How Price Sensitive Are People For Books?

Good question.


I, for instance, have been shopping for a POD or self publishing source, and have been interested in reading at least one book per site, to see the quality of both the writing and the physical product.


But paying $20 plus shipping per book (which is what I was finding,) is hard to justify.

And sometimes the excerts are enough to convince me that the writer has made too many errors to keep me focused on the story, instead of their lack of an editor.


So, to me, price has been a huge issue in deciding which book to buy.

I did publicity/promotion specifically for POD/self published authors and the biggest obstacle we came across was price . . . the second was getting stores to stock the title. The authors I worked with wanted to make a better profit because the cost of publishing their titles was so high, but the couldn't because they had to stay competitive in the marketplace in order to see sales. When their price was comparable, it sold . . . when it was inflated a bit, it didn't. We banged our heads against or desks over and over again trying to come up with interesting promotional twists get get passed this, but it didn't work.

I only read non-fiction, still, it's for entertainment.

And since I read a book in a day, cost is something I have to consider.


But a good non-fiction book will sell much longer than a novel will. And people will pay a decent price for instructional, or self-help or how-to books.

Steven Pollack said:

Were your experiences based on fiction or non-fiction. I am still wondering if there is a certain fungibility for novels, which are essentially entertainment, that might not be present for self-help.

My thought(hope) is that if the reader on my website thinks I have really good advice based on the free articles, then they might not consider a lower priced retail self-help book to be a viable substitute.

Steve

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Three were fiction and four were non-fiction.

It was the same experience for both -- one, a non-fiction, was really difficult because the author wanted it (a medical book) priced about $5.00 higher than market and hounded me daily about how poor sales were. We struggled to get it on Amazon correctly (still not sure why) and stores didn't want it because it wasn't through a major distributor . . . what a headache that was. The only way we could get sales was through lectures he delivered on the topic, conferences he attended, patient sales in his office and medical newsletters that featured him.

What other plans for promotion do you have? I wrote an article about this:

The Importance of a Prepublication Marketing Plan

And there's a really good book:

Publicize Your Book! By Jaqueline Deval

I really hope this helps!

Steven Pollack said:

I started out with the simple idea of a website and bulletin board with helpful articles for retailers. I have been studying Search Engine Optimization techniques and feel comfortable that I can create momentum for an advertising supported business.

The bulletin board, unlike this one, will not be free but will be $50 per quarter and be marketed as a budget consulting service. I will answer specific questions on the forum and will get other experts in accounting, for example, to also share in the revenue. I have seen this work in the jewelry business but I am not sure about getting it off the ground this late in the internet phase. Again, it is based on the idea that I am making a lot of my ideas available for free so that those who find my advice valuable will see the value in getting personalized attention.

The book is my latest idea in all this. If you like my advice on the free section of the site then you are a highly qualified potential customer for the book. A goal for traffic to the site is 600 to 1,000 unique visitors per day. That seems to be a good number of potential book buyers as well.

Go ahead, shoot holes in all this.

Steve

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:: smiles ::

I won't shoot holes in any of it -- a business plan works best with organization, aggression and drive, which you seem to have. I've only worked with one other author who tried the search engine slant and, while it did bring a lot of traffic to his site, it didn't boost book sales. However, he offered other things (reports, CDs, paid subscription newsletters) that did quite well and made up for that. I think it's great that you've done all this ground work before taking blind steps into the dark!

If you can afford it and go offset, you can significantly cut down on cost, even with small runs (500 copies)... probably down to $3 a copy. The fact is, nobody is going to want to pay $20 to buy a 140-page self-help book unless you're a celebrity. So you need to cut down the cost. Also, remember, book stores expect a substantial discount if you want them to stock your books (at least 40%), so you'll have to take that into consideration so it doesn't cut into your profit margin. POD simply is too expensive, although you can get away without any upfront costs.

If you're only going to sell it through your website and car trunks, then you need to be realistic about how many copies you're going to sell. The more expensive the book, the less likely someone is going to buy it, unless you have a really unique niche and captive audience.

$24 is still too expensive, IMHO. I have read plenty of business books. For $24 I would expect something substantial: a) hardcopy; b) from someone I know or "celebrity" gurus; c) recommended by reputable sources like Business Week or Harvard School of Business, etc.

If you set your book at $24 you have one more hurdle against you. Not only do you have to prove that why your book is better than all the other enterprenuer and business books out there by big publishers such as S&S, but you also have to convince people why they should shell out $24 for your advice, on a self-pub paperback book. It's not impossible, but it's going to be much tougher.

Like I said, if you could cut down on cost by going offset, then you can lower your price to a reasonable level. I believe for a trade paperback, people would like to see the price no more than $15-20.

A friend of mine self-pubbed a book and charged $45 for it. But he has a captive audience because a) it's the ONLY book on the subject out there -- he checked-- and b) he sells it to all his students and faculty members. So not only does he have a niche, he has a guaranteed audience so he could afford to charge an high price.

Like I said, if you could cut down on cost by going offset, then you can lower your price to a reasonable level. I believe for a trade paperback, people would like to see the price no more than $15-20.

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This is excellent advice. The buyers I dealt with wanted a non-fiction book they could shelve for no more than 16.99 (or 16.95 depending) and it had to be through a distributor. Fiction titles was a different story.

Lawyers charge different amounts, jewelers do, and bathroom product sellers do as well. So why is the book world so constrained by what the other guy is charging? I dont get it.

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It's kind of hard to explain, but really it boils down to the simple fact that books aren't viewed as a specific need like the services offered by lawyers, the sentiment offered by jewelery and the necessity of bathroom products . . . these are examples, of course. The busy consumer does want a quick read, you're on the right track with that, but the frugal consumer wants a good deal. They'll price shop similar titles until they get the price/quality they're comfortable with. Think about your book buying experiences and that of your peers . . . do you see them buying in this fashion or the way you're predicitng your customer base to be?

If you're only going to sell it through your website and car trunks, then you need to be realistic about how many copies you're going to sell. The more expensive the book, the less likely someone is going to buy it, unless you have a really unique niche and captive audience.

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EXACTLY. This is sound advice -- it's best not to get into something and find yourself with a huge stock and nothing selling. A lot of authors fail to realize that self publishing a book is a business venture -- not just writing a book and trying to get it sold. There's far more in's and out's to the whole thing than that . . . how the book looks really does matter because, in the marketplace, cosumers really do judge a book by its cover (and the quality of the pages -- non-fiction readers DON'T want to see crappy paper or they won't buy the book) and, this will hold true for your website design, too.

I just received some self published books to work with from two newly self published authors. The content is good, but the pages are of the lowest grade paper and the cover design is terrible. I'm not trying to look at this with a judgemental eye . . . I'm looking at it from the buyer's prospective. I would never pick these books off the shelf because there's nothing eye catching or anything like that about the cover. And, when looking at the price, one is priced about $7.00 too high and the other is priced right on the mark. I'm telling you this so you don't make the same mistakes. These authors and I are going to have to seriously think of some creative ways to get these titles sold because, like you, they're depending on website traffic (they're other outlet is Amazon).

Don't get frustrated -- there's a lot to think about here. Think about offering other services on your site beyond the message boards to offset what you would've liked to have made on the book. Consider recruiting others who are also experts in your field as a way to gain more trust and more traffic.

If I might add a word here . . .

Most people resent what lawyers charge but have no choice if they are in need. They'll pay top-dollar for top advice in order to keep their butts out of court. They will buy high-priced plumbing fixtures instead of Home Depot specials in order to boost the value of their home (or their own cachet within their social circle). Jewelry is strictly a luxury and follows the same rules as exotic plumbing fixtures, fancy cars, and designer shoes.

Books are in a different category. Books are available from libraries. Books are purchased once and then borrowed by friends. People don't necessarily see books as a necessity, though the information contained in them might be. The internet has put a dent in many people's desire to buy non-fiction books as most of the pertinent information is available there for free.

I say this as a book addict who once belonged to so many book clubs I finally had to go cold turkey or risk losing my aparment because I was falling behind on the rent. If anyone's going to buy a high-ticket book, it'll be me. I'm a writer, so I research for articles. I'm a teacher, and I need input for lessons. I'm an investor and need to know where the market is headed. I'm a horse farmer and need to know the latest in husbandry and training information. I'm a fanatic about current events and love to read new theories.

You'd think I'd be an easy sell on so many different fronts, but I find myself going to the internet first. I still buy books, but not nearly as many as I did in the past. And I look for bargains and for famous names whose information I trust. I've been eyeing Empire of Debt for a couple of weeks and wouldn't have bought it at the $16.95 cover price (hardbound) if I hadn't heard Wiggins on C-Span yesterday and decided I needed to read the book now. Still, I ordered it from Amazon, one-click, no shipping, as part of a two-fer.

That's a long-winded way of saying that the market is much tighter for books than for the other products and services you mentioned. It's about economics. If you could get the same quality legal advice for a cheaper price or free, wouldn't you do that? I buy more jewelry on eBay than I do at Tiffany's, though I can afford to shop anywhere. My "favorites" list is loaded with discount horse supply catalog sites.

The world is changing, and we POD and self-published authors have to keep pace with the economics of it all. It's strictly supply-side. If the goods are available cheaper, demand for you more expensive product will dwindle until the cheaper version runs out. The internet never runs out.

As with any other product, you're welcome to price your book as you please. If you want to sell it, however, it needs to be competitive. That's the bottom line. My non-fiction POD book at 100 pages and $11.95 plus shipping is overpriced. I do better buying it in bulk for $6.40 and reselling it for $10.00. That seems to be what people want to pay for 100 pages. And that's people who know who I am and trust my advice. At $10.00, they consider it a good buy. At $11.95 they need a reason to buy it. My autograph apparently isn't reason enough.

Rail on, but realize that you're fighting economics, and it's a tough battle to win.

Very well said! Thank you for adding this in!

Good Discussion

I like the discussion here, it is enlightening. As a POD book writer, who rushed out my book too quickley, I find the discussion on pricing very interesting. I have a political fiction novel, 232 pages, priced at 14.99. I'm now rethinking that price. Maybe 12.99? It is easy to sell family and friends at 14.99 only because you are a celebrity for 15 minutes. The general public is another story. Do any of you know how your POD book gets treated by Amazon etc, will the discount being say 25% versus 55%?

Books are entertainment, or in the case of non-fiction, information. Like other entertainment/information sources (TV, movies, DVDs, the Internet), people expect either the content to be free or sold for a fixed, low price (you hardly see any DVDs priced over $20 unless they're special editions or collector's series, and movie tickets are $10 whether it's Lord of the Rings or a movie no one ever sees). That's just the business model that fits well with the consumer products, be they books, CDs, toothpaste, or TV dinners.

I mean, would you buy a TV dinner, no matter how "gourmet" it is, for $12 a box?

Professional services like laywers or consultants, etc. also has a base line for charges. Unless you're a celebrity lawyer, it's rare that you can charge more than, say, $300 an hour. I'm a consultant and I would be crazy to charge my clients more than $250/hour. That are the going rates. Same with doctors. However, if people wants the BEST service, they can always pay. And those who are in the position to charge that high (Johnny Cochran, for example) would do so, but only because people will buy based on the name itself. If I were a celebrity, for example, I would be able to charge $100,000 for a speaking engagement and not even sweat.

Luxurious items like vintage cars or jewelry or real estate are their own category.

mr58inc said:

I like the discussion here, it is enlightening. As a POD book writer, who rushed out my book too quickley, I find the discussion on pricing very interesting. I have a political fiction novel, 232 pages, priced at 14.99. I'm now rethinking that price. Maybe 12.99? It is easy to sell family and friends at 14.99 only because you are a celebrity for 15 minutes. The general public is another story. Do any of you know how your POD book gets treated by Amazon etc, will the discount being say 25% versus 55%?

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Your best bet for figuring this out is to go to your bookstore and find other titles that are like your and are written by both well known and lesser known authors. How do the prices compare? Do you see differences in the prices of each that you've selected or are they marginal. If your book is priced higher, than you've answered your question. If it's comparable, then you need to push for stronger promotion.

You're right; you're an atypical shopper in an atypical situation. First, the books and study aids you're buying will pay off in a JD and matching income. They are an investment that can be written off on your taxes if you continue to buy them once you are practicing or if you can use them to help you in your professional practice.

Second, the market for professional text books is incredibly rich. Like you, I paid through the nose for text books in college, and as a public school teacher I find it disheartening that schools are indeed a captive market with sky-high prices that reflect that fact. BUT, those books aren't purchased every year. They are used and re-used. The vocabulary books in my classroom right now are dated 1976 with no reprinting date. We only replace a few each year as they are destroyed or lost or the population expands. It's a captive market, but the captives are wary.

Interesting point of fact: My brother is a phsyician who years ago wrote a definitive book on patient management in his specialty. It was released in a large format and very professional-looking binding at a very high price. He didn't make a huge fortune since only doctors and hospitals specializing in that area bought it, but it sold well for something of that type. It's now in it's fourth or fifth update, and it is a considerably smaller book in physical size (not in content) and cheaper despite the fact that he has made ground-breaking discoveries that are chronicled in the updated text.

I see that as an indication that the book market is tighter overall than it was ten or fifteen years ago. In fact, I was paying nearly as much for my psychology texts in college and graduate school in the '60's and early 70's as you are for your law texts in the new century. Book prices haven't risen in keeping with the cost of living and inflation.

On the up side, your book may be tax-deductible for your buyers, which is a good thing to note in your advertising. That alone may allow you to command a slightly higher price. I have to agree with Jenn that doing a little comparison shopping couldn't hurt. Why price yourself out of the market if you can avoid it?

Thanks for adding all this in! Especially this bit:

On the up side, your book may be tax-deductible for your buyers, which is a good thing to note in your advertising. That alone may allow you to command a slightly higher price.

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A lot of authors and experts fail to take this into consideration and miss out on a very good marketing opportunity. Thank you, also, for talking about your various experiences -- when others who are interested in taking this step enter into this forum, I think it's important for them to see the "seller's side" and the "buyer's side" so each perspective can be fully understood. I've seen so many people with "great ideas," but it's hardly ever thought ALL THE WAY through.

Steven Pollack said:

I started out with the simple idea of a website and bulletin board with helpful articles for retailers. I have been studying Search Engine Optimization techniques and feel comfortable that I can create momentum for an advertising supported business.

The bulletin board, unlike this one, will not be free but will be $50 per quarter and be marketed as a budget consulting service. I will answer specific questions on the forum and will get other experts in accounting, for example, to also share in the revenue. I have seen this work in the jewelry business but I am not sure about getting it off the ground this late in the internet phase. Again, it is based on the idea that I am making a lot of my ideas available for free so that those who find my advice valuable will see the value in getting personalized attention.

The book is my latest idea in all this. If you like my advice on the free section of the site then you are a highly qualified potential customer for the book. A goal for traffic to the site is 600 to 1,000 unique visitors per day. That seems to be a good number of potential book buyers as well.

Go ahead, shoot holes in all this.

Steve

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I'm wondering if people would be willing to pay anything to buy your book if they are already spending $600 a year to get advice from you. They may think they are entitled to whatever information you are including in your book as part of their subscription to the site. It's something to think about.

Regarding price: $24.95 is very high for a paperback of only 140 pages, regardless whether it's fiction or nonfiction. There is NO way you'll get a book with that price point in the chains, for example, and it's unlikely you'll get it into any bookstores, regardless, because it's self published. That means that you'll have to depend solely on your web clientele. Your comment that your goal for the site is 1,000 unique visitors per day may be a realistic one, although you are really going to have to push the site given all the other business-related sites out there. Don't for a minute assume that 1000 visitors per day to your site translates into 1,000 new prospective book buyers per day. That's totally unrealistic.

Most nonfiction books of 144 or fewer sell in the trade for $16.95 or less. If you're reaching a highly specialized audience you can charge more, but I wouldn't go above $19.95; people tend to balk after the $20.00 range.
Good luck with your project!

Steven Pollack said:

$200 per year, not $600.

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That still seems like a hefty fee . . .

1. Are you absolutely certain that you're offering advice that isn't already available online for free?
2. Are you absolutely certain that you're offering information that can't already be bought in another book instead of signing up for this subscription?
3. How did you come up with this subscription fee? For example, you're coming to us for advice on this topic -- would you have, otherwise, paid to enter into this forum if it wasn't a free service? Professional writing is a huge market, do you feel like the advice you're receiving here is less valuable than what you'd be offering on your own site?

Is there a sweet spot for book length where it will still feel like a quick read but will engender more feelings of value? I am not opposed to going longer but I dont want to turn it into a treatise on retailing.

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This is where your homework has to come in again. If you were going to present this in proposal form to a traditional publisher, this kind of market research would be required. The problem with self published authors is they feel they can skip these necessary steps because they're not publishing through a house. This is a mistake because there's a specific reason these houses make this requirement. It's not so the author has another hurdle to jump over or to make things more complicated in the path to publication. It's to give both the author and the publisher a firm grasp on how this book will be positioned to sell. If this can't be determined in a no-nonsense fashion, how can you be absolutely certain it has a place in the market? This information is important for the author to determine themselves because it is, afterall, what they're ultimately going to be selling with our without the help of a tradtional press.

Also, I am thinking that I am not going to concern myself with the chains and bookstores. This is a book on entrepreneurialism so I want to practice what I preach.

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This is another huge-huge-huge mistake. Books quickly get lost in the shuffle and the misconception most authors who choose this path is that they have a unique product that will stand up above the rest. Unique products are a dime a dozen when you think about how saturated the market has become with self publsihed titles. Everyone thinks they have the next big thing and everyone thinks they "don't need to concern themselves" with selling in bookstores . . . books . . . bookstores. This goes hand in hand. You would be practicing what you preach by utilizing the correct tools . . . which is what an entrepreneur does in order to secure success.

Also, everyone seems very concerned about the cover. You should check out www.designoutpost.com to get an idea of what professional graphic artists charge in a competitive environment.

Steve

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This is common knowledge in the self publication process. Everything about good quality self published products has a high price tag -- there's no way of getting around that. If you want this book to sell, seriously, presentation does matter. Especially with a high price tag. Designers, like writers, deserve to be paid for their craft. This is where the high price, in both respects, come in. (this comparison is made because you're posting on a professional writing board -- had you posted somewhere else, another comparison could have easily been made)

I'm not trying to bring you down on your project, but this is really good advice here:

Regarding price: $24.95 is very high for a paperback of only 140 pages, regardless whether it's fiction or nonfiction. There is NO way you'll get a book with that price point in the chains, for example, and it's unlikely you'll get it into any bookstores, regardless, because it's self published. That means that you'll have to depend solely on your web clientele. Your comment that your goal for the site is 1,000 unique visitors per day may be a realistic one, although you are really going to have to push the site given all the other business-related sites out there. Don't for a minute assume that 1000 visitors per day to your site translates into 1,000 new prospective book buyers per day. That's totally unrealistic.

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When you're making a huge investment like self publishing, ever singel angle really does need to be concidered, thought about and done correctly.

It doesn't matter if you're an entrepreneur or not -- going down the self-pub route already proves that -- you still need distribution, unless you want to devote your entire career selling books out of your car or at conventions? The problem with hand-selling through websites, etc. is that you have to go to them. Like someone said, even if you manage to get 1000 visitors a day to your site, it doesn't translate to 1000 sales. Being an entrepreneur doesn't mean you have to sell your gears from your car trunk.

Also, self-publishing is expensive (at least up front cost) and that's why most people couldn't afford to do it (and they go with vanity press -- but we won't discuss that, here). It's a mistake to skimp. An attractive, professional quality cover is the first and one of the most important things to draw people to your book. You need to create and offer a quality book to your readers, especially if you want to charge them $24.99.

I know the allure of making the most profit out of your endeavor. But you really must question, what is your objective and how you're going to achieve that? Setting up high expectations is not going to get you there. You either must lower the cost, or go with a wide distribution to maximize your sales -- the bottomline is that a high retail price is going to hinder, not enhance, your chances of success.

P.S. I also agree with with the assessment about your fee-based site. I hope you're offering more than just advice. I belong to a professional, subscription-only site and my cost is just about $200 a year -- but the site provides far more than just advice. It has everything to help people network, find jobs, educate, tools, articles, etc. And I find that most professional sites are free. If you're going to charge someone $200 a year, you'll have to provide a lot of values (perhaps even a free book!) and constant updated content and services. Probably you're already doing it; then great, and I wish you luck!