Price Discipline -- How we doing?

[JCBeam]

I haven't paid more than my $9.99 ceiling either, but the majority of my books were free.  I did however, pre-order "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" @ the Kindle price of $10.35; I so badly want to read this the moment it is available, I felt the $.36 over my price limit justified it.  Then again it's published by Knopf.

[dnagirl]

I haven't bought anything over $9.99 and I won't.

[ellesu]

I've found that $7 is pretty much my limit.  Through the years (before Kindle) I got used to waiting on paperbacks because I rarely was willing to pay hard cover prices, so I can wait for a drop in Kindle prices.

[Cindy416]

I have to be completely honest and say that I'm not thrilled about paying more than $9.99, but if there is a book that I really want on my Kindle, I'll buy it. My daughters and I share an account, and if I buy a book that we all 3 want to read, we've certainly saved a good deal of money collectively by not buying two or three copies of the book in hardback or even paperback form. We live 100 miles apart (my daughters are about 4 miles away from each other), and the K2 books allow the three of us to read a book simultaneously on our Kindles and/or Kindle for iPhone or the PC Kindle app.

I don't have a problem paying for the portability of a book that I really want to read, knowing that it's only as far away as my purse. I'm also trying to get rid of books that I've collected (probably 1,000 or more, even after already getting rid of probably 25 bags of books), as I'm in a major simplification mindset and have way too many "things." I'll never get rid of my favorite DTB, but I have a lot that aren't in that category.

[miksicnarf]

I'm new to Kindle, haven't taken a price pledge but certainly don't *want* to spend more than $10. Prior to Kindle I used eReader.com on my netbook and thought it was a good deal. At first most books were <$10...then prices rose *but* with each purchase they gave substantial credit toward the next purchase, sometimes making the book effectively free. eReader, however, has increased prices dramatically. I DL That Old Cape Magic (which BTW I thought was OK, not great) last August for $8.20, now it's $25.95! Makes me glad I got a Kindle .

Kim

[Geoffrey]

My price point is roughly 83% of the lowest published pbook price.   On my current wishlist, that puts 69 of 138 allowed for purchase.  For the others, I'll just wait.  I spent $100 on books for my birthday a couple weeks ago and it killed me to not get a few that just aren't within the guidelines, but I resisted.

I'm curious where prices will start moving later this month and next.  Some of the lowest published pbook prices are for unreleased paperbacks that will soon be released ... the current ebook prices are either the same or greater than the upcoming release's price.  ... we'll see where it falls in the end

[mom133d (aka Liz)]

I'm with Cindy and a few others. I have paid more than $9.99 for bundles but in general I don't want to spend that much. My average is about $7 but I have purchased a handful of titles at $9.99.

[Rebekah]

I haven't spent more than $9.99 for an e-book; and even then only a very select few have been at that price.  Most have been anywhere from $0-$5. 

Why would I want to pay more on my Kindle than I did for paperbacks?

I'm not the type to say "I'd never," but inflation and the cost of books (all mediums) and goods in general would have to skyrocket out of control across the board before I'd pay more than $10.

[Cindy416]

I haven't spent more than $9.99 for an e-book; and even then only a very select few have been at that price.  Most have been anywhere from $0-$5. 

Why would I want to pay more on my Kindle than I did for paperbacks?

I'm not the type to say "I'd never," but inflation and the cost of books (all mediums) and goods in general would have to skyrocket out of control across the board before I'd pay more than $10.

I would probably feel the same way, but, as I said, I'm able to share an account with my daughter, who read many of the same books that I read. If I were the only person reading the books, I wouldn't usually pay more than the paperback price. (I still think that the de-cluttering issue and the portability of my library make most Kindle purchases worth the money.)

[pawsplus]

Unless you are reading mostly trash and romances, you're GONNA pay $9.99 for most books.  I have no problem w/ that and don't expect to get GOOD books for free or cheap. I won't pay $14 though.  I just put it on my wishlist and wait for the price to drop.

[Leslie]

Unless you are reading mostly trash and romances, you're GONNA pay $9.99 for most books.  I have no problem w/ that and don't expect to get GOOD books for free or cheap. I won't pay $14 though.  I just put it on my wishlist and wait for the price to drop.

I totally disagree. I think if you insist on buying books from major publishing houses, you will pay $9.99. If you are willing to investigate small presses and specialty publishers, you can find a ton of good books--really good books--well under $9.99. I don't think I read trash and I rarely pay $9.99 for a book.

L

[drenee]

I don't read trash either, and I have very few romances in my TBR list.  I can find lots of books that I like in the $5 to $7 range. 
deb

[Addie]

I don't read trash either, and I have very few romances in my TBR list.  I can find lots of books that I like in the $5 to $7 range. 
deb

Sam here. I read a ton of classics and non-fiction, and I have bought quite a few in that range. For me, I've found price tends to correlate with when the book was released. A recent release usually has a higher price attached to it.

[Ann in Arlington]

Agree with Leslie, et al. . . . .check out the Book Bazaar for a LOT of books for well under $9.99.  Many are quite good. . . . I've read several that I'd give 4 or 5 stars.

[nelmsm]

So far most of my purchases have been less then $9.99 but I'm eying some military histories that are either that price or higher that I suppose I'll pull the trigger on someday.  However they are down my list at the moment hoping that the price drops when I finally do decide to buy.

[Cindy416]

Unless you are reading mostly trash and romances, you're GONNA pay $9.99 for most books.  I have no problem w/ that and don't expect to get GOOD books for free or cheap. I won't pay $14 though.  I just put it on my wishlist and wait for the price to drop.

I have to disagree, as well. My daughters and I have many books that we've purchased, and I don't think very many were $9.99. Most were quite a bit less expensive, and many were free, and I'm sure there aren't any trashy or romance novel to be found in our purchases.

[JennaAnderson]

Since I love the classics I have plenty titles to read for free. I think my max will be around $5. There are just too many available under this price.

A friend of mine just published a book on Kindle and it is currently $6.99. She will be my exception. 

It is kind of odd that Amazon offers so many for free each month - but the genres seem limited. Maybe that is another discussion.

Jenna

[MLPMom]

I think the only books I have purchased that were over $9.99 were actually boxed sets or trilogies, so still well within the limits.

I do have a book on pre-order though that is $10.26 (the new Sookie) but so far, I think that is the only one I have splurged on so to speak.

One of the advantages for me for even buying the Kindle was the fact that I would no longer have to spend $20 plus for books from my favorite authors when they were released. And while it still isn't $20 for some of the new released, I still don't want to spend $15 on an e-book that I know in a few months time will decrease.

I have so much out there that thanks to my Kindle, I have discovered, I really am not too concerned now about getting one of my favorite author's books right sway, especially at an inflated price.

[Rebekah]

Unless you are reading mostly trash and romances, you're GONNA pay $9.99 for most books.  I have no problem w/ that and don't expect to get GOOD books for free or cheap. I won't pay $14 though.  I just put it on my wishlist and wait for the price to drop.

Nope. I disagree with that.  My tastes vary widely; I don't read any "trash" and I definitely read more than just romances.  A lot of good classics are public domain and free.  There are a lot of modern day literary books that are less than $9.99 as well.  There's a lot of good genre fiction under $9.99 as well.  Most books that are at least a few years old fall in price. 

[MLPMom]

Unless you are reading mostly trash and romances, you're GONNA pay $9.99 for most books.  I have no problem w/ that and don't expect to get GOOD books for free or cheap. I won't pay $14 though.  I just put it on my wishlist and wait for the price to drop.

I guess I don't understand what you are classing as "trash". Most classics, Twain, Dickinson, Austen are all well below $9.99.

[VictoriaP]

There's a fairly short list of new releases coming out this year that I'll pay more than $9.99 for.  A couple of those are the types where I'll likely buy them on the day of release or preorder when available; the rest of that list I'll probably watch for a week or two to see if the price dips before I'm willing to buy.  Would I like them to be $9.99?  Sure.  But it's not the end of the world if they don't end up that way.  I am, however, pretty solidly planning on keeping a careful eye on MacMillan's nonsense.  If they're consistently more expensive than the other publishers, I'll be getting their stuff from the library, the used book store, or not at all.  Luckily none of my current must-haves is theirs!

The rest of my upcoming reading list is all under $7 each, some significantly so; these are mostly older books or those coming out this year in paperback.  I draw the line at paying more for the ebook than I would the paperback if the pb is already released.  That's just irritating to me; the ebooks are never formatted perfectly and the editing is subpar on most, so why should I pay more?  I fully expect to see MacMillan doing a lot of this as they've consistently set their digital retail prices at hardcover levels even on books that are 10+ years old or more and available in paperback for $6.

[Moosh]

Well the publishers (and Amazon) won't be getting $17 from me for the latest Kathy Reichs.

I can buy it here in paperback for less.

[BK]

Well the publishers (and Amazon) won't be getting $17 from me for the latest Kathy Reichs.

I can buy it here in paperback for less.

THAT is something I've found upsetting!  When I check the prices for my Book Club's reading list, I find lots of Kindle versions priced above the cost of the paperback -- or just 20 cents less.  It just doesn't make sense to me to buy the digital version when I can get the physical book for the same price or less.  I wouldn't want to take the DTB on an airplane trip, but I could lend it to friends and family members after reading it.

That being said, I just borrowed Pat Conroy's new book -- South of Broad -- from the library, and I really missed the Kindle's dictionary feature... I had to get up and thumb through a dead-tree dictionary a few times! 

I don't buy Kindle books that cost more than $9.99 except for a collection or bundle, and in most cases, I don't pay more than (or only slightly less than) the cost of the paperback.

[luv4kitties]

I've not bought any Kindle books for more than $7.00.  I definitely won't pay more than $9.99.  I got George R.R. Martin's book, A Game of Thrones for $1.90 and really enjoyed it.  When I finished it (a couple of days ago), I got the rest of the series (3 more books) for $6.39 each.  I also got Elfhunter (C.S. Marks) for $0.99 yesterday.  I've downloaded a bunch of free books this past week as well (and I still have all the free ones from Baen.com that I haven't had a chance to read yet).  So, I'd say I'm doing great with "price discipline."  If there's an e-book I just have to read and it's more than $9.99, I'll just go to the library or used book store.  Oh, and I also won't buy a Kindle book unless it's less than the paperback version.

Edit:  Just in case anyone's interested, you can buy two George R.R. Martin books (first two in the series--A Game of Thrones/A Clash of Kings) bundled together right now for $6.39 (two for the price of one!).  

[pidgeon92]

I have purchased books from Fictionwise for my nook that were over $9.99, but all had rebates and most were fully rebated. Combined with other discounts, the average price paid for all of my Fictionwise purchases is far below $9.99 each.

I have not paid more than $9.99 for a Kindle book. I keep track of the books I want on my wishlist and try to keep my single book purchase price below $6.