Look, then take your butt to Walmart. Just because you can't afford Nordstrom doesn't mean nobody else can. If you can't afford EA games then go somewhere else or don't play games. Or stick to 99 cent mobile games, but for god's sake, stop whinning and moaning. Your complaints for "fair price" would be better directed at high food prices, or rising cost of gas, because those are essentials-we have to have food and gas.
Video games are NOT essentials, but recreation and leisure activities. Going to the movies at IMAX, or buying a Blu-Ray DVD, or a plasma TV, or a video game, or ANY of that stuff is NON-ESSENTIAL. Stop blaming entertainment companies because you can't afford the leisure activities you want. I want to go on trip to Hawaii. We all want stuff. Just deal with it like a grown, mature adult.
"Sales are not the only benefits of it, at sub-dollar pricing you don't get people complaining..."
WRONG. At sub-dollar pricing ALL we get are complaints. We get nothing but complaints because one rule of business holds true and that is, the lower your price point, the worst the customers are. 99 cent customers are the hardest to please. They whine and complain about everything imaginable. they blame everything on authors and publishers. I've seen them give one stars to authors on Amazon and proceed to say that they ordered the book and it came late in the mail. The author takes the blow for poor mail circulation. It's just tiring, and like I said, despite amazon's efforts, I doubt ebooks will last. If all authors can hope to earn is under a buck then forget it. That coupled with the ongoing whinning and complaining is just not worth it.
@Anonymous Coward on May 5th,
All he said was stop drinking so much beer. You are so dramatic about everything. And you're on here...giving your opinion. People aren't interested.
@GWIZ, Then go somewhere else. You think books should cost less than a cup of coffee? Don't you have an Ereader that cost over $130? As an author, I am "extremely reluctant" to price my work at 99 cents because I don't want to cater to people like you. In general, what I have found is that "customers" that talk and think like you do are hostile, demanding, cheap, forever complaining and forever trying to squeeze another nickle out of somebody.
With ebooks, you save money on gas ($4 per gallon today) because you get to download from home. Ebooks also have adjustable font, and can carry thousands of books on them wating to be read. No more awful traveling fees to carry those books on board an airplane? The ebook features also include a text-to-speech, allowing people to listen to the book instead of reading it. But for you, something is not right. You don't feel right paying more than a cup of coffee for "these" features (These features can only be used on ebooks).
Personally, as an author, I will be moving my books back to print, and leave ebooks alone. Too much drama. Not enough money to be made. Honestly, I don't see ebooks lasting very long. I really don't. Not without authors anyway.
Stupid book publishers and authors have to pay distributor fees to places like Amazon of 65-70% on 99 cent ebooks. Valve software distributes it's own games. DUH! Also, way more people play games for recreation than read books. Way more people watch movies than read books. Way more people watch TV than read books. Reading books is at the very bottom of the entertainment pole for the majority of people and that's just a FACT. So these other entertainment forms have a wider potential customer base than book sellers.
I know you want to bring up Twilight & probably Harry Potter as examples of huge successes, but please don't.
VALVE is a major company with millions of dollars and many, many games. They can afford to offer a couple for 99 cents. It's not fair and totally skewed to compare ebook authors with a major company like VALVE. Also, Valve has it's OWN DISTRIBUTION PLATFORM called STEAM. So I think they get to keep the whole 99 cents. Ebook authors (and publishers) must pay a distributor: Amazong and others to distribute their wares. In the case of Amazon, they take 65% of the 99 cents, leaving the author/publisher with FAR, FAR less than you suggested. Please redo the math to reflect this. Authors DO NOT earn 99 cents on 99 cent ebooks, or anywhere close to that amount.
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Re: Typical Salesman-speak
Look, then take your butt to Walmart. Just because you can't afford Nordstrom doesn't mean nobody else can. If you can't afford EA games then go somewhere else or don't play games. Or stick to 99 cent mobile games, but for god's sake, stop whinning and moaning. Your complaints for "fair price" would be better directed at high food prices, or rising cost of gas, because those are essentials-we have to have food and gas.
Video games are NOT essentials, but recreation and leisure activities. Going to the movies at IMAX, or buying a Blu-Ray DVD, or a plasma TV, or a video game, or ANY of that stuff is NON-ESSENTIAL. Stop blaming entertainment companies because you can't afford the leisure activities you want. I want to go on trip to Hawaii. We all want stuff. Just deal with it like a grown, mature adult.
Re: Anon Coward May 4th
"Sales are not the only benefits of it, at sub-dollar pricing you don't get people complaining..."
WRONG. At sub-dollar pricing ALL we get are complaints. We get nothing but complaints because one rule of business holds true and that is, the lower your price point, the worst the customers are. 99 cent customers are the hardest to please. They whine and complain about everything imaginable. they blame everything on authors and publishers. I've seen them give one stars to authors on Amazon and proceed to say that they ordered the book and it came late in the mail. The author takes the blow for poor mail circulation. It's just tiring, and like I said, despite amazon's efforts, I doubt ebooks will last. If all authors can hope to earn is under a buck then forget it. That coupled with the ongoing whinning and complaining is just not worth it.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
@Anonymous Coward on May 5th,
All he said was stop drinking so much beer. You are so dramatic about everything. And you're on here...giving your opinion. People aren't interested.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Gwiz
@GWIZ, Then go somewhere else. You think books should cost less than a cup of coffee? Don't you have an Ereader that cost over $130? As an author, I am "extremely reluctant" to price my work at 99 cents because I don't want to cater to people like you. In general, what I have found is that "customers" that talk and think like you do are hostile, demanding, cheap, forever complaining and forever trying to squeeze another nickle out of somebody.
With ebooks, you save money on gas ($4 per gallon today) because you get to download from home. Ebooks also have adjustable font, and can carry thousands of books on them wating to be read. No more awful traveling fees to carry those books on board an airplane? The ebook features also include a text-to-speech, allowing people to listen to the book instead of reading it. But for you, something is not right. You don't feel right paying more than a cup of coffee for "these" features (These features can only be used on ebooks).
Personally, as an author, I will be moving my books back to print, and leave ebooks alone. Too much drama. Not enough money to be made. Honestly, I don't see ebooks lasting very long. I really don't. Not without authors anyway.
Re: Re:
Stupid book publishers and authors have to pay distributor fees to places like Amazon of 65-70% on 99 cent ebooks. Valve software distributes it's own games. DUH! Also, way more people play games for recreation than read books. Way more people watch movies than read books. Way more people watch TV than read books. Reading books is at the very bottom of the entertainment pole for the majority of people and that's just a FACT. So these other entertainment forms have a wider potential customer base than book sellers.
I know you want to bring up Twilight & probably Harry Potter as examples of huge successes, but please don't.
Distribution fees are 65%
VALVE is a major company with millions of dollars and many, many games. They can afford to offer a couple for 99 cents. It's not fair and totally skewed to compare ebook authors with a major company like VALVE. Also, Valve has it's OWN DISTRIBUTION PLATFORM called STEAM. So I think they get to keep the whole 99 cents. Ebook authors (and publishers) must pay a distributor: Amazong and others to distribute their wares. In the case of Amazon, they take 65% of the 99 cents, leaving the author/publisher with FAR, FAR less than you suggested. Please redo the math to reflect this. Authors DO NOT earn 99 cents on 99 cent ebooks, or anywhere close to that amount.