# eReader price Wars are Escalating **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 21, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032 "2010-06-21T20:13:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/41 "2010-06-24T20:44:29Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Really? I’d think in any such “market” the ebooks would very quickly of necessity become free. It does. Ebooks are pirated all over the place. But there are a few industrious jerks on ebay who sell their “used” ebooks in lots. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/42 "2010-06-25T02:21:19Z")
I am actually kind of surprised it is taking this long for the prices to lower. You would think publishers would give these away so people buy more books. I am thinking of printers attached to computers - they used to be expensive, but now cost practically pennies - as the toner is the real money maker. Well, if an extra 10 million eReaders were in the hands of customers, my guess is that would make a lot of book publishers quite happy. It is a lot easier to have a huge catalog of book titles (allowing new writers a chance) if you do NOT have to have huge warehouses to store the books that are not sold. List 100,000 new titles per year and see what sells - if it is all digital, it is all gravy when they sell. And if an author only sells four books, so what? Minimal loss on advertising and editing fees - otherwise, who cares? If another unknown, new writer suddenly becomes a big hit - hey, we can send 3 million copies to the eReaders tomorrow morning. No need to rush off to the presses and kill trees. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/43 "2010-06-25T07:22:26Z")
I would love an iPad, because I have a bunch of things on my computer that I’ve been meaning to read but I just can’t read long documents on a computer screen / in my desk chair. iPad/eReader is still a technology with pros and cons though, so I am not entirely surprised that the prices are not super low yet (although I wouldn’t expect them to be as high as audio books which require so much extra labor)… Pros: Searchable! Portable! Shrinkable! Cons: Screen readability? DRM! Compatibility? DRM! Inheritability! ---
**Author:** ![Atrael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Atrael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atrael)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/44 "2010-06-25T14:44:10Z")
I think a huge aspect that the publishers are missing is letting you have both formats together. When I buy a CD or DVD, I can take the content of those, and put it in a digital format that I can take with me wherever I go to watch or listen to. I’d like the same option for books. So when I purchase a paperback or hardback book, give me the digital version at the same time…or at least offer to let me purchase the digital version for a lower fee…say $1 or $2. This will start moving your die hard ‘physical book’ people to eReaders and eBook formats. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/45 "2010-06-25T17:25:25Z")
It just depends on who you are. I recently started reading Kindle books on my iPhone and computer because it’s the only real way I have to get English-language books in my part of China. I love that I can get books that are banned. I’ve grown to love it. The instant gratification is awesome. If someone mentions a book in a thread, in literally two minutes I can be reading it. I do a lot of travel and read fast, so I love that I can have my choice of twenty books when I go on one of those sixteen hour train rides instead of having to lug a couple heavy books that I’ll probably finish and have to abandon somewhere. It’s also great for when I’m out and about. I can read on the bus or while eating lunch without committing to hauling a book around all day. I enjoy having a personal dead tree “library,” but honestly it’s gotten out of control. I go through piles of books. I’ve got books in a million places all over my house, and I’ve got a tiny house. Kindle has cut down on my book clutter. And when I move, I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to deal with all the heavy books. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/46 "2010-06-25T17:30:38Z")
> [@Atrael](#): > > I think a huge aspect that the publishers are missing is letting you have both formats together. When I buy a CD or DVD, I can take the content of those, and put it in a digital format that I can take with me wherever I go to watch or listen to. I’d like the same option for books. So when I purchase a paperback or hardback book, give me the digital version at the same time…or at least offer to let me purchase the digital version for a lower fee…say $1 or $2. This will start moving your die hard ‘physical book’ people to eReaders and eBook formats. I said earlier that I would love the ability to “rip” books the way I can with CDs—to be able to stick a physical book in my computer and have it produce an electronic file. I don’t anticipate this happening any time soon, of course. But I could imagine a system whereby I’d have access to a downloadable electronic verison of a book if I could prove I owned the physical book. The trouble is, I can imagine several feasable ways this might be implemented, but all would involve some additional trouble and expense for the publishers, who aren’t going to want to do it unless there’s something in it for them. And there probably isn’t, for many of the books I’d want to “rip,” like older books that I already own. ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/47 "2010-10-11T23:45:34Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Actually one reason I want an eReader is because for my work I have to read a lot of PDFs and take them with me. It would be so much easier to store them on eReader. Of course the books is another reason, and I agree with **obfusciatrist** about the cost. I don’t care on the format just whether or not I want to spend the money for the ability to read the book. I’m thinking about springing for one of these soon. I’d rather stay under $150. Borders has a new Kobo reader coming out next month for $140 but no one seems to talk about that brand…I’m not sure why. I prefer to avoid proprietary hardware/media like Amazon/Kindle. I have set up an ebook library account on Borders and grabbed a few free classics, which is what steered me toward the Kobo: > **[Smartphones](https://www.zdnet.com/topic/smartphones/)** > > ZDNET news and advice keep professionals prepared to embrace innovation and ready to build a better future. Anyone familiar with these? I too would not be very concerned about prices of ebooks since I would just get free or library titles and load it up with a lot of PDF stuff from online, company annual reports, etc. It would be very convenient to have all that easily-portable reading material when I’m out and about and have a little time to kill. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/48 "2010-10-13T16:52:17Z")
> [@Glory](#): > > Sony Reader is getting hooked up with libraries. I can check out ebooks from the San Diego library system. Selection isn’t big, but 97.8% of my reading is via library. Whoever wins the library war, wins me! Ditto! I’m not spending anything on a dedicated reader anytime soon, but the first one to have significant support from the library system - or at the very least, the option of _renting_ books for a few weeks for a nominal fee - will be the one I buy. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/49 "2010-10-13T17:27:19Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Actually one reason I want an eReader is because for my work I have to read a lot of PDFs and take them with me. It would be so much easier to store them on eReader. Of course the books is another reason, and I agree with **obfusciatrist** about the cost. I don’t care on the format just whether or not I want to spend the money for the ability to read the book. I’d like to get a good look at how well the Kindle handles PDFs. Much of my research involves out-of-copyright works that are available in text from Project Gutenberg or in PDF format from Google Books or [Archive.org](http://Archive.org). My Netbook makes these usable anywhere I can set it down and open it up, but a lightweight dedicated book reader would expand the possibilities a lot further. I don’t suppose anyone can tell me how well these readers handle PDFs? Or whether the text readers can handle ISO 8859-1 character sets? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/50 "2010-10-13T17:47:56Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > > [@Glory](#): > > > > Sony Reader is getting hooked up with libraries. I can check out ebooks from the San Diego library system. Selection isn’t big, but 97.8% of my reading is via library. Whoever wins the library war, wins me! > > Ditto! > > I’m not spending anything on a dedicated reader anytime soon, but the first one to have significant support from the library system - or at the very least, the option of _renting_ books for a few weeks for a nominal fee - will be the one I buy. Most Sony Readers and the Nook are compatible with my county’s library system. The Nook really seems like the way to go right now as far as selection and features go. ---
**Author:** ![JerseyMarine2092](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@JerseyMarine2092](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyMarine2092)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/51 "2010-10-14T02:15:08Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I said earlier that I would love the ability to “rip” books the way I can with CDs—to be able to stick a physical book in my computer and have it produce an electronic file. I don’t anticipate this happening any time soon, of course. The library I work for has looked into purchasing a machine like this. Georgetown University owns one. As the technology exists now it’s very fickle, and works incredibly poorly. And only something like 4 or 5 people in the US have been trained to fix it. But it’s out there 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/52 "2010-10-15T02:00:12Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t suppose anyone can tell me how well these readers handle PDFs? I have a Kindle 2. The only difference that I have noticed between .pdfs and ebook file formats is that you cannot change the font size with the .pdfs. I love my Kindle! ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/53 "2010-11-05T04:35:31Z")
Well, I went to Borders and looked at the new Kobo. It’s nice, but in the process I discovered the Droid-based Velocity Cruz reader/tablet. I like that it allows general wifi web surfing and not just ebook downloads. $199 MSRP. Maybe if I could score one for $150… ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/54 "2010-11-05T04:46:00Z")
> [@NetTrekker](#): > > Well, I went to Borders and looked at the new Kobo. It’s nice, but in the process I discovered the Droid-based Velocity Cruz reader/tablet. I like that it allows general wifi web surfing and not just ebook downloads. $199 MSRP. Maybe if I could score one for $150.. I bought my Kobo in August and I still love it. I’m a little annoyed, however, that Chapter’s just came out with the NEW Kobo for the exact same price, that has the gussied up wireless features. Not that I would ever use it. I’ve been reading on it for three months and I’ve yet to read something I haven’t gotten off of Project Gutenberg (save a few PDFs from peer reviewed journals at school). ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/55 "2010-11-05T07:19:10Z")
> [@merrick](#): > > If you want to depress yourself, you can read [this](http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/04/26/100426fa_fact_auletta) New Yorker article, which is basically an extended whine about how evil Amazon was in offering ebooks for $10 when everyone one in the publishing industry knows that no _real_ book ever cost less than $14 and that conditioning customers to expect lower prices will mean the collapse of the industry and the End Of Literature As We Know It. > > It also gives figures - for a $26 hardback, the bookstore pays $13. The author’s 15% royalty is $3.90. Production costs are $1.80, distribution $1.70 and marketing $1. The remaining $4.60 is the publisher’s margin, which publishers are determined to protect. > > The publishers won’t take a lower margin on ebooks than they will on physical books because they’re afraid of cannibalising the market and cutting their own revenue. But if you insist on $4 for the author and $5 for the publisher, then the final price of the book won’t go below $13-15, even if the seller cuts their margins and production and distribution cost nothing. Amazon was paying publishers $13 for ebooks and selling them at $10 to build market share and the publishers revolted, afraid that $10 would become the baseline price and publishers would end up getting squeezed. (Increase sales by reducing prices? The very _idea_.) Baen charges $5US per book, and also has a couple hundred available for free [the first dose of a drug is always free …] ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/56 "2010-11-05T07:25:17Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Also, checking my wish list, a lot of this seems moot. There’s no Kindle version available of a lot of the books I want. > . if you can find it in EPUB, RTF, TXT or PDF you can dump it onto a kindle, or any reader. EPUB is damned near universal. There are also utility programs that will convert almost any non-DRM format into EPUB. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/57 "2010-11-05T11:10:13Z")
I see that the Kobo doesn’t have a keypad. Though I expect mostly to be using PDFs with iffy-at-best OCRing, I still think the option to search for text is important. Is this an option with Kobo? Does it even work well in Kindle? And what other differences might the keyboard make? ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/58 "2010-11-07T19:25:47Z")
Samsung is coming out with some new 7" tablets this week based on the Android platform. I’m definitely switching over to that camp from the dedicated ebook readers. General web wifi access is just too handy a feature while out & about. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032/59 "2010-11-07T19:33:57Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > Is this an option with Kobo? No, no search features. Admittedly, if you have it on a full page view, the resolution is so low that there’s no way of it really accomplishing that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-price-wars-are-escalating/544032.md?page=2)