Why Are Kindle Books So Expensive?

[ND-Dem]

I read a lot of books and never got why books on Amazon’s Kindle were so expensive. $9.99? Greedy authors. A lot of people agree, you can see by just browsing Kindle books...

The customers are firmly in the “The Author / Publisher is Greedy” camp. I never crunched the numbers until I released my own travel book, and I found out why kindle books are so expensive: it is about the % Amazon takes.



http://andrewhy.de/why-are-kindle-books-so-expensive/

[PoliticAverse]

1. There's nothing to stop authors and publishers from selling direct. n/t

[yeoman6987]

10. Cheaper then buying the book at 20-25 a pop.

I wonder if the author has purchased a hard cover book recently. Amazon is a bargain.

[Takket]

15. other than the fact you can't reach customers that way...

[MohRokTah]

2. Meh, I buy Kindle books from more than Amazon.

I read Black Library books, which I purchase directly from Black Library.

They are actually the same price as Amazon, or more expensive.

iBooks, Nook, any eBook provider. All about the same price.

So you're singling out one provider in an industry where everybody pretty much charges the same thing.

The biggest difference is, you don't have to go through an actual publisher to list your book on Amazon, and that pisses off the paleo-publishers to no end.

[olddots]

3. hey it costs money to have a few thousand people own the world

Big business just doing its thing

[Terra Alta]

4. they're cheaper than hardback or paperback

and are more environmentally-friendly, as well.

I have a Barnes and Noble Nook and I love it.

[SidDithers]

5. Oh look. Another Amazon thread...

Sid

[JI7]

6. i can get a bunch free from gutenberg

They even have the specific ones for kindle do you don't have to convert

[gollygee]

7. Generally less expensive than other books though. n/t

[GP6971]

8. Apple is no deal either. n/t

[maryellen99]

9. If they are new releases

They are higher due to only being in hardcover but when they are released later in paperback the price usually goes down.

[MohRokTah]

11. The publishers learned early on that eBook adopters were loathe to purchase hard copy anything.

They quickly discovered that those same eBook adopters were willing to pay more for new releases, too.

[Bettie]

12. I hardly ever pay that much for a Kindle book

and trust me, I buy a LOT of them.

Also, Amazon allows a lot of people to get their work out there than traditional publishers do. I buy a lot of unknown authors for .99 or so. Some are great, some are terrible, most are someplace in the middle.

Sometimes, I'll spring for the higher price for a new book, but it is usually because I've been waiting for it to come out...if it were in hardcover, I'd pay twice as much or more.

[MohRokTah]

16. I only buy new for some of my favorite authors.

George R. R. Martin is an example.

[pipi_k]

19. Me neither...

I get notifications on Facebook and via email through places like Pixel of Ink and Book Bub about free or bargain books.

Like you said, some are good, some are trash (if they're free, I don't feel like I've wasted money if they stink) but most are in the middle.

I've gotten quite a few classics from authors like Orson Welles, Dostoyevsky, Poe, etc.

Some more obscure books, like some that were written in the 19th Century.

One Kindle book I bought when it first came out was Stephen King's "1963". I forget the price, but it was WAY cheaper than my stepdaughter paid for the hardback version she got me for Christmas that same year, not knowing that I already had the Kindle version.

Then there are other books that I've bought over and over again in paperback because I wore them out from rereading them over the years. One of my favorite authors is James A Michener. I think I've read a few of his novels (Hawaii, Chesapeake, and Centennial) at least six times each. Having them in e-format is awesome.

[tammywammy]

13. Why did the Project Management text book

cost around $190?

http://www.amazon.com/Project-Management-Managerial-Mcgraw-Hill-Operations/dp/1259186407/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423793917&sr=8-1&keywords=project+management+the+managerial+process

At least that was hardcover. This book was soft covered and still $150.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0538475161/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Oh, and I do admit, I did buy both off Amazon, because that's still cheaper than other places.

[msongs]

14. get even with those greedy authors: write your own books nt

[Takket]

17. authors are not "greedy"

virtually none of them make any money on their books and there are only a handful of people that actually make a career of being an author. The vast majority of writers are in it for the love of the craft.

[DavidDvorkin]

18. Try buying self-published e-books instead

They tend to be in the $2.99-$4.99 range. The high-priced books are usually the ones put out by traditional publishers, and in those cases, the author has no say about the cover price.