The Bookseller.com

7th September 2008

UK publishers set e-book prices

07.08.08 Graeme Neill

UK publishers are beginning to set out their e-book prices in the run-up to the launch of the Sony Reader in September, with only Hachette looking likely to price their digital titles below the price of the printed book.

In a survey of the main publishers, conducted by The Bookseller, the majority said that they would be seeking parity between recommended retail prices on e-books and their physical equivalent. Several publishers told The Bookseller that the reason behind this was they wanted to avoid heavy discounting of e-books. “We don’t want to start from a weak position and then negotiate downwards,” said one.

Hachette, which plans to have 750 titles available from next month aims to increase this figure to 1,000 e-books by the end of the year, was the most bullish on price. Group commercial director Richard Kitson said that e-book r.r.p.s would be “no more than 10% off the physical price”. But added: “We want to see how pricing develops.”

HarperCollins director of digital development David Roth-Ey said that it would sell e-books at parity prices. “The consumer will not be aware that publishers are making the book 17.5% cheaper anyway because of the VAT on e-books,” he said.

Genevieve Shore, global digital director at Penguin, also argued for parity pricing because of the costs involved with producing e-books. “All of our costs of producing e-books are in addition to our normal production costs,” she said. Sara Lloyd, head of digital publishing at Pan Macmillan, agreed and added, “the market will eventually set its own price”. A spokesperson for Random House said that deputy c.e.o. Ian Hudson had previously argued for parity pricing on e-books.

Simon & Schuster is also planning for parity, after becoming the latest publisher to outline its e-book plans. The publisher is aiming to have about 60 frontlist titles on sale by September, which it will increase to around 100 by Christmas. Caroline Turner, online marketing and communications director, said: “It’s new to the UK market. [The price] is something that will be reviewed as time goes on. We want to get it off the ground in a good and encouraging way, and hopefully people will want the product.”

Waterstone’s, which is stocking the Sony Reader, declined to say how much it would sell e-books for and a spokesperson said “at the moment we will be guided by the prices publishers set”.

Borders, which launched its Iliad e-book device in May, still has no e-books available on its website.

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