08-27-2009, 04:38 AM | #1 |
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Ebook prices drive me insane
Ebook prices suck! Just discovered the new Kathy Reichs book, 206 Bones is out. Cost on mobipocket.com: US$26.99. Cost on cyberread.com: $US26.99 Not even listed on fictionwise or booksonboard
Can't even buy it in ebook format in Australia. Cost of paperback in australia: AU$22.99 What is the point of owning an uber awesome ebook reader if I can't buy the blasted ebooks themselves in Australia? Even emporiumbooks.com.au - which sells the Bebook reader - doesn't seem to sell ebooks!! Dymocks sell ebooks - but a very limited range and never a new release that I want. </end rant> If anyone knows of a decent online Australian ebook store, please let me know! Shari |
08-27-2009, 04:58 AM | #2 |
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That's because it's only currently available as a hardback in the US. The eBook price will fall once the paperback is released.
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08-27-2009, 05:10 AM | #3 | |
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Les sagesses antiques (Michel Onfray) - Not available anywhere in prc format - Available on fnac.com in epub format (with DRM, which means I can't legally convert it to PRC) for the price of 18.80 euros - Available on Amazon.fr in paperback format for 6.60 euros Now THAT's what I call outrageous!!!! |
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08-27-2009, 05:14 AM | #4 |
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Oh, I just noticed that you quoted prices in US $ and AU $, so maybe the difference is similar after all, I'm not sure.
Also, in France part of the difference is explained by a higher VAT rate on ebooks I think. The rest is just plain stupid greed on the part of publishers I would think The result is that I just borrowed the book at my local library and didn't have to pay a cent for it |
08-27-2009, 05:22 AM | #5 |
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This is one of the reasons I'm thinking of getting a kindle (you can use it outside the US via amazon giftcards) - that book for instance is $15 ($18 AUD) with most books $10.
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08-27-2009, 05:42 AM | #6 |
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Just doing a few comparisons out of pure curiosity, and I found a book that is 1 euro cheaper in ebook format than in pbook. Yay! Unfirtunately it's the first Twilight book, which I don't really intend to read, and certainly not in a French translation. It's at 16.1 euros at Numilog.com, and Amazon has it for 17.1 (or up to 395 euros for a first edition )
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08-27-2009, 05:48 AM | #7 |
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Yep, that's one of the reasons stated here too about the high ebook prices. Books are 6% VAT, ebooks are software not books, thus 19% VAT...
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08-27-2009, 05:50 AM | #8 |
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ye whining basterds Here in Hungary there is precisely 0 ebook store. From our point of view you are extremely fortunate.
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08-27-2009, 06:02 AM | #9 |
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Sweetpea: yes, but if the only difference was the VAT rate, in my example the e-book should be priced at (6.6 / 1.055 x 1.196) = 7.48 euros, not 18.80!
worxland: oops, sorry, I guess I shouldn't complain, things ARE getting better in France. I'm guessing that next year I can probably advise my mother that it's now worth it for her to buy a reader |
08-27-2009, 06:05 AM | #10 | |
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Yep, the same here. If they really follow up on their promise (they = central book distributing thingie here), we'll soon have 3000 Dutch books to choose from (right now, it's about 1200) and more to come. If it really is going to pick up speed, I might actually tell the same to my mother (and even though she lives in Hungary, she reads Dutch books ) |
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08-27-2009, 06:16 AM | #11 | |
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I'm quite happy to accept that a hardback costs more to produce than a paperback (I'm not quite sure it's 3x as much but that's another argument). However I am very sure that an ebook is an ebook and doesn't change in costs (if anything it gets more expensive over time (server storage) rather than less). Having new ebook titles at hardback prices is just outrageous. One of the main advantages is the whole convenience thing, want click have, but encouraging readers to wait until the paperback comes out is just counterproductive. |
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08-27-2009, 06:17 AM | #12 |
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Yes, eBooks attract the full rate of VAT, whereas in many EU countries pBooks have a low, or even zero (as in the UK and Ireland) VAT rate.
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08-27-2009, 07:33 AM | #13 |
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Well I would be happy (more or less) to wait a few months for the price to go down, but apparently French publisher are planning to leave ebooks at hardback prices even after the paperback is out.
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08-27-2009, 07:41 AM | #14 |
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Yes, I get frustrated with the European publishers. Their ebooks are the same price as their hard copies. I don't get that. Far less overhead and materials with an e-version. I need to buy a lot of Routledge, Oxford, Cambridge, and Brill volumes and they just stick you with an incredible price for their electronic versions.
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