UK Amazon Debut Leads To Huge Price Cuts On Ebooks
Although the Kindle has generated lots of fan fare from its release , it seems that not everyone is pulling for the new reader. With its deployment has come a pricing war from some top retail merchants. E-books have sold as low as £3 (almost $5) because of the “battle” and publishers are not happy .
The opening of the UK market had long created fears of a price war comparable to the one that raged through the US, and those thoughts look to have good footing. Some publishers think that the low prices would not affect the price of e-books in the future, but others have said that the price war was “absolutely absurd.”
This current battle comes in the wake of a new trend in publishing, marketing discount books online.
Amazon debuted its e-book store with the stated intention of having the lowest prices in the world. But, its competitor had a little to say about it. W H Smith dropped prices of its top 100 fiction e-books about 70% off, and also sold all other e-books at a 50% cut .
Over the years Amazon continually has priced some of its bestsellers at under £3, making waves throughout the publication world. Some publishers and rival retailers have accused Amazon of selling the titles at a loss, possibly to drive out competition .
“It’s absolutely absurd to devalue our product but I’m not surprised because our industry is populated by nincompoops.”
Not exactly kind words for the online retailer marketing discount books.
“In this instance, on the wholesale model, publishers are fine because it is retailers taking the pain. If we say a book is £10 and you get 40% discount, we get £6. If the retailer chooses to sell it for £2, we’re still all right.”
It seems that this “major publisher” must be confused, because he has now said that their model is both OK and awful. It’s a wonder he works selling words.
The Bookseller recently reviewed e-book prices and states that Amazon and WHS have the lowest prices on the market, a boon to customers . Prices at both of these retailers are much lower than on Apple’s iBookstore, where prices are set by the publisher.
The war is on, and the winner unclear; but it seems that no matter which way the battle turns consumers will have the final word. Should e-books be bought on price alone? It’s up to you to decide.
