E-book prices becoming lower in the Netherlands

[Katsunami]

Source: Nu.nl

The price of e-books has been dropping for years, while physical books have become more expensive.

In 2010, an e-book cost around €11,25, while a physical book had an average price of about €13. In 2015, the prices are about €8 and €15, respectively.

Book sales have been stable in 2015, after some years of decline. The market share of e-books is about 6.9 percent.

Bestsellers constitute less and less of the total sales of books. Last year, this was 12,8 percent, while in 2010 it was still 15,4 percent.

More than 80% of physical books are bought in brick and mortar stores; the rest are ordered through the internet.

[HarryT]

Interesting that 80% of books in the Netherlands are bought in B&M stores. I don't know what the corresponding figure in the UK would be, but I suspect it's significantly lower.

[DuckieTigger]

Since it is talking about average prices it doesn't really say if prices shifted apart for the same title in ebook vs pbook. Demand for ebooks is getting higher, the gap might be widening even more over time. Especially if the marketshare in the article is revenue based and not number of books sold. (Goggle translate wasn't clear, the original might not have been either).

[Katsunami]

It was a very short article. The text above is the translation of the entire article at that time Nu.nl does sometimes post 'stub-articles' just to be first, and then adds more information throughout the day.

[DuckieTigger]

Let's hope that they add some extra information. Otherwise there is no solid facts disclosed. Btw, your quote was slightly different than what it spit out for me.

For me personally the only place I buy pbooks anymore is a B&M store. Actually it is limited to DollarTree that sells remaindered books for $1. And usually even that cheap is not a bargain for me - after a few pages I usually remember why I don't read pbooks any more and I long for my Kindle.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

For me personally the only place I buy pbooks anymore is a B&M store. Actually it is limited to DollarTree that sells remaindered books for $1. And usually even that cheap is not a bargain for me - after a few pages I usually remember why I don't read pbooks any more and I long for my Kindle.

Most of my Egyptology books are still pbooks because:

1) Most of them are simply not available as eBooks.
2) Reference books still work better as pbooks than ebooks for me.
3) Most of them contain high-quality colour photographs which work a lot better on paper than screens.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Most of my Egyptology books are still pbooks because:

1) Most of them are simply not available as eBooks.
2) Reference books still work better as pbooks than ebooks for me.
3) Most of them contain high-quality colour photographs which work a lot better on paper than screens.

I would definitely go paper with reference books too. Fortunately all my reading is done for pleasure and almost completely limited to fiction.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Most of my Egyptology books are still pbooks because:

1) Most of them are simply not available as eBooks.
2) Reference books still work better as pbooks than ebooks for me.
3) Most of them contain high-quality colour photographs which work a lot better on paper than screens.

For the photographs, there are some that I would rather have available on a screen. On a screen, I can zoom in on the image and see detail that I would miss. On paper, I could do this, but I would have to have a magnifying glass.

Note that I'm not talking about using a 6 inch e-ink reader for images, but an LCD tablet of some kind, or even a computer monitor.

Shari

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

I would definitely go paper with reference books too. Fortunately all my reading is done for pleasure and almost completely limited to fiction.

If done well, I prefer my electronic for reference. For one thing, it's pretty easy to follow the notes.

[Cinisajoy]

On pbooks, Dollar Tree and thrift stores.
Books I prefer in paper are cross stitch and needlepoint.
Cookbooks are also better on paper so the device doesn't go to sleep on me.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by shalym

For the photographs, there are some that I would rather have available on a screen. On a screen, I can zoom in on the image and see detail that I would miss. On paper, I could do this, but I would have to have a magnifying glass.

Note that I'm not talking about using a 6 inch e-ink reader for images, but an LCD tablet of some kind, or even a computer monitor.

Shari

Some work OK on screens. Others don't. One type that really doesn't work well as ebooks are large-format books with folding out pictures. These are common in Egyptology.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Some work OK on screens. Others don't. One type that really doesn't work well as ebooks are large-format books with folding out pictures. These are common in Egyptology.

Ah...ok. I don't think I've ever seen a book like that.

Shari

[Logseman]

E-books are only substitutive of Pbooks in novels and essays, so I imagine that there's a shift towards academic books, photo catalogues, adult coloring books, etc. which are more expensive and are, as of today, outside of the ebook reach.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Interesting that 80% of books in the Netherlands are bought in B&M stores. I don't know what the corresponding figure in the UK would be, but I suspect it's significantly lower.

There's even something weird about it... B&M stores are going down everywhere, because not enough people are going there to buy books.

[Andy_T]

Originally Posted by Logseman

adult coloring books

Now that sounds intriguing.
What is the subject of these books?

Regardless, I definitely see the practicality of pbooks over ebooks for these.