Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlatan
The next medium to go this way is the book, especially now that eReaders and iPads are about to make the electronic consumption of literature a lot easier.
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Yeah, we're going through this right now. I think the trick is passing the savings on cost of sales to consumers with digital distribution. You are seeing that to varying degrees with the ebook. Kindle books sell for $9.99, but iPad books will be selling for $12.99 I think. They can charge more than average because the main distribution options are either limited to very appealing.
Other ebook price points range from free or $0.99 to $7.99 or so. It's a bit confusing because in one store you will see that very variance between publishers or specific titles.
All this compared to around $9.99 to $11.99 for a mass market paperback, $19.99 to $25.99 for a trade paper back, and $29.99 and up for a hardcover (many of them being in the $30 to $40 range). *prices in the Canadian market
Regardless, as with any digital product, you still need to charge enough to cover your costs and, if you're lucky, turn a profit. The cost of printing, though a good chunk, it only one of many costs associated with producing a book. It's difficult to know how many copies of a digital product you'll sell because the distribution channels are so new, the consumption options are so new, the digital standards are so new (and changing). We're trying to figure it all out.