Does anyone else find it strange that eBooks aren’t a lot cheaper than they actually are? With a paper or hardback book you have to print the product, get it to the shops and then wait for it to be sold. There are no production, storage or transport costs with a regular book so why do they cost so much? The book industry promised that eBooks would be a lot more affordable, but it really hasn’t turned out that way.
I’ve been buying eBooks for a while and am constantly surprised by the price of the downloadable products compared to real books. I love eBooks and they are a bit cheaper (usually), but surely you should get more than a pound or two off? I’ve even seen eBooks that are more expensive than buying the physical product. Obviously this is an exception and doesn’t often happen, but is still an eye opener.
The problem is that I think publishers – like music labels – are stuck in the past. If the companies don’t start realising that eBooks are the way forward then prices will stay the same and piracy will become more of an issue. I buy all my eBooks because I love reading them and think the writers should be rewarded for their work, but I’m sure I could find many of them illegally if I wanted. The problem is going to get worse and worse unless the companies start rewarding customers for buying eBooks rather than punishing them.