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Look at something like this:

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2010/03/01/business/01eboo...

So $4 out of the $26 I pay for a hardcover book goes to the person who is actually responsible for the content? I submit paying $22 in rent is ridiculous, and as long as something like this holds true, thepiratebay looks pretty good.

I buy a lot of ebooks in the $10 range, and I would buy even more in the $5 range -- especially if the $5 went to the person who actually wrote the book.




I can understand that, but I can also see the other side. Editors, proofreaders, marketing, binding, printing, sales, distribution etc etc. The author doesn't pay for those. With ebooks you can drop the binding & printing but the rest still applies.

I'll concede there will be cases where the mark up is over the top, but you aren't just paying for the actual words.


I'm a relatively poor startup founder and I can't say the $5 different is yet to sway me on ebooks, quiet happy to pay $10, although I'm not the fastest reader around. Above $10 though pushes it and $20 feels over the mark to me unless it's something directed at a niche audience.




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