely as much profit as they do on paperbacks. Publishers have to start seeing e-books as a way to cut publishing and distribution expenses rather than raise profits, or they'll wind up cutting their own throats.

 

[davidhburton]

I'm not sure that publishers are taking the right approach with this though. In a number of ways, they're like the music industry when mp3's were priced way too high, if they were even offered at all. That inconvenience and high price led to a lot of piracy (remember Napster?). I'd like to hope that the publishing industry would learn from that lesson and focus on lower prices for ebooks (since there's no warehousing, paper costs, etc) and more content in ebook format. It's certainly an interesting time right now in the publishing world.

I was just discussing this with a co-worker. I read the first Sookie Stackhouse novel on Sunday on my iPad and I've since read 3 more. The first 8 in the series are offered on Amazon for $7 each, the same as paper, though there are none of the expenses of paper publishing. Rather than buy the rest as e-books, I hit a used bookstore and snagged the other 3 books for a dollar apiece, and after I'm done I'll just dump them.

For $3 or so I'd have bought them as e-books and Ace Publishing would have made another sale, and likely as much profit as they do on paperbacks. Publishers have to start seeing e-books as a way to cut publishing and distribution expenses rather than raise profits, or they'll wind up cutting their own throats.

What you just cited was a prime example of what a number of us in the publishing world have been saying. The publishing companies that aren't "getting it" are going to put themselves out of existence in the not too distant future if they don't start changing their practices. It drives me nuts to see an ebook priced higher than hardback or paperback versions.

 

[iPadUser]

This is why Apple does so well with the ipad/ipod touch. The app store! they make so much money off if this. Apple did an excellent job on this, since it has the ability to suck people in thinking "Oh its just a few dollars" then you start to buy more and more apps. It is just so easy to hop on your computer, download a game and enjoy it. (not to mention all of the ibooks and movies/t.v. shows)

 

[epb]

This is why Apple does so well with the ipad/ipod touch. The app store! they make so much money off if this.

It's not really Apple, though - I buy all my books from Amazon using the Kindle app. Your post prompted me to check iBooks prices and they're the same, which surprised me considering iTunes gets a 30% cut.