02-16-2011, 03:29 PM | #1 |
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The true cost of publishing on the Amazon Kindle
It appears that wireless delivery of newspapers and magazines could cost more than mailing paper versions: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2011/02...amazon-kindle/
It makes no sense but I think that it really underlines how the closed device/app market is only beneficial to corporations at the expense of consumers and authors. Look, we all love free access to the the internet on Kindle but there is no free lunch. When real costs are very well hidden companies can charge obscene prices for wireless data. 10p per 1 MB is is robbery. The real cost of 3G wireless data is very low. When I was in London I bought a prepaid SIM card that allowed me to use unlimited data for 27p per day. In Latvia there are similar plans with minimum of 100 MB/month for $2. I don't know why Amazon is unable to negotiate better rates but closed device is one reason for this. If Kindle was sold with an option to use a personal SIM card, there would be real competition between cell phone networks to provide better plans and with better data access Kindle could have more functionality. |
02-16-2011, 03:56 PM | #2 |
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Maybe it is cheap in Europe, but in the US, data plans are very expensive (to me). About the cheapest data plan is the iPad $15 US/month for 250 Mb. 2Gb will cost you $25.00 US.
For me, the problem with the data plans on most smartphones is that they want to bundle a huge talk plan with a medium data plan. I have a no-contract phone that I have to pay a minimum of $15/month, and I only use about 5 minutes a week on it. I would use more data than voice, but you can't really get a phone with that kind of plan in the US. |
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02-16-2011, 04:31 PM | #3 | |
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Quote:
In Latvia the cell phone networks developed faster because the fixed line infrastructure was in bad shape. But we have problems with EU-wide roaming where the operators are strongly keeping their positions and charging insane prices for data. |
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02-16-2011, 07:53 PM | #4 | ||
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Quote:
By the way, I don't think US wireless costs have much to do with "open" vs "closed." The US is significantly larger than the EU, with many regions of lower population density, and there is a lot of competition between providers. Also things like text messaging and data lagged behind European use. Quote:
Thanks for playing. |
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02-16-2011, 08:00 PM | #5 |
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They somewhat forget that you have to print a physical paper/magazine.
And that is subsidised by the adverts, otherwise your evry cheap magazine would be quite expensive. So should amazon insert advertising into your subscribed content to recover distribution fees? Should amazon stump up and pay for distribution of someone elses content? This isnt like the apple furor over 305 substription fees ermember, in this model amazon is doing the delivering as well as the payment process. |
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02-16-2011, 08:11 PM | #6 |
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I don't see how paying 4p as a delivery cost on a £5.99 ebook is "robbery". I'm actually chuffed that Amazon sets a value on the delivery cost of its product. Whatever I'm paying for an ebook, I'm also happy it includes "shipping".
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02-16-2011, 08:37 PM | #7 |
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Tho with only a wifi kindle i want a discount !
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02-17-2011, 01:44 AM | #8 | ||
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Quote:
Quote:
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02-17-2011, 01:51 AM | #9 |
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If the actual delivery costs are 0.4p then it is robbery. Don't ignore this just because the amounts seem small and insignificant. The article reveals that it is quite significant for publishers (if you multiply by thousands and possibly millions of copies it get very real). They are keeping the file sizes artificially small by removing pictures. I personally would like to see the pictures even on the Kindle.
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02-17-2011, 11:39 AM | #10 |
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Doesn't it figure?
People who thought digital delivery mechanisms and methods would herald a future wherein content could be blasted from ethereal cannons without cost or consideration will be forcefully disabused of that idea. |
02-18-2011, 10:35 AM | #11 | |
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02-18-2011, 02:43 PM | #12 |
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Back in November, Amazon dramatically increased the royalty rate for periodicals. Before then, Amazon took 70%; after, they only take 30%.
This reduced the cost of publishing periodicals through Amazon by 40%. Did they drop their prices? AFAIK, not one red cent. Did they add more images? Doubtful. Similarly, neither Apple nor Amazon charge less for wifi iPad subscribers than for 3G. And yes, they know who you are. In terms of open vs closed, Amazon has a lot more clout when essentially negotiating on behalf of millions of units. I'm fairly confident they're better at negotiating with AT&T than I am. Plus, working this way means one less bill in my inbox, one less thing that I have to pay for, one less thing to break. So in short, I see no evidence for your assumption that you would somehow save money or get a "more fair price" by using your own 3G connection. |
02-18-2011, 06:23 PM | #13 | |
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Quote:
Solve that issue and then we'll see prices drop to zero. |
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02-19-2011, 02:00 AM | #14 | |||
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Quote:
Quote:
I understand your point that with Kindle you would get the same connectivity in any part of the world without worries. But the problem is that everyone has to pay for this convenience. Quote:
Now replace the documents with publications for frequent subscribers and you get the same costs only more hidden. Your only argument is that big corporations will not pass the savings to customers but will keep them (probably to pay bonuses or whatever) which is exactly the result of closed systems. |
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02-19-2011, 10:32 AM | #15 |
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Dude.
Seriously. Magazine publishers and/or Amazon are obviously not going to pass on cost savings to you. They don't do it for wifi only customers. They don't do it when the royalty rates swing 40% in favor of the magazine publishers. They don't do it when they increase the royalty rates for self-publishers. They don't do it for people who only use an app rather than buy a dedicated device. They don't do it when they renegotiate the cell service contracts. By the way, 10p per mb is the cost they're charging the publishers. It has almost nothing to do with what Amazon is getting charged by its wireless carriers. They're almost certainly treating this as just another revenue generator, and if they didn't hit the publishers that way, they'd just charge a slightly higher royalty rate or some other miscellaneous charge. So, yet again: You would not save one thin dime, or get any extra content, if you used your own 3g connection. Save yourself some aggravation, and worry about things that are actually worth worrying about. Like what Lindsay Lohan will wear the next time she's in court. |
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