Galleycat: Amazon’s $9.99 eBook Price Point Attacked as “Predatory Pricing”
I just love when people jump into the middle of discussions without researching their position…
During a publishing demographics panel at the eBook Summit, Books on Board founder Bob Livolsi received a rousing ovation after making what may be the conference’s most dramatic comment about a bookselling giant’s eBook pricing: “$9.99 is a predatory pricing practice by Amazon. It’s an attack on literature so Amazon can control the industry.”
A standing ovation for eBook price gouging woo woo woo! We can’t justify higher prices for bits of data since we don’t fucking warehouse them or move those little text files anywhere physically but the customer should be made to pay more anyway because they want to read it on a computer doohicky and we have to pay for that DRM stuff and we say so!
Despite the fact eBook Readers have been discussing how they feel any prices above $9.99 are price gouging.
Despite the fact this is the same old complaint heard about Apple iTunes pricing.
Despite the fact I can go buy a cheap used book and digitize it legally myself very quickly and for a whole lot less than paying for high priced eBooks.
Books On Board is an “also ran/me too” as an eBook Retailer. They ride the coattails of better run companies that actually invest in creating/adapting new technology like Fictionwise or Amazon or seeking out a group of customers to cater towards like All Romance eBooks/Omnilit. They are a simplistic wannabe midget in a world with All Romance eBooks/Omnilit and Fictionwise and Amazon being smarter, doing the hard work and thus making the better profit. They provide nothing of unique value, no technology innovation I have ever heard about and have never spent a second of their time, from what you can plainly see by just looking at their website (I have seen eBay shops with more style!), creating a unique brand or package of services catering to a specific customer. Even Barnes & Noble bought some cred to their online eBook business by simply buying Fictionwise. Books On Board has always reminded me of a No-name Internet Bubble start-up company waiting for some sucker to buy them so they can get back to their schemes of selling land in Mexico.
That’s not to say I cannot find problems with Fictionwise and their website but I still use Fictionwise more often these days with that new “series listing” page they provide HINT! Omnilit! HINT HINT HINT! and that iPhone App they have. I support All Romance eBooks/Omnilit because they have always provided great service and are available through Stanza and Aldiko. Hell, I use eBook Mall more often to find hard to locate eBooks and in the specific DRM I want by other vendors which is getting harder to do by the way. Why are eBook retailers cutting down on DRM selections for all their books? Some customers have older eBook Readers! HINT! Omnilit! HINT HINT HINT!
Maybe good old Bob Livolsi should be talking less and working on listening to his customers more?
Tags: Books On Board, Common Sense
