Cozy Mysteries discussion

I was skimming the "Get Cozy with a Cozy Mystery Group" on FB (https://www.facebook.com/groups/61879...) this morning and noticed promotions for quite a few books in which the Kindle price was higher than the paperback price! Is this a trend?

ETA: Would you pay more for a digital version than a paperback? And if so, why?

Ease of use would cause the person to pay more. Not me!

I don't travel but I have stopped "storing books" and kindle lets me have a large inventory at my beck and call while my house remains uncluttered. This is the reason I would pay more.

I won't say I would pay more very often. There are so many Genre and audible has moved me into bigger books and more Genre.

Shirley wrote: "Ease of use would cause the person to pay more. Not me!

I don't travel but I have stopped "storing books" and kindle lets me have a large inventory at my beck and call while my house remains uncl..."

The (usually) reasonable price of a Kindle lets me add authors I might otherwise delay reading, or put on the "check library" list. Of course, what's a reasonable price to me might not be to others.

I have friends who own both Nooks and Kindles, and we all feel the same way regarding this one issue: we will not pay more for an ebook than we would a print copy.

Amazon has promotions. You will, upon occasion, find many books where print is cheaper than Kindle, It is an agreement with the publisher, and only lasts for a short time. Amazon's normal price is $7.19 for books, so if you see a deal, snap it up.

I can't see myself ever paying more for an ebook than for a print book, mostly because I prefer to read print books. But a huge factor for me is that I don't really *own the ebooks I pay for. I have the right to read them as many times as I wish, but I'm not a re-reader, so that isn't much of a benefit.

When I've finished reading an ebook, I can't donate it to my library or local shelter the way I do with print books. I can't leave it in the staff room at work for one of my co-workers to pick up. I can't pass it on to a fellow reader to enjoy before passing on to someone else.

Barb wrote: "I can't see myself ever paying more for an ebook than for a print book, mostly because I prefer to read print books. But a huge factor for me is that I don't really *own the ebooks I pay for. I hav..."

Another thing you can't do with an ebook is reselling to Half Price Books or other used book store. I don't sell many books, but I buy a lot of used books and I'd hate to see their supply drain up and go out of business!

I think they will still be fine for a while, but I don't know about long term and I'm sure they will get less and less new release books over time.

I agree with, Barb. I prefer print books, but I have a Kindle Fire. I've picked up a lot of great books on special promotions like a month or so ago when they had most of Louise Penny's books for $1.40! Who could pass that one up? Also, I've gotten some really good books for free or $.99. That said, I really have nothing to show for my money and I can't do anything with the books once I've read them, like sell them on eBay. Pay more for an e-book than a paper & ink book? Never!

Hadn't thought about that, but you're right, Melissa (of course LOL). Our Friends of the Library book sales would really suffer as well, which would mean a significant hit in the library's already over-taxed budget.

Barb wrote: "Hadn't thought about that, but you're right, Melissa (of course LOL). Our Friends of the Library book sales would really suffer as well, which would mean a significant hit in the library's already ..."

That's true. My library has a continuous book sale in the front run by the Friends and I often pick up used books there as well.

I would never pay more for an ebook than a print book, I can download free ebooks and i can borrow free print books from the library. i can pass on print books to shelters, low cost housing coops, thrift stores etc. I don't own a credit card or have paypal. I have never paid for an ebook, i have downloaded free ebooks though. i have a sony not a kindle, sony was given to me by a friend who upgraded to an ipad.

I'd never pay more for digital than I would for print. As Barb says, you don't actually own the digital copy you purchase. If you own a Kindle (and probably the same is true for Nook, but I don't know) and you read the fine print, Amazon actually has the right to rescind any or all of your purchases from your Kindle at any time for sufficient cause. I know of one person this has been done to, although I doubt Amazon does it lightly or very often.

Still, I buy a print book and it's mine to do with as I please.

same here, ebooks have their place but not giving up on my print books. Also print books have to go through a publisher, ebooks can be self published. Hope I am not stepping on toes here but I like the knowledge that my book has competed with many others for the right to be published.

I won't buy if an eBook is more than the Kindle version. Why should I pay more when they aren't paying for printing, binding, storage and shipping?

Nothing turns me off an author faster than allowing publishers to price an eBook higher than the print version.

With so many books out there I just don't understand why people would pay more. If it is an author a a book I have to read...I'll wait a year and buy the print version for pennies (if it never makes it way to the library). Heck I even stopped asking the library to buy outlandish priced books.

Katie wrote: "I won't buy if an eBook is more than the Kindle version. Why should I pay more when they aren't paying for printing, binding, storage and shipping?

Nothing turns me off an author faster than allo..."

I just did a quick search on Amazon for Kindle mystery fiction and was amazed at the price range! Excluding the boxed sets and audio collections, it appears mystery fiction books on Kindle range from $0.00 to about $20.

I chose one at random and found http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Mercy-Dela.... The Kindle price is $15.45 and the paperback is $19.93. (I hope the author negotiated a strong royalty package.)

And another: http://www.amazon.com/Knife-Edge-Ferg.... The Kindle is $14.99, the hardcover is $25.31, and the paperback is $9.85. I confess the logic of that pricing escapes me.

I only buy ebooks if they're less than $2 or freebies for the reasons others mentioned. I'm not a big re-reader and so paying a lot for an ebook that I'll read once and then can't re-home in some way seems like a waste of money to me.

I might go up to $4 for an ebook if it's really expensive in print or just not available in print. But not often. They usually go on my Amazon WL and languish there because I have a ton to read already.

I'm pretty stingy when it comes to ebooks--I typically won't pay more than $5 unless it's a book I've really been looking forward to, or there's not a paperback version. I can't help but feel it's a little ridiculous to pay more than that.

I use my Kindle when I travel or at the gym, and there's more than enough books that fall under $5 to keep me busy.

I'm even stingier, Kit LOL As a rule, I won't pay more than $2.99 for an ebook, and that's only if I know that I enjoy the author's writing :) That said, I scour the discounts and free offers daily to be sure I don't miss anything 'good'!

Katie wrote: "I won't buy if an eBook is more than the Kindle version. Why should I pay more when they aren't paying for printing, binding, storage and shipping?

Nothing turns me off an author faster than allowing publishers to price an eBook higher than the print version."

Exactly. Once the ebook is formatted, it costs the publisher practically nothing to distribute it -- and there's an infinite supply. Price gouging for ebooks is obscene and I refuse to reward publishers for this shady practice.

I confess I did pay $12.99 for Spider Woman's Daughter. Silly me, I justified it because I didn't want to wait a year or more for the paperback version. And now I see they have the paperback available for $19.56 and a mass market paperback available for $8.99. That will teach me to give in to an impulse buy...

My hard and fast rule is I never buy a book for more than $9.99 unless I have lost 10 pounds. Every time I lose 10 pounds (not the same 10 pounds) I reward myself by buying a fiction eBook priced over $9.99.

I set this deal up with myself specifying that non-fiction books were excluded, but find that after a year I now generally don't buy non-fiction books either.

I also use sites like http://www.ereaderiq.com/pricewatch/
to alert me to price drops of books on my wishlist

Katie wrote: "I also use sites like http://www.ereaderiq.com/pricewatch/
to alert me to price drops of books on my wishlist"

That's a new site for me. Thanks!

I have a kindle and a libre (color, which I don't use anymore) but I rarely pay for ebooks. With so many available free, I don't buy many. When I do, it's usually available as an ebook only. For those I do pay for, its incredibly rare for me to pay more than $4.99. In fact, I usually only pay 99 cents to $1.99. I just bought kindle packs of 4-8 ebooks for 99 cents for the entire package. If paperback is cheaper, than that's what I'd buy for sure.

I set up a new group poll to see how much everyone generally is willing to pay for ebooks. Please feel free to take the poll and add your opinion.

ஐ Briansgirl (Book Sale Queen)ஐ wrote: "I set up a new group poll to see how much everyone generally is willing to pay for ebooks. Please feel free to take the poll and add your opinion."

Thanks for setting up the poll!

As I've told before my situation is quite different. I live in Spain, so not used books or bookswap or Spanish libraries (I read mainly in English),and bookmoch was more expensive than buying. Usually, shipping costs are high so ebooks are rarely more expensive than paper books. And, sincerely, my main problem is to find place for books so yes, I buy a book if it is more expensive as ebook (ebook, not Kindle book) than paper.

And thanks for the poll, I've answered it :)

ஐ Briansgirl (Book Sale Queen)ஐ wrote: "I set up a new group poll to see how much everyone generally is willing to pay for ebooks. Please feel free to take the poll and add your opinion."

I voted $4.99 or less, but it was a hard choice. Usually I would say no more than $2, but some of the books that are only in ebook now, like Murderous Matrimony that I already follow the series, I would pay $4.99 to read.

I don't think I have paid more than $1.99 for a book and have thousands on my kindle that were free at one time or another. If the book is only available in e-format I might pay $2.99 which is generally the most expensive I have seen books by authors I like and want to read everything.

I have so many books though that I have to be choosier even on the free books. I have enough between print and eBook to be able to ready for 5-7 years at my current speed!

Susan wrote: "I was skimming the "Get Cozy with a Cozy Mystery Group" on FB (https://www.facebook.com/groups/61879...) this morning and noticed promotions fo..."
I've noticed that. Amazon says they want the e books to be priced at $9.99, but a lot of the new books I buy for myself are $7-8, and most of the used bookstores in my area besides mine(Ukazoo and the Book Escape) offer books a lot cheaper than Amazon's Kindle books.

That is quite odd. Normally, nearly always, it is the book that is expensive! A hardcopy here on Oz can fetch up to $40 easy, the Kindle might be $6!

Wolfrott wrote: "That is quite odd. Normally, nearly always, it is the book that is expensive! A hardcopy here on Oz can fetch up to $40 easy, the Kindle might be $6!"

Most cozies are paperbacks in the US and it's not at all uncommon to find the Kindle version costing more than the paperback or the same price. I prefer "paper & ink" books anyway, but the pricing is just another reason why I don't read books on my Kindle Fire very much. I can resell my books, but can do nothing with the e-books, except maybe loan one to a friend. The times I've paid more than $1.99 for an e-book I can count on one hand.

I like paper, I can buy them used at yard sales, thrift store, library, and Annual Humane Society where all books are .25 cents!! I don't pay more than $1.99 for a book unless I treat myself at Books-a million.(Birthday, really good etc) but not a lot 3 or 4 times a year. But my house is a bit(!) crowded with paper books.