I'm intrigued by this challenge and happy to have Robin back on the blog today. I loved her debut novel, Dead Politician Society, and now thanks to this challenge, you can own the e-book for the special price of $1.99 for one week only (Dec 7-13)! What a great bargain!
Dead Politician Society on iBooks for $1.99 - available now!
Dead Politician Society of Kindle for $1.99 - available now!
Dead Politician Society on Kobo for $1.99- available now!
Read on to find out Robin's thoughts on e-book pricing. She's asking the questions, and as a newbie to the e-reader scene, I'm giving her my answers. What price is a good e-book price for you? We'd love to know what you think!
How does an ebook shopper shop? To me that's the ultimate question. I don't know – because I don't own an e-reader. But this week, my publisher and I have a challenge going on to see which one of us can gauge that market better.
Leanna, you just bought an e-reader. I'm intrigued by all the different brands that are available. Kindle and Nook look like cool machines, but isn't it hard to read other versions on them than their own proprietary software supports? The Sony e-reader looks versatile, but it doesn't get the greatest reviews. The iPad looks amazing – but expensive. Which kind did you choose?
I chose the Sony e-reader (I didn't know it got bad reviews, though!). You guys are spoiled for choice in the US and Canada, but over here e-readers haven't taken off to such an extent, and the choice if more limited. Also, if you live in Ireland, like I do, you have to jump through hoops to buy a Kindle - we can't buy from the UK site, we have to buy from the US site and pay high import charges. We don't have the Nook over here, and the iPad is out of my price range,. Also, as you said, the Sony reader is very versatile, so I went with that. Also, mine is very pretty and pink, which is a bonus! :)
Have you bought any books for it yet? Or are you overwhelmed by all the free stuff you can download and review copies being sent to you by publishers?
I haven't bought any books yet, and I haven't really looked into where the best places are to buy for the sony reader, but I did accept my first e-book for review last week, and it felt good to be able to say yes. The book was from a small publisher, so I like the fact that I'm being more economical with my review books now too. With Netgalley and Simon & Schuster's GalleyGrab, I find that I have more than enough books to keep me occupied right now. That's another good thing about the Sony e-reader. Kindle isn't compatible with GalleyGrab, so maybe I chose wisely after all.
When you buy ebooks – now or in the future – what kind of price do you see yourself paying?Maybe half the price that a physical copy of the book would cost. If there was only a small difference in price, I would always choose to buy an actual book instead of an e-book.
What should an ebook's price point be comparable to? In my mind, I'm comparing it with a print book – and thinking it should be worth about half as much, because you can't get it autographed or pass it around as easily. My publisher compares it to a print book, too – but more favorably. He says the reader is buying the experience – not the product. So if the read is worth $10 to them, it's worth it for both print and electronic.
My publisher has priced Dead Politician Society at $10.99, which to me is too high. (Kindle and Nook both discount it, so it's available for $8.79, but even that seems high.) My gut says $4.99 is around the right price. What does your gut say?
$10.99 does seem pricey. At that price I would just buy the actual book! For me, e-books aren't really keepers, you know. I like to book share and I like to see all the pretty covers on my book shelf. You can't do that with e-books, so for me, they are a dispensible product. Use it once, and you're done. I don't think I would pay more than $6-7 for an e-book.
So my publisher, ECW Press, is fairly awesome. They're running this experiment: For one week, Tuesday December 7 to Monday December 13, Dead Politician Society will be $1.99 in iBooks, Kobo, and Kindle stores. I think that covers all machines – pretty sure Nook can read Kobo format, right?
What we'll learn from this experiment is who's right. If tons of books sell this week when the price drops to $1.99, we'll see that price does matter. If there's not much of a spike, then probably my publisher is right – price isn't a huge factor in ebook sales. I'm totally curious to see how this goes. I feel like I'm on the edge of a changing industry, learning and watching to see what happens.
I'm also asking for a call to action: If you agree with me that price is a prime factor in ebook purchasing, and $10 is too high for the industry to set the standard, buy Dead Politician Society for $1.99 this week. OR – if the title isn't for you, or if you're like me and don't have an e-reader but would consider buying one if new release prices were dramatically lower – help me by sharing a link to this challenge. The more people who see it, the louder our voice can be when we try to change my publisher's mind about ebook pricing in general.
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I think this is definitely a worthy cause, and I'd love to hear some feedback. What do you think is the right price for e-books and what do you think about Robin's challenge to her publishers?
I'd recommend Dead Politician Society, and you can read my review to find out why. At the bargain price of $1.99 for the e-book, you can't really go wrong!
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