why are e-books so (relatively) expensive?

[Jodi-FL]

and then you can't share them with a friend? the ones i've seen (recommended to me) sell for 9.95-12.95 and that just seems high to me but i almost always buy from amazon or used. i just thought if you have to print it yourself, supplying the ink and paper, a book should be cheaper.

[QueenCat]

Your paying for the content, not the paper. Most people don't print them but download them to a portable reader, like a Kindle.

[ConnieB]

and then you can't share them with a friend? the ones i've seen (recommended to me) sell for 9.95-12.95 and that just seems high to me but i almost always buy from amazon or used. i just thought if you have to print it yourself, supplying the ink and paper, a book should be cheaper.

 

I completely agree with you.....especially for curriculum that is downloadable. I DO have to print these out to use them, and then for many items that aren't meant as consumables (like the teacher guides) I still have to print them, sorry we don't do school at my cramped computer desk, AND I can't resell them. Yet the profit margin for the publisher is HIGH on these because there is no publishing for them other than the first formating.

 

So, I buy the books and then resell them to make back about half my cost. So, honestly, if ebooks were about half the cost of hard copies, I'd do it in a heartbeat and not be concerned about not being able to resell.

 

Gee, didn't we have a thread a week or two ago about Learning Adventures whining about not being able to continue in business because of the people selling their books used and so they weren't getting enough business? I'm sure that other publishers/authors feel the same (without the public whining) so perhaps they should consider the advantage of giving me the inventice to buy ebooks. Their costs would go way down because while there is bandwith to consider in ebooks it's not nearly the same as buying, and storing, hundreds of hardcopies waiting for sales, and the used market would dry up which would mean more people would buy their product directly from them.

 

Yes, there is still those who will resell the ebooks, despite the copyright violation, but there are those who actually scan and share textbooks now so I guess someone somewhere will always be cheating. I've had to leave wonderful yahoogroups because of this sharing....the discussions and information were great but I hated having my inbox clogged with page after page of illegal documents. Not only was the full inbox annoying, but even though I didn't print those documents out, I felt like I was "in possession" of stolen goods. I miss some of those groups.

 

So...publishers/authors, if you're out there and interested in lessening your costs, increasing your sales over used copies sold without you getting anything....cut the prices of your ebooks. And then PM me as I'm starting to look for next year's stuff already, so I'd love to hear from you! LOL