FROM THE UK DAILY MAIL
It's bad news for anyone who has
eBook readers such as Amazon's Kindle, Kobo's readers, or Barnes and
Noble's Nook sitting under the Christmas tree.
An
agreement between six major publishers has seen prices rocket for many
books worldwide - some of which are more expensive than the paper
version.
The agreement includes major publishing houses such as HarperCollins and Penguin.
The agreement reportedly forbids retailers from discounting eBooks without a publisher's permission.
It's seen a huge surge in 'self-published' books as users of eBook readers turn to cheaper authors to escape rising prices.
In
the early days of eBooks, Amazon drove sales of its Kindle eBook reader
by discounting heavily - leading readers to see eBooks as a 'bargain'
version of their favourite reads.
But that seems no longer to be the case.
Consumers
are increasingly angry at being charged more for an electronic version
that they can't easily lend out or give away - even 'lending' schemes
for eBooks tend to be tightly controlled and difficult to use.
The Kindle edition of this year's eBook bestseller, Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs is $20.76 - the paper one is $17.49.
The
Wall Street Journal reported that Ken Follet's novel Fall of Giants was
more expensive in an eBook version than it is in a physical version in
the U.S. - $18.99 as opposed to $16.50 for the paper edition.
The
price for the Kindle Edition has now abruptly fallen to $7.49 - perhaps
an indication of the fact that publishers and retailers are sensitive
about the pricing issue.
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1 comment:
Seems as if the big publishers can't see the writing on the wall. Come hell or high water, they refuse to change their business models, even though the impact of ebooks is staring them in the face. Sort of like the fate of buggy whip manufacturers at he advent of the automobile.
It's a shot in the arm for new, independent authors who take their work seriously and deliver great writing to avid audiences. With books by the big boys being priced higher, it's another chance to earn a legitimate spot in the epublishing universe, grow a fan base, and carve out a career.
If your good, that is.
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