Boycott publishers of overpriced Kindle books.
Serial entrepreneur, perennial innovator and venture capitalist gadfly, Guy Kawasaki, has released a new book. Published by Penguin, you can buy it on Amazon. It’s available in both hardcover and Kindle format.
I’m was about to buy it – but will not. What’s the rub? Penguin’s pricing policy has caused Amazon to charge MORE for the Kindle version than the hardcover.
Does Penguin set Amazon’s price? No. Instead they set their pricing so the Kindle version costs MORE than the hardcover. The effect is the same.
Does this sound familiar? Brain-dead publishers, such as Penguin, are following in the footsteps of their music industry brethren. They are going to new and absurd measures to forestall the future of their industry. As consumers, we can only vote with our dollars to express our displeasure with this short-sighted, ham-fisted strategy.
Physical media’s requisite costs - from felling trees, to printing books, to trucking them to the store – have been removed. Removing these product and supply chain costs would serve to lower the final cost to consumers. Kindle certainly believes this is true. Millions of book lovers agree.
To be clear, I fully support their right to charge whatever they want for their books. They can make the Kindle version $100 if they want to. It is their choice. My choice however is to not do business with publishers that adopt this pricing strategy. I encourage others to consider how their purchases will influence the future of the publishing industry as well.
Do you read Kindle books? If so, consider refusing to purchase books (electronic or otherwise) from publishers that show such contempt and disrespect for the marketplace.
That’s my view. I look forward to hearing yours.
^Carl Melville
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