Last week, when the Apple iPad was announced, I got a chill. Steve Jobs said that the iBookstore would sell books priced between $12.99 and $14.99. Lots of people responded to that by saying, “Oh no problem. Just buy Kindle books at $9.99.” This was used as another reason why the iPad wasn’t going to be a Kindle killer.
I wondered.
And then on Saturday, I read that Amazon had pulled all Macmillan titles from their site, except for ones offered through third parties.The reason? Macmillan wanted Amazon to change its pricing structure to bring it in line with the new iBookstore model. Amazon said they didn’t want to, and Macmillan said, “Fine, then you won’t get new books in Kindle version until the books have been released for several months.” This has already been happening with new releases (Stephen King’s Under the Dome is an example), and Kindle readers have been upset over it.
Today Amazon announced they were giving in to Macmillan and accepting their pricing terms.
As a devoted e-book reader, I’m unhappy with the entire situation, even though it doesn’t directly affect me. I never buy an e-book at list price. I wait for coupons and sales. I rarely buy a Kindle-format book. (I can read them on my iPhone, but the Kindle app is my least favorite e-book reader app.)
I’m unhappy because Apple and the publishing industry have once again violated my trust.
Remember that we support those we know, like and trust.
I don’t like Apple for introducing yet another Digital Right Management structure to the ebook world. (They will be using EPUB, an open e-book standard, but adding their own flavor of DRM.) Thanks, Apple. E-book formats are already a big problem. I have had as many as four e-book reader apps on my iPhone. Now I need another one? Or I have to buy an iPad? No thanks.
I don’t like (or trust) Macmillan for treating me like an idiot. I rarely, if ever, spend $9.99 for an e-book. Do you really think I’m going to spend more? And I almost never buy paper books. So charging more for an e-book is going to make me buy the hardback version? Yeah, right. Nope. I will just wait until the price comes down. Assuming you follow through on reducing your price over time, which I don’t trust since your track record on that hasn’t been good until now. (I routinely see e-books priced at $15+ after the paperback has been released for months or years.)
I actually don’t have many issues with what Amazon did. It seemed a bit knee-jerk, and many people have postulated motives for their actions, but I’m okay with them pulling the books, and I’m okay with them putting them back. I knew they would.
So as a consumer, what do I do? Well, I probably won’t buy the iPad, which means I won’t buy books from the iBookstore. I will keep my iPhone (and probably upgrade it later). It meets and exceeds all my needs, and I like it. I won’t cut off my nose to spite my face. I will monitor what happens with the iBookstore. I’m not going to specifically boycott Macmillan, but I won’t pay what I consider usurious prices for e-books. I have a lot of books already purchased, and there are plenty of ways I can get (legal) free and low-cost content to read.
As an upcoming author, I have yet another reason to self-publish my book. I don’t like how the publishing industry treats e-books. I never have, and recent events make me see nothing will change soon.
Not doing so well at gaining my liking or my trusting. Do they care? About me, I doubt it. But if they continue to damage like and trust, the publishing industry will find itself forced to change. Or become dinosaurs.
Recent events have made me think a lot about DRM and various electronic media. I think I’ll post tomorrow on that topic. I think I’ve come up with a view on piracy in the book and movie industry that I haven’t seen talked about.
And then I promise I will go back to my usual posts on social media, networking and the like. I want to retain your liking and trust.
Tags: Relationship building, reputation
You bring up a good point – online reputation management. Let’s face it, Amazon has always had the ‘tude of “my way or the highway.”
I’m glad to see someone made them blink. However, I’m afraid Apple can be just as much of a bully if they lose focus on the customer. I think Amazon has.
This is very sad that Amazon is not getting to get the opportunity to maintain the active prices. During this economic climate it’s quite good to get the opportunity to choose entertainment in the form of a good e-book for beneath Ten greenbacks. All these publishing businesses needs to be
I really enjoyed this!