Price Discipline -- How we doing?

[kdawna]

I haven't really limited myself in buying books on the Kindle because I love to read so much. The free and bargain books are great, but I seem to find myself reading those I paid more for, by familiar authors whose new books I want to read. I have paid around $12 for a book on my kindle and the other day I just bought a  bundle of three the other day for around $18. Some of the fiction DTB's I have bought in the past that were expensive soft covers, cost me more than my Kindle books.(ex Jeffery Archer books I bought at Target) I am kind of addicted to that instant ability to buy a book by the push of a button.
 Brenda

[chipotle]

I wonder if the price of That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo went up - I downloaded a sample a while back and I
don't remember it being above $9.99.

I'm not sure if I'll pay more than $9.99 but I prefer not to pay more than other versions of the book. There is a Sarah
Strohmeyer Kindle book I've been keeping an eye on that is even more expensive than the hardcover last time I looked.

[DYB]

I only bought one book for more than $9.99 and it was "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest" from the UK.  I just couldn't wait for the US release.  But I have no intention of paying more than $9.99 for anything else.  With about 170 books on my Kindle, probably 70% of them still unread (!) - there's no rush.

[akpak]

I haven't bought anything over $9.99 (and I think everything a lot less), but I might make an exception for Lord of the Rings... it is three books, after all.

[Taborcarn]

Yesterday I was looking for two recent Amazon Editor's monthly picks, Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem and A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore.  I know these were recently $9.99, but are now both over $14.  Since I still have a large backlog of books to read I will hold off until the price does drop again.  Unfortunately since the paperback releases aren't until after August, I may have to wait until then to see the drop.

[drenee]

Jonathan Lethem is a MacMillan author, which explains the $15.37 price tag on Chronic City. 
Lorris Moore is not a MacMillan author, even though her book, A Gate at the Stairs, is over $14.
deb

[Selcien]

Jonathan Lethem is a MacMillan author, which explains the $15.37 price tag on Chronic City. 
Lorris Moore is not a MacMillan author, even though her book, A Gate at the Stairs, is over $14.
deb

Chronic City is published by Doubleday, A Gate at the Stairs is published by Knopf, both are Random House publishers.

So, not only have you blamed Macmillan for a book that is not theirs, but you blamed them at a time when retailers are still capable of setting the prices on Macmillan's e-books (the agency model, Macmillan's control of the pricing on their e-books, does not start until the end of this month).

I get people not being happy with Macmillan but I do not get people blaming them for things that aren't their fault.

The fact of the matter is that the old system isn't perfect as these false complaints against Macmillan demonstrate, that outside of bestsellers Amazon wasn't willing to take a loss, so, as of now, the only prices that we know for sure will be going up are the bestsellers.

[Betsy the Quilter]

I don't care about some arbitrary number, no matter who picks it.  I do care about what I'm willing to pay, which is the same as before the MacMillan flap.  I've always been a paperback kinda gal, so $7 or $8 right now is my max, although I've been paying far less.  I think based on my average price paid, I'm actually paying the paperback price from about twenty years ago, LOL! 

On a rare occasion, I've paid $9.99 for a Kindle book, and once I think I paid $15, but on average $7 or less.

If Amazon hadn't picked $9.99 for their business model, what would you be willing to pay?

Betsy

[drenee]

Chronic City is published by Doubleday, A Gate at the Stairs is published by Knopf, both are Random House publishers.

So, not only have you blamed Macmillan for a book that is not theirs, but you blamed them at a time when retailers are still capable of setting the prices on Macmillan's e-books (the agency model, Macmillan's control of the pricing on their e-books, does not start until the end of this month).

I get people not being happy with Macmillan but I do not get people blaming them for things that aren't their fault.

The fact of the matter is that the old system isn't perfect as these false complaints against Macmillan demonstrate, that outside of bestsellers Amazon wasn't willing to take a loss, so, as of now, the only prices that we know for sure will be going up are the bestsellers.

I was NOT blaming anyone.  I looked up these books and authors on the MacMillan site.  I am very very careful about what I say. 
deb

[Angel1948]

I think I have bought 1 book over the $9.99 and there are a couple more I want, but am waiting for the price to go down.

[Selcien]

If Amazon hadn't picked $9.99 for their business model, what would you be willing to pay?

Betsy

I'm not really sure. Most, if not all, of the e-books priced over $9.99 at Amazon, at least the kind you'd read for entertainment, are new/recent releases which requires a person to have some investment in a particular author/series. I mean, you're not just going to randomly by a new release that catches your interest if it costs a premium, unless you have money to burn.

The Wheel of Time series is the only ongoing series that I'm caught up in (not counting the not yet released e-book version of the new book), but I've made up my mind to reread the series from the beginning so a new release is not of any importance (especially since I haven't even gotten around to starting the reread). So lacking the things that would motivate a person to buy a new release (the hunger of needing to continue a story, the hunger of getting more from a favorite author), I cannot honestly say how much I'd be willing to pay.

On the other hand, Mary Higgins Clark is one of the very few authors that I know for certain that my mom likes, I could see myself paying $15 for The Shadow of Your Smile so that she'd have it to read, but she's currently occupied with Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Series that I bought her, so it could be quite a while before she needs a new book (the collection has six books and she's still on the first one).

I was NOT blaming anyone.  I looked up these books and authors on the MacMillan site.  I am very very careful about what I say.  
deb

You said that Jonathan Lethem being a MacMillan author explains the price tag on Chronic City when the one thing has nothing to do with the other. Amazon set the consumer price, not Macmillan.

As for you being careful, you were clearly not careful enough. A check on Macmillan brought up the author (something published by Tor, don't remember the title) but not Chronic City. A check on Random House confirms the info that Amazon has, in addition to what I've already posted the paperback version of both titles will be released by Vintage, a Random House company, but somehow I doubt you'd say "Jonathan Lethem is a Random House author, which explains the $15.37 price tag on Chronic City."

This is nothing personal, it's just that I'm sick of the anti-Macmillan sentiment that I see, you know, people indicating that Macmillan, or a Macmillan author, is to be blamed for a price that they have no control over. Can't people at least wait until Macmillan actually has control of pricing for their e-books?

[raven312]

So far, the most I've paid is $8.  I have so much yet to read that I can afford to wait until those on my list come down below that.  The price war really hasn't affected me that much - yet.

[911jason]

If Amazon hadn't picked $9.99 for their business model, what would you be willing to pay?

Betsy

I'd probably still be paying $14 or $15 at Costco... if they hadn't picked the $9.99 price point, I probably wouldn't have ended up buying a Kindle in the first place. I used that ~$5 price difference as justification for buying a $300 (at the time) device.

Amazon set the consumer price, not Macmillan.
<snip>
This is nothing personal, it's just that I'm sick of the anti-Macmillan sentiment that I see, you know, people indicating that Macmillan, or a Macmillan author, is to be blamed for a price that they have no control over. Can't people at least wait until Macmillan actually has control of pricing for their e-books?

I'm not so sure that Macmillan has "no control over" their price... I'm guessing that Amazon bases their non-NYT Bestseller prices on what they pay for the book. If that's true (admittedly, I'm not sure it is), then the high prices that Macmillan charges Amazon for e-books carries over to us, the consumers. I also find it hard to believe that you can't understand the indignation Kindle users feel toward Macmillan for starting this whole price drama. They treat their customers as an annoyance who need to be led by the nose to the "correct", read DTB, version of their books.

[The Hooded Claw]

I'm confused, I thought that under the new agency model, MacMillan was setting the prices Amazon (and presumably other vendors) were allowed to charge for MacMillan books.  I thought this started March 1, am I misinformed?

[Rebekah]

I don't care about some arbitrary number, no matter who picks it.  I do care about what I'm willing to pay, which is the same as before the MacMillan flap.  I've always been a paperback kinda gal, so $7 or $8 right now is my max, although I've been paying far less.  I think based on my average price paid, I'm actually paying the paperback price from about twenty years ago, LOL!  

On a rare occasion, I've paid $9.99 for a Kindle book, and once I think I paid $15, but on average $7 or less.

If Amazon hadn't picked $9.99 for their business model, what would you be willing to pay?

Betsy

I wouldn't own a Kindle if the prices for all or most books were that high ($9.99).  $10 is too much for me to pay for most books, even DTBs.  

When I first looked into the Kindle, even the $9.99 seemed too high, but after much discussion and research, my husband bought me one for my birthday last year.  Like you, I paid mostly discount paperback prices, $4-7 from the PX, Costco, Sams, or with the B&N discount card.  I always knew the fine print from Amazon was originally $9.99 "for most NYT bestsellers" but I honestly didn't plan to buy many of those at that price, and still haven't.  I had planned to fall back on reading public domain classics, but fortunately this board has helped me find all the books I can read for little to no cost.  

[VictoriaP]

I'm confused, I thought that under the new agency model, MacMillan was setting the prices Amazon (and presumably other vendors) were allowed to charge for MacMillan books.  I thought this started March 1, am I misinformed?

A fast search doesn't reveal an exact date, though I'm sure someone digging harder may be able to come up with one.  MacMillan's original statement on Publisher's Lunch the day the books were removed states that the agency model would begin in "early March".

[brainstorm]

The max I've paid is $9.99. I don't love any author enough to pay a premium for his/her books. I'm not as into the Kindle as many; I'm alternating between books on CD from the library, clearing out a dozen or so books on my bookshelf, and the Kindle. A book is a book is a book in my book.

[mlewis78]

$9.99 is my current top price.  I turn to the library ebooks or paper books if I want badly enough to read something that is $15.  Before I bought my Kindle, I was paying $10.20 for $15 paperbacks at Amazon.  I could live with that.  But paperback list prices have gone higher, with many at $16 or more.  Why should I give them more when my income took a deep dive during 2009-2010?  Too many other things have gone up in price for me that I HAVE to pay:  rent, Con Ed, Time Warner, mass transit, and now NJ Transit is saying they will raise ticket prices 25% and do away with off-peak rates. 

Enough is enough!  I have enough books to keep me reading for years.

[Selcien]

I'm not so sure that Macmillan has "no control over" their price... I'm guessing that Amazon bases their non-NYT Bestseller prices on what they pay for the book. If that's true (admittedly, I'm not sure it is), then the high prices that Macmillan charges Amazon for e-books carries over to us, the consumers.

I don't know how older releases are handled but the new releases are half of what the hardcover list price is, however, I've seen nothing to indicate that Macmillan charges any more money than any of the other major publishers do using the wholesale model.

I also find it hard to believe that you can't understand the indignation Kindle users feel toward Macmillan for starting this whole price drama. They treat their customers as an annoyance who need to be led by the nose to the "correct", read DTB, version of their books.

I expect the price of bestsellers to go up at Amazon, B&N, and Sony, but for the prices of those bestsellers to go down at most, if not all, of the other retailers. The price of regular new releases should remain the same or decrease. The older releases are where it gets really convoluted with no way of saying whether the change is going to be good or bad.

What bothers me about the move to the Agency Model is the idea of a publisher dictating to a retailer what they can sell their e-books at, it's a direct attack to the free market we have, on the other hand, it will result in a level price across all retailers which means that a person can buy a Macmillan e-book for their e-reader without worry that someone else with a different e-reader is getting a better price.

I also feel that there is a potential for a more stabilized pricing structure. I cannot stress how much bouncing prices annoy me, give me a nice predictable structure, and that seems to be exactly what Macmillan is offering.

I will admit that I do stand a chance of gaining something by the change in pricing models, which is that I'm hoping that this move will produce even better prices at Fictionwise (I have a Sony Reader Touch). Lower prices, by their standards anyway, combined with 100% Micropay Rebates should make for some nice prices. However, whether Fictionwise can maintain their rebates with Macmillan e-books after the switch is an unknown, I await the changeover with baited breathe.

With that said, even if I do not benefit from this as I hope, I've seen some truly ridiculous prices on e-books (some retailers have the nerve to sell some e-books at list price, Fictionwise being one of them). The knowledge that publishers switching to the Agency Model will make those prices go away far outweighs the $3 increase that three stores are likely to see with bestsellers.

EDIT: It might be a good idea for me to explain where I got the $3 amount from.

Fifth paragraph in the article that I linked to, "E-book editions of New York Times hardcover bestsellers will be priced at $12.99 or lower while they are on the printed list."

And of course, by saying "publishers" I'm assuming that other publishers will have a price range that is comparable to Macmillan's.

I'm confused, I thought that under the new agency model, MacMillan was setting the prices Amazon (and presumably other vendors) were allowed to charge for MacMillan books.  I thought this started March 1, am I misinformed?

http://blog.macmillanspeaks.com/macmillan-ceo-john-sargent-on-the-agency-model-availability-and-price/

Second paragraph, key words being "Starting at the end of March," and "We will make this change with all our e-book retailers simultaneously."

Even if you forget, just run a price comparison between Fictionwise (usually one of the more expensive retailers if you ignore their 100% Micropay rebates) and Amazon, the day the prices on the Macmillan e-books match is the day that the Agency Model has gone into effect.

[luv4kitties]

In answer to a previous question, I guess I've been a little influenced by Amazon's $9.99 business model.  If I'd never heard anything about $9.99, I wouldn't even consider paying that much for an e-book.  About $7 would have been my upper limit.  I haven't spent more than $6.50 for an e-book so far, but because of hearing so much about the $9.99 price point (and largely because of the inherent attractiveness of the number too, I think), I guess I've been influenced to the point where I would consider it for one of my two favorite authors.  I definitely wouldn't pay more than $9.99.

Of course, I'd never pay more for an e-book than a paperback (or hardcover).  

[drenee]

I'm confused, I thought that under the new agency model, MacMillan was setting the prices Amazon (and presumably other vendors) were allowed to charge for MacMillan books.  I thought this started March 1, am I misinformed?

I have nothing to base this on, but I would guess no later than April 3rd.
deb

[bordercollielady]

I haven't bought anything over $9.99 since I first bought my first Kindle..I'm on my second.  In fact - with all the free books listed lately - I've paid less for my books than in the past.  Boo!! MacMillan!!

[pawsplus]

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.

That's great.  But recently published, well-reviewed literary fiction simply costs $9.99 and up on Amazon! I'm not sure what "small presses" have to do w/ it -- if the book is not self-published or something, it is going to be in the upper price range at least for 5-6 mos.  (And I have yet to see anything self-published that I considered good lit). I sometimes wait until the prices go down, but often I don't.

I suspect that we all have different definitions of "trash," however. Hence the confusion.  If it's working for you, great! I have NO problem, however, paying $10 for books I want to read and know are going to be good.

[pawsplus]

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

I'm not really counting the books that are in the public domain. Of course they're inexpensive. I'm talking non-public domain literary fiction.

[Leslie]

That's great.  But recently published, well-reviewed literary fiction simply costs $9.99 and up on Amazon! I'm not sure what "small presses" have to do w/ it -- if the book is not self-published or something, it is going to be in the upper price range at least for 5-6 mos.  (And I have yet to see anything self-published that I considered good lit). I sometimes wait until the prices go down, but often I don't.

I suspect that we all have different definitions of "trash," however. Hence the confusion.  If it's working for you, great! I have NO problem, however, paying $10 for books I want to read and know are going to be good.

It seems as if your definition of trash is pretty clear. If it's not "well-reviewed literary fiction" that costs $9.99 and up, it's trash. Believe that if you want but it reminds me of those (nasty) librarians who used to tell me not to read Nancy Drew because it would rot my brain. Or other people who would tell me to read "this" or "that" because it was good for me. When did reading become castor oil?

I read in a very wide-ranging and diverse way, books that range from in price (if that is a gauge of quality) and genre (if that is another gauge of quality). If I limited myself to well-reviewed literary fiction I probably would have quit reading years ago because I would have run out of stuff I want to read.

L