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it's the "apple tax," you guys should be used to it by now

you're paying for the overall apple experience, and that cost more than b&n or amazon
 
What is with everyone's fascination with positive/negative votes?

i agree - there really is not point for "voting" on articles since everyone's interpretation and/or bias differs - its quite a wasted distraction provided by macrumors.

anyways, on topic, these prices MAY be true final prices, but no one will know until the iBookstore actually opens thus everything now is purely speculation - of course, this is the macrumors site so it makes sense to talk about these rumors. even at $13 for a book, that is quite a deal compared to the paper version for those that really consume books regularly (not me). we'll still have to wait and see...
 
I have to agree. Textbooks might be $75 instead of $100. But I doubt we'll see any $12.95 textbooks.

agree in a BIG way - textbooks will not see much of a price reduction at all in the digital realm. also, depending on the field of study, i cannot image digital textbooks selling that well...
 
@"Did Amazon react to our announcement and pressured publishers to rise the prices?"

Do you think anyone at Amazon who makes more than three bucks an hour even knows App Advice exists?

I thought so.
 
I'm with Amazon on this one. Anything more than $9.99 for an e-book is extortion. :mad:

ROFLOL. It's only a matter of a few years before we are all charged by the hour/Mb by ISP's for access. Want lower prices? Accept more advertising. Want less, or no advertising? Pay higher prices. Time for a reality check. :apple:
 
ROFLOL. It's only a matter of a few years before we are all charged by the hour/Mb by ISP's for access. Want lower prices? Accept more advertising. Want less, or no advertising? Pay higher prices. Time for a reality check. :apple:

Considering that books aren't really that more expensive in comparison to e-books, why would I pay proportionally more for the latter? E-books don't have to printed anymore, so why the high prices? You should also consider that e-readers are not that cheap yet. I can fully understand the disappointment.
 
$3 per book isn't that big of a deal EXCEPT - that's looking at one book.

If you're an avid reader and read a book a week - that's now paying $156. It adds up.

That being said - as long as the iPad has a kindle reader and B&N reader app - there's nothing to worry about unless you MUST MUST MUST use Apple's eReader App or you're using iTunes gift cards.
 
This really means nothing. If Walmart is selling a product for $9 and Target is selling the exact same product for $12, would you cry and throw a temper tantrum? My point; just go to Amazon and buy the same friggin file for $3 cheaper. There's no need to swing from Steve's nutsack for everything.

If I first had to pay $800 to go to Walmart, or $250 to go to Target, and then I could only use my merchandise with "their system", that would make a big difference. These are proprietary systems, which makes your analogy moot, if not imbecilic.

I have a Kindle, and won't pay more than $10 for an e-book. I buy about twice as many e-books as regular books, but if the price goes up, I will revert to traditional books (and lower volume) because I can resell them, trade them, loan them to friends, etc. An e-book simply does not have the same value to me as a hardbound book.

It appears publishers want things to stay "just the same as before", in spite of the experience of the music industry, the film industry, the newspaper industry, the brokerage industry, and so many others which have had to change their business models and methods or die.
 
Surely if the price of $12.99 is too much over the same book on Amazon, then simply download the Kindle App and buy from Amazon. It's called consumer choice. Competition is good for the Market.
 
it's the "apple tax," you guys should be used to it by now

you're paying for the overall apple experience, and that cost more than b&n or amazon

Wrong. The publishers set the price, and the price will not be lower on amazon or b&n. If will go up across the board if it is going to be that high on apple's store.
 
Surely if the price of $12.99 is too much over the same book on Amazon, then simply download the Kindle App and buy from Amazon. It's called consumer choice. Competition is good for the Market.

The same book will likely cost the same price at Amazon. It is kind of the point of the whole pricing to begin with, the publishers will be setting the price, and Amazon has already capitulated to that.

There is not going to be an retail price war for e-books. That is how Apple sold the publishers on the iPad to begin with...
 
ROFLOL. It's only a matter of a few years before we are all charged by the hour/Mb by ISP's for access. Want lower prices? Accept more advertising. Want less, or no advertising? Pay higher prices. Time for a reality check. :apple:

What a gruesome forecast. I would have to call tech support and actually file complaints about the rated vs advertised download speeds, instead of doing what I do now, which is grumble at the 400Kbps versus the rated 3Mbps, and go back later. Much later, like 3am.

But you are probably right. Where I would hit the barricades is if they put on caps or tiers and then go on to impose ads unless you pay something past the published tier pricing.

More on topic: Sure, $10 sounds better than $14 or $18 or whatever higher price for an ebook. But as others have pointed out, if I really want the book right now, maybe it's worth it. I like reading books on my iPhone or iPod touch. I keep one iPod touch on my desk next to the usual resting place of my workhorse laptop. I read some more of an ebook on the portable device whenever I'm half-babysitting a software upgrade or lengthy download on the computer.

I actually prefer to get books in audio format lately, because I'm busy with some projects and can use my eyes for tedious types of work while I absorb the content of a book. But ebooks have definitely gained an automatic place on my mental menu of "How to Acquire a Book." And I'm definitely looking forward to the iPad experience and the iTunes bookstore.

So I am basically past the idea that $10 is the limit for an ebook. The limit is flexible for me. If I really want it, $15 or $18 is not too much. Past that, comparison to physical bookstore prices would definitely enter the picture. I would think hmm... Amazon, or hmm... trip to town... this is why they have one-click purchasing, right? My rule is if I hesitate over the price, then I must log out and come back later.

Still, when I think about shopping for books, I always think first of stopping in front of any bricks and mortar store that has a rack of used books on the sidewalk. When I see one, I get that same feeling I had when I was 20 years old: the world is full of possibility and opportunity, even when you're broke.

In the gadget-oriented era we live in, possibly the greatest thing about a 50c book made out of dead trees is that you don't have to worry about hardware-software compatibility, or battery replacements. You plunk down your 50c and you're good to go. I love all my toys, but their blink-eye insistence on being plugged in now and then does sometimes make me nuts. That's my reality check!
 
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