Comments on: How Much Should Books Cost?

By: Keep Calm and Carry On? | The Casual Optimist

Keep Calm and Carry On? | The Casual Optimist — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 19:28:02 +0000

[...] impact of price wars on already struggling independent bookstores. As HarperStudio’s Bob Miller notes: The short-term results of this price war are some losses for Wal-Mart and Amazon, and some brisk [...]

By: Caught in the Middle: Publishing’s Other Customers | Digital Book World

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:23:32 +0000

[...] Many have cheered lower prices as a way to grow readership and entice readers to purchase more books (both E and P). After all, readers are getting great deals and publishers (so far) are still getting paid on standard discount schedules. Others have taken a more nuanced look and have written about the consequences of sharply lower prices and ‘de-valuing’ content over time. Bob Miller, Publisher at Harper Studio, describes brilliantly the ‘roadkill’ attendant to deep-deep discounting in “How Much Should Books Cost?” [...]

By: No Such Thing as a Free Lunch | Like Fire

No Such Thing as a Free Lunch | Like Fire — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:39:58 +0000

[...] squeezing out independent booksellers who can't afford those kinds of losses on each book. As HarperStudio breaks it down: Retailers pay publishers roughly 50% of the suggested retail price for books. For instance, when [...]

By: julietalionetti

julietalionetti — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:17:26 +0000

I'm asking myself if now American publishers would start to understand the much criticized policies of several European countries about fixed prices for books. Although it's not a long-term solution and many independent booksellers and publishers are closing down both in France and Spain, at least it seems to give us time to re-think the future. If Mike Shatzkin is right and our trade is doomed (content will no longer be valuable in financial terms), the least we can ask from the mamuts of the retail industry is to slow down the car –the roadkill is theirs and will be here, for us.

By: Caught in the Middle: Publishing’s Other Customers « Digital Book World

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:07:48 +0000

By: bowerbird

bowerbird — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:44:58 +0000

bob said:
> leaving us roughly $8.50 out of which we must
> pay the author (who would get $4.25 if this were a profit-share,
> or $3.75 if this were a 15% royalty)
> and cover our significant overheads,
> before we end up with a slim profit.

i think the message is that you need to
reduce your "significant overheads"...

this guy says you're wrong:
> http://www.thewrap.com/blog-entry/book-publishe...

of course, before you start fixing prices,
you might just decide to fix your industry,
starting with your "significant overheads"...

-bowerbird

By: Bob Miller

Bob Miller — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:35:33 +0000

Good question–I don't know how this works in those industries. Anyone reading this want to chime in?

By: Name

Name — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:01:50 +0000

Re: the illegality of telling customers how to price. How do Apple and Vera Bradley get away with selling only to those customers who agree not to discount? Is there some loophole that publishers don't have?

By: The Shoe is On the Other Foot… « The Word Hoarder

The Shoe is On the Other Foot… « The Word Hoarder — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:05:23 +0000

[...] Miller at Harper Studio has a great post on the economics of a price war and considering the long-term industry impact of [...]