Can't find my website (piercebooks.com)? Sorry, I have decided to shut it down in order to focus on this blog page. All the same information but updated regularly! Thanks!

Check out all my books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

You want how much for a paperback?!

I know there has been a lot of discussion of ebook vs hardback vs paperback pricing so I'm not going to get into that today. What I am going to vent about is the 'new' paperback. What is with the change in size of the paperback and then charging 9.99 for it? Or even worse, I noticed yesterday, yet another size and a 14.99 price tag.
Are you serious? Fifteen dollars for a paperback?!
I discussed a topic similar to this with several people last year when the price of gas went up. Yes companies are entitled to make a profit. That's the point of having a company – making money (except nonprofits of course who just help people). But there is a difference between profit and gouging. Gas companies get away with it because we need gas. But publishers? Be serious. Why would I pay 10-15 for a paperback book? I can find any even semi popular book for a few dollars used.

If someone can make sense of this, please, help me.

13 comments:

  1. I don't know if I'd be willing to pay that price. Even as a writer, that seems a bit much to ask for.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wondering if anyone else noticed this trend?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sadly it make no sense to me either! I love reading but if it takes away from my children's or my household's needs it's not a priority, even to a book lover like myself!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I completely agree Shanna - not when there is a library a mile away

    ReplyDelete
  5. If I didn't know better I'd say they were pushing to bring about the ebook revolution. I know there's plenty of costs involved to make ready and produce a paperback but I'm with you, that's just too much. My Kindle's looking better every day. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Printer charges me $3.65 to print the book I've written. Another $3.65 to ship it to me. Seven dollars. For a 200 page book that I wrote myself. It goes for $8.99 on Amazon.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Mark,
    Good Point. For people fighting e-books publishers sure are making it easier to want to buy e-books.

    ReplyDelete
  8. SJ, That just makes me think publisher are really gouging people. You know they don't pay $7 for each paperback. Thanks for the information!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think the big pubs are trying to settle in on $9.99 as the new paperback price, up from $7.99 and $8.99. It's getting costly.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Todd,
    I agree. It just seems like they jumped from 7.99 to 9.99 and changed the size as a justification. Where was the slow jump? 8.50, 8.99, etc? You can't just raise the price $2! (My opinion anyway).

    ReplyDelete
  11. If you're on Lulu, for instance, they may force you to charge 10, 11, 12 or more for a paperback. It's annoying, but they want their part. E-books don't give you that trouble, but at lulu they want a minimum of .99 for a "Free" book. ::sigh:: That's the way it goes. Back to my editing, just a bit to go before I put mine up on Amazon. I'm going to pull it from Lulu. It's given me nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  12. BTW: "Riley" isn't my name. It's the name of my dog! "Riley Holmes" -- Riley is one dog, Sherlock is the other. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Not Riley:)I have never tried Lulu. Thanks for the information. Love Sherlock Holmes for your dogs name.

    ReplyDelete