eBook Vs. Print - Reader Decisions - Do Price/Reviews Matter When Picking Out Books?

First of all a big "Happy Mothers Day" to all of you moms out there. Thank you for the sacrifices you made during your lifetime. Thank you!

We here at Pseudosynth Press were curious about the "eBook Vs. Print" dilemma and polled quite a few readers online and asked them the following questions concerning this decision.

1) What is your limit on an eBook purchase? What is the tipping point when deciding to buy or not to buy?

2) Does the popularity of the author matter to you? Does genre play a big part in your decision?

3) Do you take reviews seriously when picking out a book?

4) Which do you prefer, eBook or Print and why?

Here is what they had to say:

Sharon W. - "If I love the author's work I will pay whatever they ask. I usually buy from "word of mouth" I read all genre's.

Cindy S.- "I love Stephen King's work. I will not pay that much for an eBook. I will buy the paperback instead. I don't read reviews. I base my purchases solely on word of mouth. I will try all genres but as far as the price for an eBook I won't pay more than $5.00. I don't think an eBook is worth it I will buy the paperback. I know how much work goes into a book and how royalties work, I am a published author."

Hans M.- "Here in Germany paperbacks cost roughly 7 to 15 Euros (currently $8.00 to $17.00 US Dollars) depending on the page count, edition, and publisher. eBooks are cheaper but only a little. If the paperback is 9 or 10 Euros, the eBook will be 7 or 8 Euros. I am fine with that. To me it looks like the eBook 'is' the paperback with people buying only the "digital" edition. Actually I am fine with an eBook price just being below the price of a paperback. Why the heck should the price of an eBook be "much cheaper"? It's the story I am paying for not the paper it is written on. Why should I expect a 99% discount for an eBook? My suggestion is "if you buy the printed edition here is a offer to get the digital edition for an extra dollar or Euro." If you want only the eBook you will get it for a dollar or Euro less because it is not the paper you are paying for. Solely preying on "giveaway offers" is cheating the author. I read reviews but they don't have an influence. Some of the books I have loved the most have been trashed by reviewers."

Erik A.- "Personally when choosing a book I look for specific genres first. But I also look for certain authors...I am not a fan of reviews. One man's champagne is another man's swill. As for how much I would pay for an eBook, I am hesitant to pay more than $5.00 if it is not something that is not going to sit on my book shelf. Once I am done reading it, it will proverbially disappear. There are very few books I will read more than once."

Erika S.- "I have my favorite genre of books, fantasy and sci-fi. I pick books to read either based on the recommendations of friends who like the same genre and mostly when I come across interesting books in promo groups or events. Then I read the free sample on the selling site and if I like the author's writing style I purchase the book. For a good eBook I don't mind paying up to $7-8 dollars because I know how much work and money goes into publishing a book."

Tim C.- "I set a limit of $12.00 and that is only for specific authors. One of my favorite author's eBooks are priced at $16.00 and I simply cannot afford that. Those really high prices tend to be set by the publisher and not the author. As for eBooks, yes once you buy it you do in fact own it the same as a print copy, there is a lot of misinformation floating around about DRM (Digital Rights Management). I think authors should get paid $3-6 dollars per book for eBooks. It is a reasonable price even as high as $9.00 is not bad for certain authors works. My $12.00 limit applies only to certain authors. If I return an eBook it is because of content not because I am reading the book and want my money back. It is probably the reason I love KU (Kindle Unlimited) so much, you are only renting the books. I usually buy based on the title and description, every once in while I read a review. I do tend to not read the reviews for a very simple reason, most reviewers have no clue on how to leave a review without giving away the book which really sucks. On occasion word of mouth gets my attention."

Jeremy C.- "I try to cap an eBook at $10.00. Anymore than that and I will just buy the paperback."

We would like to thank our readers, Sharon, Erika, Cindy, Erik, Tim, Jeremy, and Hans for their participation in this post. No 'readers or authors' were harmed in the making of this blog. JMSP

Coming soon from Pseudosynth Press..EMERALD

You call me a "Psychotic Sociopathic Pseudosilicon" like its a bad thing..." - Xanthe SDR 33