SURVEY H Whoa! 88% Of Readers Put Off Buying Or Slam On The Brakes If They Think An eBook's Price Is Too High; How High Is Too High? Maybe Over $9.99, More Certainly At $13 Plus

SURVEY H Whoa! 88% Of Readers Put Off Buying Or Slam On The Brakes If They Think An eBook's Price Is Too High; How High Is Too High? Maybe Over $9.99, More Certainly At $13 Plus

By Tom Dulaney, Contributing Reporter

Death of a book sale begins with this knell from the buyer: “I'll wait. Let me think about it.”

The Winter 2011 Kindle Nation Citizen Survey finds a mammoth 88% of the 2,275 respondents saying, “I frequently choose to delay purchasing an ebook that I want to buy if I think the price is too high.” That big fat reluctant percentage breaks down this way: An astounding 60% say they strongly agree with the statement, and frequently delay purchasing a book.

Another 28%, not quite as adamant, “agree” with the statement. Those not coming down on the side of wait-and-see are a paltry 3% not sure about their actions, 4% who disagree and don't delay, and another 4% who strongly disagree and pay up with abandon.

The DMZ no man's land in the price struggles between publishers and readers is bordered by the $10 price line and the $12.99 price line, the survey hints. In between, 50% of survey respondents say they have paid the price occasionally for newly released titles. Some 8% “strongly agree” they have done so, while 42% “agree.” Some 46% disagree or strongly disagree; they haven't flinched and paid. A neutral 4% sits in the middle.

So, half the respondents occasionally do pay from $10 to $13 dollars for an ebook, and just under half never do so. Cross the $13 parallel, and things change dramatically, as shown a bit further below.

Publishers large or small and independent authors need to give their pricing a good think. A dollar either way could easily mean the difference between success and failure for the ebook, given the large number who will delay purchase. And any seller or author who blows off the issue thinking the “delay” means the buyer will be back sooner or later needs to take a class in Business 101. You never recoup 100% of pushed-off sales.

Ominous news from the survey for big-league publishers and bestselling authors pushing higher prices are these figures from the survey: 76% of respondents say if “publishers keep charging higher bestseller prices, I'll buy more backlist or indie titles.” To paraphrase the song, if you can't be with the author you love, then love the one you're with. That is, if your faithful readers are flirting with new or other authors while you're playing hard to get with prices, you may lose that faithful reader.

There's no doubt readers are much more price conscious this year. “With recent ebook price controversies, I've become more price conscious,” is the statement presented in the survey. Some 83% subscribe to the statement, with 43% saying they “strongly agree” that they are more price conscious and 40% saying they “agree” that they pay more attention to prices. Only 8% say they are not more tuned into prices, with another 10% opting out of the question by saying they are “not sure.”

Additional data indicates a smattering of respondents are occasionally paying more than $9.99 for books. The survey statement was: “I didn't think I would be willing to pay over $9.99 for ebooks, but I've been doing it at least twice a month.” Only 14% admit cracking against their resolve, with only 2% strongly agreeing that they pay more and 12% merely agreeing they do so.

Some 36% disagree, denying they pay over $9.99 and 39% strongly disagree with the statement. An unsure 12% sit in the middle. To sum that up, nearly 75% say—in this survey question at least—they are not paying over $9.99 “at least twice a month.”

Newly released titles erode the will to resist buying. The seduction zone, with pricing ranging between $10 and $12.99, beguiles the largest percentage. Some 8% strongly agree they occasionally pay for ebooks in that price range, and 42% agreeing that they do. Some 46% do not pay, with 19% disagreeing with the statement and 27% strongly disagreeing. Again, an unsure group—this time at 4%--divides the camps.

Exceed the $12.99 ceiling for newly released titles and resistance stiffens. “I occasionally pay $13 or more for newly released ebook titles,” is the statement respondents were presented with. Only 3% strongly agree that the do. And only 16% agree. That is a 31% fall off from the 50% who relented and paid in the $10 to $12.99 range. To sum it up, 74% hold firm and do not buy newly released titles priced over $12.99.

Even if the ebook is professional or technical in nature, price resistance over the $9.99 tag is strong. For those types of ebooks, only 6% strongly agree that they would pay the surcharge for the specialty ebooks, and only 15% agree. A large 24% are unsure, perhaps never faced with the decision. But 32% disagree, indicating they would not pay more, and 23% strongly disagree.