Go Read This | Publishing industry at risk from agency model, claims agent | theBookseller.com

The way I see it, folks ant dumb, they know that the cost of a virtual copy is virtually nothing. Now you can argue about VAT and other costs but in their heads they think you are robbing them when you price hard and high, so either be willing to accept blow back as this tension grows or lower prices.

She said: “Why would people pay the same for a virtual book, with none of the graphic design, physical presence, production and distribution costs accepted as part of the printed kind? I always thought that in those early days e-books should have been given away as an add-on to the printed book. That would have made readers feel they were getting something extra as well as ensuring the new format received very wide exposure very quickly.

via Publishing industry at risk from agency model, claims agent | theBookseller.com.

Go Read This | Hachette UK to set e-book prices from Monday | theBookseller.com

Hello Agency pricing, bye bye cheap ebooks?

In an email seen by The Bookseller, Gardners, wrote to retailers telling them of this change from Hachette, which it said would be effective from Monday, 20th September. Gardners provides e-books for retailers including Tesco, The Book Depository and independent bookshops. In an attached agreement document for retailers, it said: “[Retailers] shall agree that it shall not alter the customer price of any e-book without [Hachette’s] prior written consent.”

Gardners said retailers must sign up to the agreement if they wish to continue selling Hachette e-books. The email added: “Please note that due to the stringent requirements in the agreement I am unable to negotiate and this agreement will be applied to every reseller, including Amazon and Apple. These are not Gardner terms, but the publisher’s and may I suggest that should you wish to ‘discuss’ the terms, direct the queries to the publisher.”

via Hachette UK to set e-book prices from Monday | theBookseller.com.