Sunday, July 1, 2012

Ebook pricing revisited

Because ecommerce is weightless it is acquiring more and more the characteristic unpredictability of financial markets.

My wait for Amazon to bring back $9.90 ebook prices is looking like a wait in futility. We are being overtaken by events. Word is going around that you pay more for some products and services if you were making your purchase with a Mac. Retailers and service providers surmised that you can and is willing to pay more.

Amazon will face a riot if they discriminate their customers with variable book pricing. I imagine they are working overtime, how at least not to charge less. Its stock price has been under pressure. At the end of the day, everyone knows Amazon is muscling in and taking over with a low price strategy. Afterward it could increase prices creatively, e.g., buy cutting their cost of goods like Walmart. Perhaps we might be dealt with worse later especially with weightless e-goods.

What we need for ebook pricing is competition. In a weightless environment (read zero inertia), this cannot be too far away.

I am still holding out for better priced ebooks even if the path taken was unexpected.

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