Strange thing, prices.
Seems J.K. Rowling’s got a new book out, The Casual Vacancy. Seems the e-book version is priced at $18, which is a fair bit higher than your usual e-book price. And now there is a great hue and cry. Charges of gouging, people with their knickers all in a knot.
This after the great hue and cry a while back over the proliferation of free or 99 cent e-books and how they were devaluing the written word.
Here’s what I’m wondering. Why is it that the prices of entertainment (or art if you will), traditionally, have been so standardized? Back before MP3s, if you went to a record store (OK, I’m old, we used to have records) all the LPs were the same price. Now, you go to a bookstore, and all the new hardcovers are pretty much the same price, all the paperbacks pretty much the same price, except for whatever is on the clearance table, but even there, all the clearance books are usually the same price. You go to the movies and all the films at the multiplex – from the current blockbuster to whatever Keanu Reeves is tanking in – are the same price.
Suppose that theater is in a mall. Suppose you walk out of the mall and go to buy a shirt. Say a dress shirt, say white, say 100 percent cotton. You walk into Macy’s, that shirt might be $75 bucks, hell, might be $100. You walk into Kohl’s, you can probably find one for $30, probably less if they have a sale. Why? They are both made out of cotton, and pretty much the same amount of cotton. Now, the fashionistas would be quick to point out that the Hugo Boss shirt is cut differently, styled differently, has a better “hand.” Nobody argues. You want Hugo Boss, you pay for Hugo Boss. You just want something to wrap your tie around, you go to Kohl’s. It’s not just shirts. For everything else in the mall – pants, pots, patio furniture – you’ll find price points all over the place.
Except for books.They’re all pretty much the same price.
So why is it that all books have to be priced the same? Because they take roughly the same amount of paper, ink and binding material? Or, in the case of an e-book, the same amount of bandwidth? You aren’t buying the bandwidth, you’re buying the words and the art with which they are arranged – you are buying the author’s inspiration and talent and work. And there is a far greater difference between one book and the next than there ever could be between two shirts.
I’d argue there are Hugo Boss books and there are Kohl’s books. There are books that are going to change your life (or at least your weekend) and then there are books you read just to pass the time.
I’m not making an editorial judgment on The Casual Vacancy – I haven’t read it. But I’ll tell you this right now. Give me a choice between, say, James Lee Burke at $18 and, say, Vince Flynn for 99 cents, and I’ll take the one James Lee Burke novel over eighteen (or twenty or a hundred) Vince Flynn novels every time.
Strange things, prices.
I never understood this, either. I used movies as an example years ago; books and DVDs are another good case study. So are sporting events. (It on;ly makes sense to charge less to see the Cubs play the Astros in September than to watch the Sox and the Tigers.)
As for the accusations of gouging for Rowling’s new book: capitalism, baby. You charge what you think the traffic will bear. You don’t want to pay $18 for the e-book, don’t. Books are special that way. Even if you think you’re life will not be complete if you don’t read this, you don;t have top go without, or even steal it. Get a copy from the library. They’ll be happy to see you.
Right on, Dan. $18 is a tad steep for an ebook and personally, I disagree with Rowling’s business model. But I’m not going to be angry about it. I prefer authors who try to keep the costs down and still make a good buck. Andrew Vachss’s Blackjack is one “bargain trade paperback” and while the “mass market” pb may be dead, the paperback originals of the olden days were cheap without degrading book prices. I like $8 for a novel length book, but I’ve paid as much as $13 for an ebook.
Book prices are just crazy. No one expects to pay cover price. Name another product that has the price printed on the packaging.
List: $27.95! $32.95 in Canada, even though the Canadian buck is worth more at the moment!
10% off cover at the bookstore, 50% off at Amazon and Costco, etc etc.
A friend in publishing told me it costs the same to make a hardcover as it does a paperback. They just price them higher to recoup costs quickly. Not sure how true it is, but it’s a dopey model. I’d rather have trade, ebook and hardcover all launch at once at similar price, if that’s the cause. People have preferences for each. $20 hardcover, $10 paperback and $5-8 ebook would be ideal for me. I’d buy a hell of a lot more physical books.
right on!