Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Price Points on eBooks


Do you ever judge a book by its cover? How about by its price?

Between podcasts, conferences, and online articles I’ve been hearing more and more division amongst readers regarding the appropriate price tag of ebooks. Some readers believe price is loosely associated with quality, while others adhere to a strictly cheaper-is-better outlook. NPR had a great broadcast about readers who only buy ebooks listed under 99 cents, whereas other readers refused to buy books under 99 cents altogether. At one conference I attended, an ebook publisher suggested that $1.99-2.99 is the sweet spot. And of course, the bestselling price tag continues to be the one that is listed as FREE.

So what do you think is an appropriate price tag for ebooks? Do you prefer stories listed under a certain price point or above? Do you make exceptions for certain types of ebooks that don’t fit into your customary price range?




23 comments:

  1. I just read an article that $1.99 is starting to lose its appeal, as well. It seems that $2.99-$5.99 is the sweet spot now. I'm not in the self pubbing realm, so I don't know much about it, but I still find it interesting!

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    1. You raise a good point, and I wonder how often the "sweet spot" shifts in the online marketplace.

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  2. Price doesn't matter to me until it goes over $9.99. Then I just don't buy it.

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    1. Oh, wow, I didn't even consider ebooks over $10. I'd probably only buy those as a gift for someone, not myself:)

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  3. I really only buy titles that appeal to my interest, and are under the 9.99 price point. I have found gems at .99 and duds at 5.99, so you can't judge too harshly.

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    1. That's a very good point. I suppose what I'm trying to determine is what turns a reader off when they see varying prices for books of similar quality.

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  4. I do think there's some validity to the idea that people associate better quality with a higher price (that sweet spot of $2.99 sounds about right). I know I've experienced that feeling when shopping for books before. And I'm with Alex. I won't pay for an e-book over $10 unless I really, really have to read it NOW.

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    1. Interesting:) When I listened to the founder of Smashwords give a talk, he showed data that revealed booksales going up until the price went under the $2-3 mark and after that it dropped off substantially until it hit FREE and then went up again.

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  5. I think the sweet spot you mentioned is good, but I'm more concerned about the lendability of an ebook I purchase. I like to lend my books!

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    1. I didn't even think about this. Does it vary by book or tablet-type when you lend ebooks?

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  7. I hesitate when an ebook costs almost $10. It's gotta be really good for that.

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  8. Yeah, definitely...I don't think I'd even consider an ebook priced over $10.

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  9. It's a tricky one especially when self-publishing. You want to entice people to give it a try but not undersell it. With a lot of cheap and free books, there's always the danger that self-published ebooks in particular may be perceived as having less value in terms of worth.

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    1. They talk about that a lot at writer's conferences now, but the perception of self-published books is rapidly changing (for the better) :)

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  10. Pricing is so hard...you don't want to cheapen the book, but you don't want to over price it either...agh! :)

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    1. Yeah, I'm not so much about the money as I am about getting it into reader's hands:)

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  11. Pricing a book is hard, you neither want to under price it or over price it. I personally never buy too expensive books. Rather I borrow them from the library.

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    1. I'm totally a library hound too...in a funny way it's kind of odd we need bookstores at all, especially since libraries have been around since forever.

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  12. When I buy a book, it's with my Amazon points -- so while I go for bargains, I'll pay full price for authors I enjoy. When I price my reprints, I aim for the 0.99 - 1.99 range. But then again, they're just republished short stories and collections. Some publishers complain about the "race to the bottom" and how the 0.99 price point doesn't help the industry, but I think that boat has sailed.

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  13. Yeah, I think the market has spoken, and cheaper will continue to be better.

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  14. Gosh. I've read through every comment looking for an easy answer to this question. That's definitely something I've been trying to determine lately, given that I'd like to have my book online sometime soon.
    I don't want to undersell my book... But I do want it out in the world. No easy answer indeed.

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    1. Yeah, there's no shortage of logical opinions, but ultimately it looks like there's a fair degree of chance involved in what works and what doesn't.

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