Why do ebooks cost so much?

Amazon says its ebook prices will fall after three book publishers agreed to change their model of pricing. But why do many ebooks cost almost as much as their physical counterparts? 

Many ebooks cost as much or more than physical books, despite there being no printing or distribution costs. This may seem strange, but in fact only 10 to 15 per cent of a book's price reflects its printing cost. However, there are other differences in the way that physical books and ebooks are priced.

Ebooks have VAT charged on them, while physical books are exempt, and the different formats have different pricing mechanisms.

The opening of Apple’s iBookstore in 2010 changed how ebooks were priced. Prior to Apple entering the market, most ebooks were sold via the “wholesale” model, in which retailers would pay the publisher a certain amount per book sold, but set the price themselves, sometimes making a loss. This is the same model as printed books have.

When Apple released the iPad and iBookstore in 2010, they offered publishers a different “agency” model, which allowed the publishers to set the prices of ebooks, 30 per cent of which went to Apple. Many publishers then forced Amazon to adopt the agency model.

Steve Jobs is quoted in Walter Isaacson’s biography of him saying: “The publishers hated [the wholesale model] - they thought it would trash their ability to sell hardcover books at $28.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/9216138/Why-do-ebooks-cost-so-much.html

Why Community-College Students Need Great Books

No president in recent memory seems to have paid as much attention to community colleges as Barack Obama has.

In his 2013 budget proposal, the president allocated $8-billion for partnerships between states and community colleges to train an estimated two million workers in high-growth and high-demand job areas. And last fall, the U.S. Departments of Labor and of Education paid out to community colleges the first $500-million installment of a $2-billion plan to improve career-development programs and train dislocated workers or those with obsolete skills.

This is good news for community colleges, especially during tough economic times when state financing is down, budgets are being cut, and enrollments have begun to decline after several years of steady growth. The Obama administration is not just sending the message that community colleges should be the job-skills training centers of the 21st century; it is giving them the money to fulfill this function.

http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Community-College-Students/131207/?sid=wb&utm_source=wb&utm_medium=en

Do E-Books Make It Harder to Remember What You Just Read?

Digital books are lighter and more convenient to tote around than paper books, but there may be advantages to old technology.

I received a Kindle for my birthday, and enjoying “light reading,” in addition to the dense science I read for work, I immediately loaded it with mysteries by my favorite authors. But I soon found that I had difficulty recalling the names of characters from chapter to chapter. At first, I attributed the lapses to a scary reality of getting older — but then I discovered that I didn’t have this problem when I read paperbacks.

When I discussed my quirky recall with friends and colleagues, I found out I wasn’t the only one who suffered from “e-book moments.” Online, I discovered that Google’s Larry Page himself had concerns about research showing that on-screen reading is measurably slower than reading on paper.
http://healthland.time.com/2012/03/14/do-e-books-impair-memory/?iid=hl-article-mostpop1

Publishers could face legal action over ebook prices

The five largest publishers, including Britain's Penguin Group, face legal action from the US Justice Department for colluding to raise the prices of electronic books, a source has told Reuters.
Several parties are said to have held talks to settle the potential antitrust case after an investigation into deals signed with Apple by Pearson-owned Penguin, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan and News Corp's HarperCollins Publishers.
These publishers adopted an "agency model" in 2010 – around the time that Apple launched the iPad – allowing them to set the price of ebooks. In turn, Apple would take a 30% cut.
In December, the European commission said it was looking at the same five publishers in a potential price-fixing case.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/mar/08/publishers-face-legal-action-ebook-prices 

Joanna Trollope: iPads and Kindles will never replace the printed page

The best-selling author said it was impossible to furnish a room with a library of electronic novels in the same way as a study filled with bound works.

She also claimed the rise of e-books was “homogenising” literature by putting the works of Leo Tolstoy and Katie Price, the glamour model, on the same screen.

Trollope, known for so-called Aga sagas such as The Choir and A Village Affair, said that feeling the weight of a book in the hand and seeing its cover was a vital part of the reading experience. She is chairing the judging panel of this year’s Orange Prize for Fiction and read all 143 submissions in their printed form. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/9133418/Joanna-Trollope-iPads-and-Kindles-will-never-replace-the-printed-page.html 

E-books banish being boring

Before you decided to click on the link that brought you here, was anything else vying for your attention? A shocking tale of celebrity indulgence? An amusing picture of a cat? Are you listening to music right now, or keeping a casual eye on email or Twitter updates?

Of course, BBC Future readers may not be sucked in so easily. But this kind of competition for attention has long been a staple of the “dumbing down” school of digital thought, which sees a surfeit of choices flattening culture into something close to its lowest common denominator.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120301-e-books-banish-being-boring 

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