How can we standardize ebook pricing?
One facet of ebooks that still mystifies me (and many others, I assume) is how ebooks are priced. When I’m shopping around for a good book to read on my trusty iPhone or Sony Reader, I’m always amazed at the large span of ebook pricing – from free for public domain works, to around the same price as a hardcover for a new release and/or bestseller, and everything in between.
I find it interesting to see what others think of this problem as well. I came across this interesting post from a blog called Brave New World. Here’s a brief snippet:
Some may say that publishers are trying to reduce the digital margin given to resellers and using this to offset their digital costs. Others would argue that there is a reluctance to get dragged into the current discounting fiasco on physical books that is rife in markets such as the UK. However, given that the ebook is often a carbon copy of the physical book with no extras what is the price comparison with it and the price to the consumer?
I realize that producing ebooks is not free for a publisher, especially given the wide range of formatting options available to ebooks. Add to that the diverse number of devices for reading ebooks, each with their own limitations and special formatting requirements (including DRM), it’s no wonder any publishers are producing any ebooks at all!
Given that, here are the two fastest ways I believe we can smooth out ebook pricing and watch digital content spread like wildfire:
1. Adopt epub as the standard ebook format. It’s open source. It’s easy (even a non-techie like myself understands the basics of the format), and best of all: It’s free! Click here for more information on epub.
2. Trash anything with DRM. I’m not kidding. DRM only makes purchasing ebooks more prohibitive (i.e. I can’t buy Amazon Kindle titles for my Sony Reader and vise versa). Additionally, by being prohibitive, DRM vastly shrinks the number of people willing to buy the digital content.
What other ways can ebook publishers, authors and consumers agree on a fair price point for ebooks? If you have any ideas, let us know in the comments below!
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- Apple rolls out new iPhone 3GS, lower pricing
- Do most people really care about ebook DRM?
Read More: Publishing News, eBooks
