Monthly Archives: January 2010

E-Book Pricing: A Split Opinion Among E-Reader Owners

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Maximum price e-book readers will pay for e-books
Maximum price e-book readers will pay for e-books

Over 27% of e-reader owners are unwilling to pay more than $9.99 for e-books, while an equal number, 28%, are willing to entertain a range of prices up to $20.00. (The typical Amazon price-point for Kindle e-book sales is $9.99.)  Further, over 37% of e-reader owners have yet to form a firm opinion about e-book prices.

The results are based on Verso Digital’s 2009 Survey of Book-Buying Behavior, the full results of which will be presented at the upcoming Digital Book World conference, January 26-27 at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers in New York City. Conducted in two waves during November and December, 2009, the survey polled 5,640 book-buying respondents, weighted to mirror the U.S. adult population.  The results are statistically reliable within a 1.6 percentage-point margin of error, at a 95% probability level.

The Survey further reveals that only a very small minority of e-reader owners, 7.5%, is willing to entertain prices typical of new-release hardcover books, $25.00 and above.  “The results suggest a much greater diversity of opinion among consumers regarding the emerging e-book market than the industry pundits allow,” says Jack McKeown, industry consultant and Director of New Business Development for Verso Digital.  “We think the survey results point to a potential ‘sweet spot’ for publishers in the $13.00-$18.00 price bracket, including the prospect of converting a lot of the undecided owners.  The results should offer some encouragement to publishers that have been struggling with issues of e-book pricing, timing and potential cannibalization of print sales.”

Could it be true that current e-book users are willing to entertain more flexibility in e-book price points than it first seemed?

E-Book Piracy a Growing Concern According to New Verso Consumer Survey

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Percentage of e-book readers who use unregulated file-sharing services
Percentage of e-book readers who use unregulated file-sharing services

Over 28% of e-reader owners have used unregulated file-sharing services, such as RapidShare, Megaupload and Hot File to download at least one e-book within the last twelve months, and 6% have used such services to download ten or more titles during this interval.

The results are based on Verso Digital’s 2009 Survey of Book-Buying Behavior, the full results of which will be presented at the upcoming Digital Book World conference, January 26-27 at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers in New York City. Conducted in two waves during November and December, 2009, the survey polled 5,640 book-buying respondents, weighted to mirror the U.S. adult population.  The results are statistically reliable within a 1.6 percentage-point margin of error, at a 95% probability level.

The Survey further reveals that questionable downloading, while affecting all age and gender brackets, is concentrated disproportionately among younger male readers. Among males aged 18-34, over 45% report engaging in such downloading activity within the past twelve months. Nearly 13% have downloaded ten or more e-books from file-sharing services, more than twice the level of the Survey population as a whole.

Jack McKeown, industry consultant and Director of New Business Development for Verso Digital, acknowledged that “the results are bound to set off ripples of alarm within a publishing industry already distracted by issues of e-book pricing, timing and potential cannibalization of print sales.”

What do you think?

7x20x21 for 2010!

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As part of the lead-up to the Digital Book World Conference, Verso Digital is sponsoring the next 7x20x21 event this Wed., January 13 at 7PM. (It’s the same pecha kucha format and feel to the 7x20x21 event Verso helped spark for last year’s BEA). It promises to be a fun evening with some super-smart people — booksellers, marketers, artists, and more — who care deeply about books and have gathered together to give us all reasons to be optimistic about publishing. It will be held at the Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery, NYC. For more details and to RSVP, you can go to the Meetup page.