eBook Prices - Is it just me…

[Belen]

I read on ancient Kindle keyboard 3g. Have it since college days, still works. For some things to even work, there is some computer magic involved that's in the legal grey area ( not well defined in national legislative).

I tend to not really buy, but borrow from city library. 7e for yearly membership, 5 ebooks/audio books per month available on 4 devices. It's more than enough for both me and wife. Also, there is official portal with free ebooks that are on the mandatory school reading lists, so free classics.

It's been ages since i bought anything from Amazon.

You cannot now. You’d have to buy a new kindle that has WiFi to get the books.

 

[numtini]

The world I'm advocating for is one where the most profit-hungry among us don't also get to manipulate the law-makers that decide how they can make that profit, and ideally also a world where knowledge of the arts belongs to us all.

You're going to see a marked decrease in the number of writers publishing if we're not compensated. And what you get isn't going to be very good without editors.

 

[MoonSong]

DTRPG takes 35%-40% of the money. It’s a lot. Especially when your own store takes 0% of the money.

More like 100% of the money, it just goes to you instead, doesn't it?

 

[Gilladian]

That’s good to know.

I live in a suburb of Boston (MA). I did a search on Libby for some authors I recently read. They only had 2 of Simon R Green’s books and 3 for Adrian Tchaikovsky, 2 of which were the 1st and 3rd books in a trilogy, no sign of the 2nd.

I’ll admit the fact that I don’t “own” the book but rather license it does affect how I see the price ( I still have lots of DVDs ).

One way that libraries work is to join into consortia. My library is in one. If WE buy an ebook, our local patrons can always see it and put a hold on it. But if anothier member library owns it, we can only see and borrow it WHEN IT IS AVAILABLE. Otherwise, it is invisible. So look again! I bet you see different volumes in the series pop up at different times.

A second problem is licenses again. We as libraries are also only leasing them. We get one of three options: perpetual (rare, usually for classics and crappy old paper series), limited # of circulations, or limited TIME, like 1-2 years. Then we have to buy it again. And ebooks/e-audios are not cheap. $80 -120 is commonplace, for 27 circs…

 

[Belen]

You're going to see a marked decrease in the number of writers publishing if we're not compensated. And what you get isn't going to be very good without editors.

No one has an issue with people getting compensated fairly; however, Amazon is problematic. They force platform exclusivity if you join their subscription program and they are increasingly making their products and services worse for consumers. A lot of folks switched from kindle over the latest enpooification and that mirrors a trend of people switching devices before they made the call.

The device wiping, on purpose, if you leave the kindle in airplane mode for too long has been going on for several years. They make money on datamining your habits so they need you to be on network.

Ads for Amazon Prime TV, the site now prioritizing paid product placements in search results while actively making searches for non-sponsored content worse. The recommendations feed being filled with ad-sponsored junk. Heck, you cannot even get a good experience looking for new books via coming soon.

I want writers to make more money, but, as a consumer, I want to be treated with fairness and respect too. Amazon is taking that away from the consumer. I know that it hurts authors who are forced into Amazon exclusivity. I am upset because there are several series I will not be able to finish, but it is my choice to seek more consumer-friendly platforms.

So, I agree with you that writers need fair compensation and editing is a must have; however, I think Micah has a point that we need new models that protect the consumer and libraries from predatory practices.

 

[Belen]

I switched from Kobo to Kindle because it saved me money and allowed me to track my reading more effectively.

I'm not at all fussed about licensing rather than owning things like books, music, and movies. Unless I'm teaching them, in which case I use physical copies, books are generally one and done for me. Occasionally I want to re-read a book from decades ago, and I am more than happy to pay for it again rather than store books for decades. In my mind, the time, effort and physical space allotted to keeping stuff like that is worth more to me than the stuff. YVMV.

I have not noticed a big increase in ebook prices since I swapped to mostly ebooks well over a decade ago.

I take great joy in having a physical library in my home. It was the one thing I wanted in a home growing up.

I do not mind re-buying points if there is a value add such as a cool new edition or to replace copies that have seen better days. The same goes for ebooks. I do not mind buying a new copy if the publisher provides additional value.

I have a real problem if there is no added value and someone just decided that they want me to buy it again because a license expired etc. I also have a real issue with DRM and platform exclusivity. I never give books outside my immediate family, but I want to have access to the things I purchased.

 

[GrimCo]

I also have a real issue with DRM and platform exclusivity

Same. I want option to make backup copy that i can actually use. I want option to move it freely between devices without using proprietary app.

Amazon just recently updated wording on their kindle store for USA. It now reads - “By placing your order, you're purchasing a license to the content and you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use.” On other versions and before 2025, it just read “By clicking the above button, you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use.” Let's be honest, nobody reads terms of use. I think clear and explicit wording like new one on US store is more fair to customers. It informs you then and there that you don't buy book, you buy license.

 

[Clint_L]

I like bookstores. I have a shelf of vintage books in my classroom. Sometimes I just like a physical book (the new Monster Manual, for example). I think if you completely prefer physical books and like having a library, there isn't much of a question about eReaders.

By and large, though, I see licensing as a feature, not a flaw, and while I understand how others feel completely the opposite, I mention this just to point out that it is not intrinsically bad or predatory. There are some pretty good rationales from my perspective: the switch to licensed, streamed content has given me access to much more content for much less money, and I don't have to fill up my living space with storage and leave behind a ton of stuff for my kid to deal with, not to mention the environmental impact. I read 10-20 books/month, so for me the savings alone are enormous.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Yes, because the libraries signed contracts, and good institutions abide by their agreements. Besides, it is the only way we get current and popular ebooks in our public libraries. Trust me, most publishers would rather have it where everyone has to purchase their own copy of the ebook instead of the library getting a discount rate. Is that the world you are advocating for?

Edited to add: Also, the "megacorps" are the rights holders, so they get to decide how to sell their content.

The world I'm advocating for is one where the most profit-hungry among us don't also get to manipulate the law-makers that decide how they

Same. I want option to make backup copy that i can actually use. I want option to move it freely between devices without using proprietary app.

Amazon just recently updated wording on their kindle store for USA. It now reads - “By placing your order, you're purchasing a license to the content and you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use.” On other versions and before 2025, it just read “By clicking the above button, you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use.” Let's be honest, nobody reads terms of use. I think clear and explicit wording like new one on US store is more fair to customers. It informs you then and there that you don't buy book, you buy license.

It seems clear to me that big business has little interest in being fair to customers if they can get away with it.

 

[Belen]

I like bookstores. I have a shelf of vintage books in my classroom. Sometimes I just like a physical book (the new Monsetrr Manual, for example). I think if you completely prefer physical books and like having a library, there isn't much of a question about eReaders.

By and large, though, I see licensing as a feature, not a flaw, and while I understand how others feel completely the opposite, I mention this just to point out that it is not intrinsically bad or predatory. There are some pretty good rationales from my perspective: the switch to licensed, streamed content has given me access to much more content for much less money, and I don't have to fill up my living space with storage and leave behind a ton of stuff for my kid to deal with, not to mention the environmental impact. I read 10-20 books/month, so for me the savings alone are enormous.

I think it costs more money in the long term. There is a limit on the amount you can consume in a given period. Once the sub or license expires, then you end up with nothing.

I was on the same page before I saw a lot of content I purchased disappear with no compensation so I went back to physical.