[stylist] Recent eBook pricing trends

Wed May 1 01:39:14 UTC 2013

Hi Friends,
I was just snooping around the internet to try to get an idea of how much to
charge for my book in Kindle, and I found this article from Digital Book
World from earlier in April. I thought some might appreciate the info. The
article follows the URL.
Donna
http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/average-price-of-ebook-best-seller-tick
s-up-even-as-more-expensive-ebooks-fall-out-of-favor-with-readers/

            Average Price of Ebook Best-Seller Ticks up Even as More
Expensive Ebooks Fall Out of Favor With Readers

April 2, 2013 | Jeremy Greenfield

The average price for a best-selling ebook ticked up over $8.00 this week
for the first time since Feb., even as books in some of the pricier
categories fell off the best-seller list.

As booksellers and publishers figure out how to price their new and
back-list books in the wake of agency pricing for some of the largest U.S.
publishers, prices are fluctuating wildly. The average price for a
best-selling ebook is now $8.27, up from $7.84 last week and $7.40 two weeks
ago - an all-time low. That’s a 12% swing in two weeks.

Since Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster have given the ebook
pricing reins to Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others, the average price of a
best-selling ebook has plummeted, from nearly $12.00 the summer of 2012 to
under $8.00 for much of this year. Part of that is discounting of new and
best-selling titles by the retailers. Part of it is strategic discounting of
list price by publishers to juice sales of back-list and, sometimes, of new
ebooks. Some of it is self-published authors having success at selling
ebooks below $5.00.

Amid all the chaos, one of new emerging themes is the disappearance from our
list of the $9.99 ebook. It used to be routine that there were seven titles
in our top-25 priced in the $8.00 to $9.99 range - sometimes eight or nine.
In mid-Oct., eleven of the top-25 best-selling ebooks were in that price
range. That’s 44% of the list. This week, there are only four on the list
and three of them are the Fifty Shades trilogy.

Noticeably absent from the list this week? Amazon Publishing’s Hangman’s
Daughter series. After a flash of sales due to a pricing promotion, the
three titles that all hit in the top-12 have disappeared from the top-25.

See the rest of the the best-seller lists for the week ending March 31:

- Digital Book World Best-Selling Ebooks Priced $10.00 and Above

 - Digital Book World Best-Selling Ebooks Priced $8.00 - $9.99

 - Digital Book World Best-Selling Ebooks Priced $3.00 - $7.99

 - Digital Book World Best-Selling Ebooks Priced $0.00 - $2.99

Read and comment on our methodology.

Top 25 Ebook Best-Sellers

Week Ending 3/31/13

 Sponsored by:

Rank*

Title

Author

Publisher

 Price**

Change

1 (n/a)

Lover At Last: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood

J.R. Ward

Penguin

 $   14.99

New

2 (9)

The Host: A Novel

Stephenie Meyer

Hachette

 $    1.99

+7

3 (1)

Six Years

Harlan Coben

Penguin

 $   14.99

-2

4 (3)

Wait for You

J. Lynn

Self-published

 $    2.99

-1

5 (4)

Three Sisters (Blackberry Island)

Susan Mallery

Harlequin

 $    5.50

-1

6 (25)

The Edge of Never

J.A Redmerski

Hachette

 $    0.99

+19

7 (5)

Alex Cross, Run

James Patterson

Hachette

 $   11.99

-2

8 (7)

Gone Girl: A Novel

Gillian Flynn

Random House

 $   12.99

-1

9 (13)

Firefly Lane : A Novel

Kristin Hannah

Macmillan

 $    2.99

+4

10 (6)

A Week in Winter

Maeve Binchy

Random House

 $    9.99

-4

11 (10)

Safe Haven

Nicholas Sparks

Hachette

 $    5.69

-1

12 (11)

Mirror Image

Sandra Brown

Hachette

 $    4.74

-1

13 (n/a)

The Wanderer (Thunder Point)

Robyn Carr

Harlequin

 $    5.99

New

14 (15)

The Storyteller

Jodi Picoult

Simon & Schuster

 $   12.74

+1

15 (n/a)

Twice Tempted: A Night Prince Novel

Jeaniene Frost

HarperCollins

 $    6.45

New

16 (14)

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

Sheryl Sandberg

Random House

 $   12.99

-2

17 (18)

Defending Jacob: A Novel

William Landay

Random House

 $    7.99

+1

18 (16)

The Silver Linings Playbook: A Novel

Matthew Quick

Macmillan

 $    7.99

-2

19 (n/a)

The Burgess Boys: A Novel

Elizabeth Strout

Random House

 $   12.99

New

20 (17)

Fifty Shades Freed: Book Three of the Fifty Shades Trilogy

E. L. James

Random House

 $    9.99

-3

21 (19)

Breath of Scandal

Sandra Brown

Hachette

 $    4.74

-2

22 (n/a)

Just One Night, Part 1: The Stranger

Kyra Davis

Simon & Schuster

 $    1.99

New

23 (20)

Fifty Shades Darker: Book Two Of The Fifty Shades Trilogy

E. L. James

Random House

 $    9.99

-3

24 (22)

Fifty Shades Of Grey: Book One Of The Fifty Shades Trilogy

E. L. James

Random House

 $    9.99

-2

25 (21)

Calculated in Death

J. D. Robb

Penguin

 $   12.99

-4

* Previous week’s list rank in parentheses.

 ** Price reflects minimum price across all retailers throughout the week.
Price may vary between retailers and may change throughout the week. Contact
Iobyte Solutions for more information on e-book pricing.

 Methodology available here.

To receive this information in your inbox every morning at 8:00 AM Eastern
Time, subscribe to the DBW Daily below.

 * Email Address:

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Related Posts:

■Ebook Best-Sellers $8.00 to $9.99 Week Ending 4-28-13

■Ebook Best-Sellers $3.00 to $7.99 Week Ending 4-28-13

■Ebook Best-Sellers $0.00 to $2.99 Week Ending 4-28-13

■Self-Published Titles Dominate Top of Ebook Best-Sellers List

■Ebook Best-Sellers $10 and Above Week Ending 4-28-13

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Top Ebook Best-Sellers

Week Ending 4/21/13

1

Damaged | H.M. Ward

Self-published | $0.99

2

The Bet | Rachel Van Dyken

Self-published | $0.99

3

Whiskey Beach | Nora Roberts

Penguin | $14.99

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