Price of Ebooks Going Up????
The last
time I checked Amazon’s top 100 bestsellers list was in February. Unless the
best seller list I looked at yesterday was an aberration, the prices of
ebooks have both diversified and dramatically increased.
time I checked Amazon’s top 100 bestsellers list was in February. Unless the
best seller list I looked at yesterday was an aberration, the prices of
ebooks have both diversified and dramatically increased.
At the
lower end of the price scale, I only counted three ebooks selling for 99c,
compared with 34 at that price in February. Twenty-two were selling for the
ebook guru nominated price of $2.99, compared with 32 in February.
lower end of the price scale, I only counted three ebooks selling for 99c,
compared with 34 at that price in February. Twenty-two were selling for the
ebook guru nominated price of $2.99, compared with 32 in February.
Two free
ebooks and one for 96c had somehow made it on the list. I was under the
impression that free ebooks were kept on a separate list and that an ebook
could not be sold for less than 99c on Amazon, so I assume their appearance was
a technical glitch. But things might have changed.
ebooks and one for 96c had somehow made it on the list. I was under the
impression that free ebooks were kept on a separate list and that an ebook
could not be sold for less than 99c on Amazon, so I assume their appearance was
a technical glitch. But things might have changed.
Thirteen
ebooks were $3.99, compared to four in February. Twenty-five ebooks were priced
from $3.87 to $6.96. So 47 of the ebooks in Amazon’s top 100 bestsellers list
were priced over $7, including three at $9.09, seven at $9.99, four at $11.93,
three at $12.99 and three at $17.05. Compare this with only six ebooks being
priced over $8 in February, but there were 22 over $8 in August the previous
year.
ebooks were $3.99, compared to four in February. Twenty-five ebooks were priced
from $3.87 to $6.96. So 47 of the ebooks in Amazon’s top 100 bestsellers list
were priced over $7, including three at $9.09, seven at $9.99, four at $11.93,
three at $12.99 and three at $17.05. Compare this with only six ebooks being
priced over $8 in February, but there were 22 over $8 in August the previous
year.
Maybe in
February everyone had overspent at Christmas and could not afford dearer
ebooks, or perhaps a lot of people who received a Kindle for Christmas were
busy filling them up with cheap ebooks in February.
February everyone had overspent at Christmas and could not afford dearer
ebooks, or perhaps a lot of people who received a Kindle for Christmas were
busy filling them up with cheap ebooks in February.
However,
just for a moment, I could suppose that many Kindle users have discovered that
cheap does not necessarily mean good. But, having said that, I have found price
not much of an indicator of the quality of an ebook, as the one of the best
ebooks I have read, Turing Evolved, by David Kitson, was free – I sent him an $8
donation for it. And I bought the signed paperback version of Cory Doctorow’s Little
Brother before reading it as a free ebook.
just for a moment, I could suppose that many Kindle users have discovered that
cheap does not necessarily mean good. But, having said that, I have found price
not much of an indicator of the quality of an ebook, as the one of the best
ebooks I have read, Turing Evolved, by David Kitson, was free – I sent him an $8
donation for it. And I bought the signed paperback version of Cory Doctorow’s Little
Brother before reading it as a free ebook.
I will
have to check the best-selling listings more frequently to see if what was a
definite downward trend in prices has now changed.
have to check the best-selling listings more frequently to see if what was a
definite downward trend in prices has now changed.
Chook Lit.
According to an article
in a not so recent Age, Random House in Australia say Chook
Lit is the only genre of fiction that is increasing in sales. WTF! I hear you
exclaim. Chook Lit is a variant of Chick Lit, but set in rural Australia. Most
of the books are romances. But before every writer rushes to their computer to
write such a book, they better be female and live on a farm, like all the big
sellers of this new genre do.
in a not so recent Age, Random House in Australia say Chook
Lit is the only genre of fiction that is increasing in sales. WTF! I hear you
exclaim. Chook Lit is a variant of Chick Lit, but set in rural Australia. Most
of the books are romances. But before every writer rushes to their computer to
write such a book, they better be female and live on a farm, like all the big
sellers of this new genre do.
Rachael Treasure (great name for an author) is a sheep
and cattle farmer who has sold 289,000 novels so far. Fleur McDonald lives on a
3000 hectare station and her three novels have sold 56,600 copies. And so on. It
appears the author’s authenticity matters with readers, or at least publishers.
and cattle farmer who has sold 289,000 novels so far. Fleur McDonald lives on a
3000 hectare station and her three novels have sold 56,600 copies. And so on. It
appears the author’s authenticity matters with readers, or at least publishers.
My
Website.
Website.
I am currently re-building my website after a number of
false starts. I had a great page constructed using Bravesites, but
unfortunately it did not allow me to transfer my large interactive story onto
it. If I had linked the Bravesites site to the interactive story it would have
meant paying for two website hostings (one for the site and one for the story).
So I quit Bravesites.
false starts. I had a great page constructed using Bravesites, but
unfortunately it did not allow me to transfer my large interactive story onto
it. If I had linked the Bravesites site to the interactive story it would have
meant paying for two website hostings (one for the site and one for the story).
So I quit Bravesites.
I have looked, and will continue to look, at a number of
other web hosting services. Most seem to be big on templates, which would leave
the same problem of not allowing me to transfer the large interactive story
onto the site. I also failed to find any hosting services that convinced me of
their ability to display my blogger blog on the website.
other web hosting services. Most seem to be big on templates, which would leave
the same problem of not allowing me to transfer the large interactive story
onto the site. I also failed to find any hosting services that convinced me of
their ability to display my blogger blog on the website.
So I have been using Frontpage, which came with the Office
XP I bought a while back, to construct a webpage. Frontpage is compatible with Bravehost,
which my interactive story currently sits on. Now if only I could find a way to
get my blogger blog running on Bravehost.
XP I bought a while back, to construct a webpage. Frontpage is compatible with Bravehost,
which my interactive story currently sits on. Now if only I could find a way to
get my blogger blog running on Bravehost.
0 Responses
Thanks Graham for offering an update on escalating eBook prices. Interesting.
I've noticed the influx of "Romance on the farm" chook-lit books too.
Love that genre tag. LOL.
Chook-lit… Jesus. If this is the way of things, including 50 Shades of Grey, Twilight etc, then you and I are out of the loop. Seems to me that these books arent about quality story telling, but about fulfilling some middleaged fantasy. Must be a helluva lot of unhappy (dare I say female?) readers out there..
As with ebooks, its like heroin. Give them away, get them hooked, up the price. Less costs, more profits. Victims of greed. We will lose books, but publishers will continue to exist, with increased profits… and we will all see what fools we've been.
Then we'll go underground… and sell printed books on the street… Smells like Fahrenheit 451.
I've heard that Amazon has changed its system so that the cheaper books don't get as much exposure as the ones over $2.99. So yes, I'd say they are trying to drive the prices up!
Anthony,
Perhaps we will all have to include a bit of bondage in our writing, seems to sell a few ebooks like 50 Shades of Grey.
Satima,
so that is why all the 99c ones all but disappeared. I was thinking that perhaps the people charging 99c might have decided to just give them away.