What price is too high for an ebook?

[Chris]

There is a lot of discussion about the relevant or appropriate price for e-books. They are less labor intensive in cost as far as production vs a trade or hardback. But I have always believed that e-books should cost less than mass-market paperbacks. I'll go a step further and say that over $5.00 would be too much for me to spend. But that's just me. A nice sweet spot is $2.99 to 4.99. I don't believe in the .99-cent e-book, unless it's a short.

But I also believe in the "Look Inside" feature, so readers can gauge the voice and content.

Chris

[Mike]

when the company selling the reader limits the devices ability to directly download public library books, I tend to feel they should hold down the price of materials for those appliances. Then again, I also have issues with software companies that keep charging progressively more for their efforts to correct flaws in already overpriced software.

[Kenya]

It matters for me... If it is an author that I love and I've been waiting for their book then i would pay up to $12, but a new indie or not author I wouldn't go higher than 8.

[Tad]

There seems to be a big debate these days in the indie author community regarding whether to price your book at $2.99, or higher ($3.99 being the common alternative). The debate isn't about total money to be made, but total book sales -- with some arguing that $2.99 is the new $.99, i.e. readers will view it as sub-par quality, and thus not buy it. So in order to get better numbers (again, in terms of total book sales, not money earned), some authors are experimenting with higher price points. I'm not sure where I stand on this.

For me, I'll buy a $2.99 book no problem; I've found plenty of good ones. Like many here have already said, I won't pay more than $5 unless I know the author.

[James]

I feel that $10 is getting to high for an eBook. There are special exceptions, but generally speaking thats my cut off.

[Michael]

To me the answer is, it depends. If it's an established author that I love, then as long as the price isn't exceeding whatever the going rate is for the "print" version of the book then I am fine with it. With relative unknown or "indie" authors, the price is secondary. I want to see an average score on goodreads of at least 3.75 with at least a hundred overall reviews. Then, as long as it's under $5-6 I'm in. Sure, I'd love it if it were $.99, but I am willing to pay for the quality as long as I have good reason to believe it will be high quality. I rely a LOT more on goodreads for unknown authors than I would for established ones.

[Paul]

Some of the comments here make me wonder if I should increase my first book's price. I've currently got it set to 99c, with the 2nd in the series selling at $2.99.

Would I sell more of the 1st one if I priced it at $2.99. I guess there's only one way to find out.

[Erik]

Most of the books that I want to read are priced in my comfort range. I don't typically have to think about it.

I buy a fair number of digital books, and I would guess that most of them are under ten bucks.

I avoid paperbacks unless I have no choice. Mostly, it is a matter of shelf space. I simply have more books than room for them.

I spend too much time in the car, so I consume more audio books than ebooks. I pay what iTunes charges, which I think is usually between twenty and thirty dollars each. I know that I'll probably listen to them many times, so the price doesn't bother me. I do take fewer chances with audiobooks, though. Before I pick an author I don't know, I do a little research before adding their book to my collection.

I'm lucky to finish one new book every two weeks, so it isn't like my reading habit is breaking the bank. I think most people spend more on entertainment. Besides, I'm a voracious re-reader and that doesn't cost a penny extra. There have been a few books that I've read thirty times. I'm confident that I get good value from my books.

[Brad]

I don't go above 5 bucks for an ebook. Maybe that's cheap, but there's just so much stuff out there, I'll never get through it all even if I limit myself.

If there's something I really want to read right away, then I probably just go ahead and get the hard copy. This is mostly going to be for stuff like graphic novels, which I wouldn't want to read on a Kindle anyway.

[Jim]

I wonder if I should make genre a factor in my pricing. I went with what I thought was a fair $2.99/£1.95 for my first (and only) book (self-published eBook), but, despite great feedback and reviews, shifting copies is difficult. Perhaps, a "difficult" genre like sci-fi needs the extra incentive of a lower-than-average price?

[Tad]

Erik: welcome!

Jim: sci-fi may have fewer readers, but the readers that exist are somewhat fanatical. :) O.K... devoted.

[Jim]

Glad to hear it. Send some fanatics my way, will ya? ;)

[Paul]

I could use some fanatics too! lol

[Jim]

Fanatics, devouts, lunatics, nutters, oddballs, crazies, weirdos. I'll take 'em all. They'll get on well with my characters.

The price issue is such a thorny one though. It's so highly personal. Aim for the middle, is what I'm doing.

[[deleted user]]

I don't have any hard and fast rules: if there is a book I want, I get it, though sometimes price may slow me down Two interesting books (not science fiction) for $19.99 each are Van Gogh and Parallel Stories, but both are huge books by professional authors. There are no comparable indies along these lines. I won't buy these titles on a whim to read later someday, but when I'm ready I'm not going to let price make the determination for me.

Unlike other readers, I find little to tempt me in the sub $5.00 range. Sure, there is a lot of cheap science fiction, but I'm getting old and the time for cheap science fiction is running out. I'd rather pay a few extra bucks for good science fiction.

[Paul]

All of this thread makes me wonder if a lot of readers see prices roughly like this:

FREE = bargain
Less than $1 = low quality, suspiciously cheap for a full novel
$1.99-$3.99 = acceptable, normal, ie the expected price
$5+ = too expensive, unless it's something special or a famous author

I guess it comes down to the old perceived value thing.
I'm going to try increasing the price of my 1st book to $1.99 to see what kind of impact it has on sales.

[Jim]

Paul, I'd like to know if there's much impact. Mine's at $2.99 and not selling, despite excellent reviews and feedback (here on Goodreads, and on Amazon). If your sales fall, I'll know to lower my price.

[Paul]

My second book is at $2.99 and that is selling, but my logic was if people liked the first one then they wouldn't mind paying a "proper" price for the second one. That seems to be mostly holding true, but the first one certainly isn't selling as many as I would like.

I'll let you know how it works out.

[James]

Jim mate, how large is your book? I think that by pricing your work at $2.99 folks have to make a decision to buy. A 99c book, anyone will get. Thus, yes you will get more sales, BUT you will also get a higher % of poor reviews as folks that would never have bought your book before do so. I have seen 'FREE' books with 40% of their reviews being bad.
When you say 'not selling', I mean is it ZERO or a 1-5 per day or more?
I sell a few each day and am happy with that. 100 or so a month as an 'undiscovered' writer is pretty good. Consider that you will probably write another, and another. The numbers will add up.
I have massive magnets on the side of our truck, business cards, fridge magnets, pens, a website, an add on a number of other websites. A friend made a stack of ties that we ran off in a 'Facebook Share' competition. Engage readers, and be positive no matter what. Some folks will be negative about your work, it happens, shrug it off, not everyone likes the same things. Get your book reviewed, get in the local paper. Mine made it to a regional paper, the feedback was excellent. Start a Blog, I have yet to do that... If your are able to throw a few hundred up front at these things it may help. GL :)

[Jim]

Hi James, I suppose "Not selling anymore" is closer to the truth. I released my debut novel at the start of February, and it's just under 80,000 words. With the help of some Goodreads members who bought the book when I joined their group (UK Amazon Kindle group), my sales started quite well. And in Feb, I, as an unknown, sold 85 at $2.99/£1.95. It then took most of March to get to 100, and, Ive only had two sales in either the UK, or the US in getting on for three weeks, now.

It's like someone turned the tap off, and the last few drips have slowed, then stopped.

Reviews aren't a problem (at least, reviews here or on Amazon). But outside of those two areas...yeah, no noise!

I have a fairly decent website, but perhaps hitting newspapers is the next step? Maybe it felt illogical to me to go "off the net" to talk about an eBook! :)

The other magic trick is to get that second novel out, I hear! :) I'd be happy with a trickle of sales, so that word of mouth continued.

[Paul]

That raises another interesting point: Just what is normal for indie book sales?

All I really have to compare to is my previous month's sales. So long as each new month sells more books that the last one I'm happy - I'm moving in the right direction.

I agree that having more one that book out is important. I'm working towards getting my 3rd book finished but I have eight more in the pipeline, and a few ideas for more on top of that.

The way I see it, until I've got 6-8 books out, measuring my success is probably unrealistic. I haven't even been going a year yet.

On your blog point, I started my online efforts with my blog and added everything else around it. It forms the core of my online presence but I think it's important to be visible in as many worthwhile places as possible. I should concentrate on getting more reviews, I'm pretty light in that area.

James, how much difference to you think the realworld stuff like advertising on your truck, business cards etc. makes in comparison to online stuff? I'm wondering if I should make a lot more effort there?

[James]

Agreed, that second novel has to flow, especially if your writing a series. I held off releasing my 'first' until books two-five were rough drafted, thus I can go back now and release the rest every six months to a year without sacrificing quality. March is a slow month for sales though, in all areas. I think your over all numbers are on par with many others. I would say relax, forget about sales right now and write book two. :) I read an excellent article last month. A writer had SIX books released with total sales of about 1000 copies. TOTAL. He released book seven, and three months later had 500,000 sales. The trigger for his series was number seven. Harry Potter series it was book two or three. Girl with the dragon tatoo and Hunger games are also worth noting. Hunger games was writen four years ago..... It takes time for the word to spread, while it does, write, :)

[Randy]

Paul wrote: "My second book is at $2.99 and that is selling, but my logic was if people liked the first one then they wouldn't mind paying a "proper" price for the second one. That seems to be mostly holding tr..."

I'm one of those that got a free copy of your first book, and would probably pay $2.99 for the second if I like the first.

However, since it is one of nearly a thousand free books I've gotten from Amazon, it's hard to say when I'll get around to reading the first book.

[James]

I think the truck add, etc etc is all a gimick really. Based on Google analytics we have traced how many hits we get from places we go to. If we go to a major city I do find a few hits on our website from that city. Just a few.
Business cards have helped nail some sales. People will say 'Sure when I get home I will look it up.' Well they don't have to remember, in fact they have a reminder in their pocket. If I had to say how much the advertising has helped, I would say that I am BEHIND a few hundred dollars. I wrote the book as a passion, if it makes money one day then that is a bonus. I work in a casino atm, but yes I do dream of being a full time writer. :)

[Paul]

Randy wrote: "I'm one of those that got a free copy of your first book, and would probably pay $2.99 for the second if I like the first...."
That's another thing that's hard to work out. If someone downloads the first one, how long before they get to it? How long will they take to finish it? I've tried a couple of freebie promotions, but it's difficult to measure the ultimate results, all I've really got to go on is how many downloads there were and what the shift in sales was afterwards. I guess once I've done it a few times I'll get some idea of how long the after-effects of the free offer last.
I'd love to be a full time writer too, but it seems to be as much down to marketing and luck as actual writing ability.

[Erik]

Paul wrote: "Randy wrote: "I'm one of those that got a free copy of your first book, and would probably pay $2.99 for the second if I like the first...."
That's another thing that's hard to work out. If someone..."

I read somewhere that roughly 1 in 300 people who buy a book will write a review. Clearly, this isn't an exact science because I think the ratio assumes people paid for the book and I think there is a tendency amongst people to download more free books than they can possibly read, but we can use this ratio to take a wild guess at how many people read a book by how many reviews it has. This assumes that the suggested ratio is correct and that everybody who pays for a book typically reads it. (Both of these variables are in doubt.) Only 12 people have written reviews for my book (between Amazon and Goodreads.) It might be fair to guess 3k people read it. I think this number is probably high, since too many of those readers acquired my book for free. I'd like to think they read it, though. If only because it makes me feel better.

[James]

Yeah reviews are a funny thing. iBookstore (Apple) sales are currently higher than my Amazon sales and yet 'to few reviews' for a rating on Apple (USA) Amazon has 7 reviews and 16 likes, thats a terrible percentage of sales. Smashwords has a decent number of sales but only 67 likes and very few reviews. I too can't make heads or tales of things.
I like Randy's comment about luck. Made my wife and I chuckle as we also feel that there is quite a 'luck' factor in being 'discovered'.
Happy Writings :)

[Paul]

Luck is definitely a big element, but I think the bigger you make your presence, the more books you have out and more work you put in, the better your chance of being 'discovered' (assuming your writing quality is decent too!)

Getting reviews/likes has been one of the hardest things to achieve so far.

[Randy]

Erik wrote: "This assumes that the suggested ratio is correct and that everybody who pays for a book typically reads it. (Both of these variables are in doubt.)"

I once bought a book on getting organized. When I was putting it on my bookshelf, I saw I already had a copy of the book. Never did read it.

But as far as reviews -- I enjoy discussing a book, but find it very difficult to write a review without giving away something about the book. I'd much rather just give the book a rating. Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't allow that.

[Paul]

Randy wrote: "I once bought a book on getting organized. When I was putting it on my bookshelf, I saw I already had a copy of the book. Never did read it."

I love anecdotes like that. Sometime last year, I was reorganising my bookcases when I came across a book with a prominent bookmark tucked into it. I opened it to find it marked a page with a memory test. The test was to study all the objects in a photo, then close the book and wait an hour before viewing the near identical photo on the next page. Then you had to list which objects had either moved or gone. Unfortunately during the "hour" I completely forgot about the book and the test :(.

[Becky]

I prefer 9.99 of less as well. I also wish e-books would occasionally go on "clearance" - LOL Bargain Bin ebooks would be a great new category!

[Paul]

I'd agree with that, but I think I'd be wary of going over £5 (approx $8).

[Akshaya]

I too agree with you guys, paul and Marie! The prices of ebooks are too high these days!

[Al "Tank"]

Greg wrote: "...Unlike other readers, I find little to tempt me in the sub $5.00 range. Sure, there is a lot of cheap science fiction, but I'm getting old and the time for cheap science fiction is running out. I'd rather pay a few extra bucks for good science fiction. ..."

The folks at AKW Books have great science fiction available in the sub $5 range. But if you'd be happier paying more, I'm sure they'd gladly increase the price just for you.

BTW, I'm old too and I'll take any good science fiction I can lay my eyes on, and low-cost eBooks with good content make my SS check go a heck of a lot further. Heck, I'll even happily read free stuff from Project Gutenberg, especially the old masters (picked up 4 by "Doc" Smith today that I'd never seen before, if Smith can be considered a "master" by today's standards).

[Al "Tank"]

Jim wrote: "Paul, I'd like to know if there's much impact. Mine's at $2.99 and not selling, despite excellent reviews and feedback (here on Goodreads, and on Amazon). If your sales fall, I'll know to lower my ..."

I read somewhere that $2.99 is the "new 99 cents". Creates suspicion that the book is marginal at best and terrible at worse.

If you have at least 5 good reviews (more are better), you might try raising the price somewhat to see if sales pick up. Also keep your book in front of as many people as possible (social media?) without being a "selling pest". Stay engaged without hawking your book at every opportunity. Just mention it occasionally (often enough to keep it in mind, but not so often that you become annoying).

For instance, I work for AKW Books (an eBook publisher) and we publish a number of really great books, including Science Fiction. BUT I spend most of my time on GoodReads talking about many books and topics others are interested in, rather than our product line. That attitude makes you into a "real person" rather than "a shill" (and it's a hell of a lot of fun to talk to other book nuts about mutual interests).

[Paul]

I do pretty much all of that. I make a point of trying not to mention my books much here on Goodreads for exactly that reason, and if I do I often don't refer to them by name as it isn't relevant to the conversation.

Regarding price, it seems that there are a lot of differing opinions out there. Do any readers take the word/page count of a book into account when considering whether the price is right?

[Al "Tank"]

Paul wrote: "I do pretty much all of that. I make a point of trying not to mention my books much here on Goodreads for exactly that reason, and if I do I often don't refer to them by name as it isn't relevant t..."

What's the name of your book and where is it sold?

[[deleted user]]

Al wrote: "The folks at AKW Books have great science fiction available in the sub $5 range. But if you'd be happier paying more, I'm sure they'd gladly increase the price just for you."

When I was kid, my friends and I joked about the generic brand cola you could buy at Peoples Drug, how it tasted like real Coke if you drank it immediately after brushing your teeth. We called it toothpaste coke and it wasn't our first choice. But I guess enough people like the cheaper generic cola to keep it on the shelf. This has been my experience with the indie authors I've read so far. (I'm sure there are some good authors out there, but I haven't found any yet, and I admit a reluctance to try. Time is more valuable than the cover price.) I'd rather spend $11.99 on a book like [i]The Sparrow[/i] than $2.99 on an indie.

However, the current poll has an indie author on top. I'll try it if the formatting is truly correct. (The sample formatting is bad. I'll buy the book to check, then return it if it's wrong.) So maybe I'll be proved wrong.

[Al "Tank"]

Uh, AKW doesn't publish "indie" books. They're a full-service publishers (editing, production, etc.) modeled after the big NY publishing houses. Only differences: eBooks instead of shoving paper out the door, smaller staff, larger royalty percentage to the author.

AKW isn't alone. There are other fine ePublishers working with exciting new authors and publishing books in the lower price ranges (hoping for large sales to make up for the lower prices, and leveraging the lack of extra expenses including no returns of unsold paper books).

But if cost is still your only yardstick, they'll probably still be happy to charge you more and I'm sure the other houses will go along with that -- just to please you ("the customer is always right").

[[deleted user]]

Al wrote: "But if cost is still your only yardstick, they'll probably still be happy to charge you more and I'm sure the other houses will go along with that -- just to please you ("the customer is always right")."


Maybe I've been unclear. I don't want to just pay more, but I don't have price as a Limtus Test the way some people do. E.g., refusing to buy a book if it costs more than x. As a general rule, the books I want don't come in at under $5.00, with a few exceptions. If the book I want to read costs $11.99, then that's what I'll pay. The fact the some people have a very low price limit means they're overlooking some very good books in favor of books that cost less.

[Al "Tank"]

Greg wrote: "Al wrote: "But if cost is still your only yardstick, they'll probably still be happy to charge you more and I'm sure the other houses will go along with that -- just to please you ("the customer is..."

Agreed

[Debbie's Spurts (D.A.)]

Prime lending on Amazon = only 1 book per month = 12 books a year divided by membership fee -- only worth it if you order other stuff from Amazon to receive the benefits (with most ebooks $2.99 to $9.99 not worth it to me to pay membership fee)

[Debbie's Spurts (D.A.)]

R.S. wrote: "Rather than opting down to 99 cents, I choose to give away two of my books for a total of five days on Amazon. The results?
360 total downloads between them. Then I re-configured their price to $6...."

Careful if you have books listed on other sites. You can get into a round of pricematching where some of the sites didn't change prices back quickly.

[Harrison]

When it came to pricing my book, I figured that for the price of a sandwich (£2.99) was reasonable.

After all, reading is food for the mind.

I see some outrageous prices charged and cringe. I've put in months of work and tweaking to get the format just right, but can't charge more, it wouldn't be right.

I publish via POD too, and I can't really control those prices, but an ebook, I can.

[Cynthia]

Deborah wrote: "R.S. wrote: "Rather than opting down to 99 cents, I choose to give away two of my books for a total of five days on Amazon. The results?
360 total downloads between them. Then I re-configured their..."

When you then reset the price at $6, how were sales?

[Chris]

In my general opinion I like to see e-book prices below those of mass market paperback costs. I've always believed that digital should cost less than a paper product, and think that advantage to e-books (in general) is their low cost. My publisher and I have set a maximum cost on my latest book at $2.99, and it's done very well there. There are exceptions, of course, but I think for general and spec fiction, the prices should remain accessible for the general reading public. I think I would be resistant to anything over $8.00. And that's just me

[Eric]

Hmmm. I just paid something like $16 for George RR Martin's latest. I guess it just depends on how badly I want it. For a name that is new to me I'm unlikely to pay over $5-$6, unless I've been convinced by a lot of word of mouth.

How's this for a good price; as a new author and for the sake of building name recognition, I am actively giving away my horror / fantasy anthology '24:01 One Minute After'. At my website www.ericdiehl.com there is a link to the ebook on Smashwords, and there you can view other samplings of my work, as well as reviews/interviews. Several of my short stories have been published in small press anthologies, I have two SFF novels published, and some of my RV and motorcycle articles have been published in national magazines.

[Joanna]

I probably wouldn't pay more than £5 for an ebook, since most paperbacks are only £1-£2 higher in price. I'm talking fiction, not non-fiction, though.

We priced ours at £2.68 ($4.49 set for US) so hopefully we're in range of most of our potential readers! We've decided to stick at this price point, for now at least.

For me, the length of the book *is* related to the price I'm willing to pay. If I'm buying a book, I *want* to feel I have adequately recompensed the hard-working author!

And if a book appeals to me but the price seems a bit on the higher side, I'll sample it, and then make a decision based on how hooked I am after reading that. ;-)

[Mike]

Joanna wrote: "I probably wouldn't pay more than £5 for an ebook, since most paperbacks are only £1-£2 higher in price. I'm talking fiction, not non-fiction, though.

We priced ours at £2.68 ($4.49 set for US) so..."

Too often authors mistake being overly verbose and meticulously descriptive with artistry. While scene setting and precision are important in good literature, it is also essential to maintain a pace that will engage the reader and not make for the temptation to skip through looking for the "meat". Volume has less to do with my decisions than being served a fascinating tale told in a complete, but not belabored, style.

[Susan]

I think the appropriate price of a book depends on multiple factors. I've paid $2.99 to $12.99. Personally, though I prefer $5.99 or below, particularly for an Indie. I know that's not always reasonable, but I grew up with books costing that much.