Book prices

[$had0w]

I noticed when i last bought Clash of Kings that on the back of the book it costs $8.99 USD... and yet, it cost me $24 to buy it.

Does anyone know why there is such a MASSIVE markup on books bought locally? Or does it not actually sell for that price in America?

[Nekosan]

It's entirely possible that many states don't list their tax in the book price, also worth noting that our dollar might be close to theirs these days but everything is still a lot cheaper no matter what the comparison is.

[BurntToast]

Use the book depository.
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk

Cheap as chips and free delivery worldwide.
Just takes a bit over a week or two to get here though.

[Artful-dodgeR]

^^ This. Been using them for years, much better than local.

[Auld]

I noticed when i last bought Clash of Kings that on the back of the book it costs $8.99 USD... and yet, it cost me $24 to buy it.

Does anyone know why there is such a MASSIVE markup on books bought locally? Or does it not actually sell for that price in America?

Same reason you pay more than conversion + shipping for anything. Because you (people in Aus/NZ) continue to do so without a whimper. Its unfortunate, but average consumers are starting to wake up to it.

I hardly consider people on this forum average consumers.

http://booko.com.au/ is also a good place to find books.

[Disco LT]

I'd love to know how much money I've spent on books over the last decade

I generally buy my books from the UK on eBay and it's much cheaper even included postage then books in Australia .. I'll check out the website above though. Most brand new books I get to my door for $10-$15 from halfway around the world, it's insane ..

[Mekon]

I noticed when i last bought Clash of Kings that on the back of the book it costs $8.99 USD... and yet, it cost me $24 to buy it.

Just for the lulz, I checked out what the Kindle price was on Amazon:

Mass Market Paperback (Bantam): $8.99
Paperback (Bantam): $10.38
Kindle Edition (Voyager): $10.86
Hardcover (Bantam): $21.34

More expensive than a paperback... with the usual "This price was set by the publisher" disclaimer. How can they justify charging more for a DRMed digital copy?

[Helelix]

More expensive than a paperback... with the usual "This price was set by the publisher" disclaimer. How can they justify charging more for a DRMed digital copy?

I read an article about that a while back.

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2012/03/printing-isnt-the-costliest-part-of-producing-books/

imo, ebooks should still be cheaper than paperback.

[Disco LT]

Yeah I'd feel ripped off paying more for a digital copy :/ In fact, I just wouldn't do it. If I had a Kindle and I could get it cheaper elsewhere.. I'd buy it elsewhere.

[Mekon]

I read an article about that a while back.

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2012/03/printing-isnt-the-costliest-part-of-producing-books/

imo, ebooks should still be cheaper than paperback.

And one of the comments on that article actually points to the elephant in the room...

Having worked in publishing for almost 20 years and at a publishing house for over 7 years I can fully agree that printing is not the costliest part of producing a book… but distribution is!

I think it is common knowledge among publishers that distributors are the ones that get the biggest piece of the cake.

Electronic publishing (read: no films, printing, etc.) and distribution (read: no shipping, warehouses, etc.) is a huge saving for publishers, so there is no excuse for the excessive price of eBooks. Actually, there is one: greed.

The "industry analyst" is being a weasel in just talking about the low cost of printing, yet avoiding another huge saving.

edit: That said... at least in the US, a number of publisher's (including Apple) are now caught up in a DoJ case in regards to price fixing and collusion:

The Justice Department has warned Apple Inc. AAPL -0.55% and five of the biggest U.S. publishers that it plans to sue them for allegedly colluding to raise the price of electronic books, according to people familiar with the matter.

Several of the parties have held talks to settle the antitrust case and head off a potentially damaging court battle, these people said. If successful, such a settlement could have wide-ranging repercussions for the industry, potentially leading to cheaper e-books for consumers.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 89216.html

Interesting read.

[Slaine]

http://booko.com.au/ is also a good place to find books.

This.

I always have a quick check on there when ever I buy new books these days, unless I need a book in the next 24 hours, in which case, straight to a real shop.

It examines a couple of dozen online retailers, here, US, UK, all over the place. It converts international currency, adds on delivery costs where applicable, then compares all the prices in an easy to read list, including links to that seller. Bookmark it today!

[Mythor]

Worth bearing in mind that buying it on Kindle (usually) includes wirelessly sending it to your Kindle, for no extra charge, including via a 3G network. That's not free for Amazon to offer.

Like everyone else above though, I typically buy from overseas when I want a physical copy of a book. Book Depository or Amazon, depending on prices at each. Or straight to my Kindle, if the book I want is available and a reasonable price.

They cost more locally for a lot of reasons. Either they have to ship the copies here from wherever they're printed or they have to have a factory in Australia to print and bind them and then ship them, all while paying reasonable wages to everyone and lots of taxes and so on.

Should it be as much more as it is? Probably not. But at least book publishers don't have a massive cry about people sharing or reselling books when people are done with them.

[Disco LT]

Should it be as much more as it is? Probably not. But at least book publishers don't have a massive cry about people sharing or reselling books when people are done with them.

Haha.. thats actually a good point.

[Bek]

Worth bearing in mind that buying it on Kindle (usually) includes wirelessly sending it to your Kindle, for no extra charge, including via a 3G network. That's not free for Amazon to offer.

Except that it's really built into the price of the kindle, not the books, because you can buy wifi only kindles that don't use whispernet. Should they still have to pay that 'extra fee' for the wireless in the books they buy even though they don't have access to that feature?

[Mythor]

"Wirelessly to your Kindle" also includes over wifi, Bek. While that's certainly cheaper than the 3G sending it does still cost Amazon money to do it. Plus all the required systems need to be in place to support it, etc. Some of the cost is built into buying the hardware, yes, but that's a one off payment for potentially thousands of books. At some point the money from the hardware sale will run out.