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Macmillan US chief executive John Sargent has said that most Macmillan e-books "will still be priced below ten dollars" with "$9.99 and lower prices" continuing to represent the largest portion of its digital business. Macmillan US last month won a very public spat with Amazon.com over a move to an 'agency model', which will see the publisher raise the price of digital versions of new hardback books.
In a blog posted on the Macmillan US website aimed at consumers, Sargent explained that the new agency agreement with Amazon would apply to "every e-book retailer with whom we do business" and would result in e-book editions of hardcover new releases being priced "between $14.99 and $12.99" - an increase on Amazon.com's $9.99 price for current Kindle bestsellers. But Sargent said that when cheaper editions, such as paperbacks come to the market, Macmillan would lower the price of the competing e-book edition.
Sargent wrote: "For physical books, the majority of new release hardcovers are published in cheaper paperback versions over time. We will mirror this price reduction in the digital world. It is too early to estimate the timing of the price reductions for those cases in which we do not issue a paperback edition. If we do issue a paperback, we will drop the digital price to $9.99 or lower at publication date (if not before). The price differential between the book and the e-book will become smaller at the lower price points."
He added: "There has been a lot of concern from e-book readers that $9.99 books will no longer be available. Most Macmillan e-books will still be priced below ten dollars. Our e-book sales over the last year clearly indicate that only about a third of our e-book business is in the digital versions of new release hardcovers. Unit sales of older books far exceed our new release hardcover sales, so the $9.99 and lower prices will continue to represent the largest portion of our business.In short, we will continue to do what we have always done: provide the reader with a vast selection of great books over a wide range of prices."