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Kindle edition of *Create Your Own Economy*
Now ready for pre-order. You get it July 9, the date of the book release.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on July 2, 2009 at 08:07 AM in Books, Web/Tech | Permalink
Comments
$20.76! Really?
I would, but I have a personal rule not to buy Kindle books over $9.99.
Posted by: Robert W at Jul 2, 2009 8:35:40 AM
Wow, that's the most expensive non-academic Kindle book that I've seen.
Posted by: Trey at Jul 2, 2009 8:57:56 AM
Not to pile on, but the hardcover is listed by Amazon at $17 right now. I've never heard of a Kindle Tax before.
Posted by: Eric at Jul 2, 2009 9:22:06 AM
You have now. I should note that I would gladly sell more copies at a lower price. But I think $20 for new Kindle issues, of new books, is no longer rare.
Posted by: Tyler Cowen at Jul 2, 2009 9:39:01 AM
I don't think any will sell at $20. I'm very excited for this book but I only make purchases on my kindle when digital is the cheapest format possible. With NY times best sellers always going for $9.99, I very much doubt that even MR readers are so captivated with their kindles to pay extra for a digital version.
Posted by: Jon at Jul 2, 2009 1:14:14 PM
Should I wait to order for you to start giving away stuff on your blog like individualized podcasts?
Posted by: Charlie at Jul 2, 2009 2:15:59 PM
It's the hardback for me, then. Hmm... actually, the mp3 CD is by far the cheapest version. I think that's the one for me.
Posted by: Constant at Jul 2, 2009 2:41:12 PM
Tyler, it's your product to sell so if that's what you think is the right price, good luck to you. But I for one won't be paying more than $9.99 for several reasons.
Firstly, electronic distribution takes a whole chunk of costs out of the equation. In a competitive market I expect these savings to be passed on to me the consumer (there are plenty of books that are good substitutes, and books by your GMU colleagues are especially good substitutes!).
Secondly, I'm more restricted in what I can do with an electronic book. I can't lend it to a friend, or sell it when I'm done. Imagine what it would do to the price of new cars if you couldn't resell them.
And third, my experience has been (even with new releases) that publishers are incredibly sloppy in formatting their Kindle editions. I expect to buy "seconds" are a steep discount.
A lot of Kindle owners have come to the same conclusion (yes I agree some have just arbitrarily latched on to the 9.99 price that Amazon has created as the new expectation, but the reasoning or lack thereof doesn't change the outcome for the seller).
So if you really mean it when you say "I would gladly sell more copies at a lower price", there's a pretty strong case for believing that $9.99 ought to be your price.
Posted by: Dan Hill at Jul 2, 2009 3:57:18 PM
