[Lisa Grace]

They're discounting their books to 2.99 or 1.99 to get on the bestseller lists.
DBW article:

http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/deeply-discounted-big-six-ebooks-pop-on-best-seller-list-driving-down-average-ebook-price/?et_mid=605977&rid

 

[Justawriter]

I'm only surprised it took them this long!

 

[SeanBlack]

Not surprising really. They are merrily killing the market in the UK with the 20p deals on some bestsellers. Needless to say Amazon took a ton of flack for this until it was revealed they were only matching Sony who were running it in conjunction with some of the big publishers who had signed off on these super deep discounts. I'm all for deals for readers but who knows what selling front list and big name backlist for 20p will do to everyone long term.

Meanwhile, I'm experimenting with moving the prices of some of my self published titles in the US up to $7.99. It's working well so far. Sales down but revenue up.

 

[Joe_Nobody]

I respect competition in practically any form.
It shows health in the marketplace and improves quality over the long haul.
It culls the weak and emboldens the strong.
I may not like it, esp if it takes money out of my pocket, but I have to respect it.

 

[Guest]

Actually, guys, the publishers are just doing what they have always done. Heartsong was first published in 1984. Mirror Image was first published in 1990. These are old (really old) backlist titles.

Publishers work from most expensive to least expensive. Hardcover, then trade paperback (sometimes released simultaneously with the hardcover), mass paperback. Think about the price difference between a hardcover and a mass paperback. All this really tells me is that publishers are embracing the digital format as a form of the mass market paperback.

With all of these titles, the publishers ALREADY MADE THEIR MONEY on the higher-priced points. Anything now is gravy. If anything, indies should learn something from them. You can always drop your price. It is almost impossible to raise it. Start at a higher price point at release, and then gradually lower the price to capture other price markets.

If you look at the new releases, publishers are continuing to maintain the higher price points.

 

[Atunah]

I have been buying books by the big 5 for .99, 1.99, 2.99 for years now on sale. I snap them up when they are on sale so I can feed my reading addiction. I can go back to 2008, 2009 and find them. This isn't a new thing.

Many are also new releases too. Not just backlist stuff. Maybe its the genres I read, but I been getting new stuff on sale. Me likey.  

 

[SEAN H. ROBERTSON]

They're discounting their books to 2.99 or 1.99 to get on the bestseller lists.
DBW article:

http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/deeply-discounted-big-six-ebooks-pop-on-best-seller-list-driving-down-average-ebook-price/?et_mid=605977&rid

Sounds good to me. Competition is a great thing...keeps us indie authors sharp and on our toes.

 

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

Start at a higher price point at release, and then gradually lower the price to capture other price markets.

Won't readers soon catch on to this and simply wait for the lower price?

 

[D.L. Shutter]

Won't readers soon catch on to this and simply wait for the lower price?

Not necessarily and for the same reason that hardbacks and theatrical movie releases still exists depsite cheaper paperbacks and DVD; consumer preference, impulse, fanboy(girl) loyalty, etc.

 

[JumpingShip]

I wouldn't mind if the also boughts also mingled more. It seems that I rarely get a trade published book in my also boughts, so I'm assuming my books don't show up in theirs either. I always attributed it to price before, but if prices are going to be in the same range, then the also boughts should reflect that as well--and maybe it has and I haven't been paying attention.

 

[JeremyGreenfield]

Re the comment below, if you read the article, you'll see that there's something new. Two relatively new releases are getting the discounting treatment, one that came out last summer and the other that came out in January.

Also new is the success of discounting of these titles. We've never seen so many of them at such low prices make the list before.

Feel free to reach out to me with any questions, comments, etc: jeremy [dot] greenfield [at] fwmedia [dot] com

best,
jeremy

Actually, guys, the publishers are just doing what they have always done. Heartsong was first published in 1984. Mirror Image was first published in 1990. These are old (really old) backlist titles.

Publishers work from most expensive to least expensive. Hardcover, then trade paperback (sometimes released simultaneously with the hardcover), mass paperback. Think about the price difference between a hardcover and a mass paperback. All this really tells me is that publishers are embracing the digital format as a form of the mass market paperback.

With all of these titles, the publishers ALREADY MADE THEIR MONEY on the higher-priced points. Anything now is gravy. If anything, indies should learn something from them. You can always drop your price. It is almost impossible to raise it. Start at a higher price point at release, and then gradually lower the price to capture other price markets.

If you look at the new releases, publishers are continuing to maintain the higher price points.

 

[Guest]

Re the comment below, if you read the article, you'll see that there's something new. Two relatively new releases are getting the discounting treatment, one that came out last summer and the other that came out in January.

I DID read the article. Into the Darkest Corner was released in June of last year. By New York standards, that stopped being a "new release" six weeks after it was published. The Painted Girls was on sale for...what...a day? A one or two day sale is not unusual.

My point was that the OP's subject line implied that the Big Six were emultating indies. This is factually incorrect. The Big Six are doing what they have always done. As others have said, big publishers have offered sporatic deals for years now. The issue is not the low price per se. It is how publishers use price points. Indies start low (or free) and hope to eventually "earn" the right to charge more. Big Publishers start high and then periodically drop price. What the big publishers are doing is normal business practice.