Why...Kindle books more expensive than paperbacks

[Jojo]

I think the prices, at least in the UK, are similar on some books because you have to pay VAT on e books but not paper ones - same books different rules!

[Karen B.]

Is VAT a kind of tax?

[Jojo]

VAT = Value Added Tax - I think it's sales tax in the US. It's 20% at the moment but some items (eg food, books) are zero rated - but unfortunately not e-books

[Helen]

why are e-books vat-ed and not actual books?

[Karen B.]

I'm still curious as to why I had to pay sales tax on my extended warranty for my Kindle.

[BookAddict]

Is it me or does it appear that the era of the $9.99 Kindle Edition is fading fast (or already gone)? Most of the books I want these days (that aren't free) have crept up and it seems as if that the new $9.99 is $11.99....

[Helen]

I've just nosied at a booksomeone was talking about, it's £6.99, paperback, £5, Grrrr!

[Karen B.]

Cheryl, you are absolutely right. And one of the main offenders,I hate to say, is my daughter's publisher. Some of there well-known authors books are running well over 11.99 for ebooks. I just refuse to purchase them. If they are that popular I will get them at the library and read the "deadtreebook" version instead. I saw one book that was newly released (different publisher) the Kindle version was 14.99! That's ridiculous.

[Temperamental Angel]

I'm surpriced you think the books are expensive... The paperbooks in Denmark cost a lost more than on Amazon:
I wanted to buy Trudi Canavan's The Rogue... in a bookstore in Denmark it would cost 57 U.S.Dollars, but the Kindle version only cost 16 U.S.Dollars. So I save a lot of money by buying the Kindlebooks

[Dee]

ditto in australia...most MMPB start at $14 (double that of the US) - so maybe that is why I don't consider kindle prices expensive...i also compare kindle prices to print books from borders/B&N who don't do the massive discounts like Amazon does and the prices are comparable

[Karen B.]

I wish my BookofTheMonthClub 2 could get into e-books; their hardcover books are 10.65 which includes the tax. They don't always have all titles that are available everywhere but I just received my Janet Evanovich Large Print today. 10.65 for large print is pretty good.

[Nick]

I'm sorry but I do have to laugh. As a reader who loves the physical edition, I find myself not feeling too sorry for the kindle readers - you'll want the ease and the convenience of a digital book, then you'll complain and moan about the price. I find it really amusing.

For instance on Amazon, John Grisham's latest novel The Whistler has at least 14 one-star reviews from people complaining about the price (£7.99 for the hardback; £9.99 for the kindle/digital). Come on, actually review the book not sit there going 'oh god it's too expensive!' wah wah wah. Well, maybe you should've taken that into account?

Nothing will ever make me switch to the kindle. Long live the physical copy.

[Randy]

Nick wrote: "on Amazon, John Grisham's latest novel The Whistler has at least 14 one-star reviews from people complaining about the price"

A review should NEVER be based on price. Not unless the reviewer is willing to obligate themselves to verifying regularly whether the price has changed or not.

Personally, I like Kindle book prices. Most of what I pick up are free books. Those that I pay for are usually follow-up books in a series where the first book was free.

Nick wrote: "Nothing will ever make me switch to the kindle. Long live the physical copy."

Nothing would make me switch back to physical copies. My eyes aren't good enough any more for the small print books. And I love the built-in light on the PaperWhite. And my apartment is no longer cluttered with piles of books that I'll probably never get to.

[Steven]

Neither pricing really bothers me and I am a book junkie so will read both ebooks and printed. I do love printed over eBook cause there's just something comforting about holding a great book. But as to pricing, I would be happy knowing a big chunk of my money was going to the author. Of course there must be big benefits for working through a publishing house or they wouldn't exist anymore.

[Duane]

This is an issue even Amazon has a problem with. They have went back and forth with publishers charging too much for eBooks.

[Jenn]

Most of what I pick up are free books. Those that I pay for are usually follow-up books in a series where the first book was free.

I agree with this, not to mention my library system has a ton of good stuff for Kindle that I can borrow. To me it seems like reading with a Kindle is actually very cheap, because free/library is pretty much all I do.