The Costs and Pricing of E-Books

The other day I discovered that the first volume of my four volume prayerbook had become water damaged with coffee.  It was a stupid mistake.  Replacing the volume, which is still technically useable, would run $35, so I'm not too eager to shell out the money at this point.  However, I thought it might be a good time to check out CPH's prayerbook Treasury of Daily Prayer.  Happily I found that the price for this single volume work was $30, hardback (It's on sale at the moment.) Then I saw they had an e-pub version.  Great!  I own a NOOK, so this could be an option.  Then I looked at the price.  It was $19 more!  What?  You've got to be kidding!  A paper copy is cheaper than an electronic copy?  How does that work?  Well, I guess there are a number of things I didn't understand in the new world of printing and books, especially the costs associated with e-books.  Even though storage is considered virtually, it comes down to bandwidth, which costs.  And there are other expenses as well.  If you are curious, as I was, I found a short article that helped me understand.  I'm still not happy with it all, but hopeful that one day these e-books will be more cost effective.  See: "What Making an E-Book Costs, Publisher Responds."

Comments

said…
I suspect much of the cost comes down to copyright/intellectual property/author royalties, Donald. Given the relative expense of e-books as compared with actual books, I listened to an interesting discussion on the radio down here recently. They were talking about the need to modify the law so that the data people store in "clouds" - books, music etc. - can be willed to others upon death. Apparently at the moment that is not possible. So we could soon have "virtual inheritances"?
February 13, 2013 at 9:33:00 PM PST
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Firefighter's Cross

Image
[Note: A similar article to this will be shared with my department at their next meeting. During this Lenten season when we are meditating on the significance and meaning of the Passion of our Lord and the Cross at Golgotha, it seemed like one way to offer a witness to the department that captured their interest and yet was not too heavy.] [Editorial Note: In response to a recent comment on this article I have made some changes to the original version of this article especially in regard to references to the so-called St. Florian's Cross. For any confusion the previous unreferenced information may have caused I apologize. I hope that the changes are satisfactory.] THE STORY OF THE MALTESE CROSS In many ways the familiar symbol to the right requires no explanation. It is the universal insignia of firefighting nationwide. Yet the precise origins of this symbol are less clear. The most popular explanation proposes its beginning in the far distant past of medieval Crusaders fi...
Read more

Historical Roots of the Warham Guild Hood

Image
In doing just a little checking on the internet, it's interesting to see how the Warham Guild hood, which I have as part of my STM degree attire, is actually a throwback to the Medieval hood. One article notes "the work of the Warham Guild in its imaginative renderings of medieval hoods" (reference is from here ). Again, here is my hood: The Medieval hood, which was originally a very practical outer garment to cover a person's head and shoulders, protecting both from the elements, bears striking resemblance to this revived form: This hood was also a part of the garb of monks in that era. The Medieval hood, in some cases, also had what is known as a "liripipe," a long tail hanging from the back of a hood. You can see the modern stylized version of this on my own hood. From an article on "Academic hood development" we read that "By 1463 the favourite dress of doctors was the hood with round bell-shaped cape, and the lir...
Read more

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Image
According to a recent documentary, for all the talk about academic freedom in the world of the large American university system, it would seem that it extends only as far as the system defines it - especially with regards to the subject of origins and science. Noted speechwriter Ben Stein stars as host of the film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Dr. Angus Menuge, professor of philosophy at CUW, highlights the film in an article included in the Concordia University - Wisconsin magazine Concordian , including some seemingly revealing details about the expulsion of talented scientists who apparently were ‘expelled‘ from their positions for mentioning the theory of Intelligent Design: “In the current climate, even when academicians have a relevant doctorate and a track-record of peer-reviewed publication, their careers suffer if they argue that the scientific evidence points to an intelligent source involved in the creation of the world. In 1992, Dean Kenyon, a biology professor at ...
Read more