Justice Department to Apple, Publishers: Here we come.

[Peter Parker]

Don, Gross profit (or gross margin) can be readily ascertained from the same reports you cite. It is simply revenue - Cost of goods Sold. Again it does not tell you everything but it does tel you certain things and it is not just starting point it is a key indicator internally and for investors. in fact for the reasons I cited it sometimes tells us things that a look at the bottom line will not tell us.

I am sorry but as others have pointed out you seem to shrug off as insignificant or academic any argument that doe s not support your conclusions---at least insofar as Apple is concerned.

I am done witht his though. I am interested in how the suit comes out but that will take years to find out and what is said here will literally have no effect on it.

 

[mperdue]

As for economies of scale, that's where the huge benefit of ebooks come in. You typeset and convert to the ebook format once and aside for encryption to tie the book to a specific buyer (which I imagine is automated), you're done.

By economies of scale I was referring to the targeted market for the book. For instance, I have a book on model rocketry on the market in paperback now. I'm currently converting it to iBooks format for the iPad. My target market is very small to begin with and the iBooks, Kindle and Nook versions will have an even smaller potential market. That being the case it will be difficult to reduce the price and still make publishing the book worthwhile. On the plus side, the iPad book that I'm currently working on will have color photos and illustrations instead of B&W. There will be interactive images and videos added that will enhance the content. Sections with math formulas will have widgets that will allow you to enter the variables and solve the problems without doing the longhand calculations. Website references will be clickable links instead of something you have to manually type into a browser. In short, electronic books can have a lot of value added that makes up for the cost being the same.

 

[TheForce]

Hey- no problem. We all have our methods and as investing is not an exact science, we choose the tools that work for us and ignore those that don't. I had the same discussion/disagreement with diogen a while back who believed the best way to determine if a company was successful or not was to analyze it's bill of materials from a blogger who dissected a device. I'll continue to use earnings per share. We do agree that one metric does not tell everything, I just don't place gross profit very high on the list.

 

[mdram]

By economies of scale I was referring to the targeted market for the book. For instance, I have a book on model rocketry on the market in paperback now. I'm currently converting it to iBooks format for the iPad. My target market is very small to begin with and the iBooks, Kindle and Nook versions will have an even smaller potential market. That being the case it will be difficult to reduce the price and still make publishing the book worthwhile. On the plus side, the iPad book that I'm currently working on will have color photos and illustrations instead of B&W. There will be interactive images and videos added that will enhance the content. Sections with math formulas will have widgets that will allow you to enter the variables and solve the problems without doing the longhand calculations. Website references will be clickable links instead of something you have to manually type into a browser. In short, electronic books can have a lot of value added that makes up for the cost being the same.

just do 1 format
epub and be done with it

 

[TheForce]

By economies of scale I was referring to the targeted market for the book. For instance, I have a book on model rocketry on the market in paperback now. I'm currently converting it to iBooks format for the iPad. My target market is very small to begin with and the iBooks, Kindle and Nook versions will have an even smaller potential market. That being the case it will be difficult to reduce the price and still make publishing the book worthwhile. On the plus side, the iPad book that I'm currently working on will have color photos and illustrations instead of B&W. There will be interactive images and videos added that will enhance the content. Sections with math formulas will have widgets that will allow you to enter the variables and solve the problems without doing the longhand calculations. Website references will be clickable links instead of something you have to manually type into a browser. In short, electronic books can have a lot of value added that makes up for the cost being the same.

The last book I bought was a text on 3D movie making. The optics math in 3D got so complex the author had trouble illustrating it so the book came with a DVD with illustrations in 3D Studio MAX that made the explanations much easier to understand. Think how much nicer that book would have been if the author had done it like you are doing.

 

[mperdue]

just do 1 format
epub and be done with it

One format doesn't cover multiple screen aspect ratios when you have a lot of photos and/or illustrations. Also, all formats don't support the same widgets so that would require designing to the lowest common denominator - something I really don't want to do.

 

[dangue]

By economies of scale I was referring to the targeted market for the book. For instance, I have a book on model rocketry on the market in paperback now. I'm currently converting it to iBooks format for the iPad. My target market is very small to begin with and the iBooks, Kindle and Nook versions will have an even smaller potential market. That being the case it will be difficult to reduce the price and still make publishing the book worthwhile. On the plus side, the iPad book that I'm currently working on will have color photos and illustrations instead of B&W. There will be interactive images and videos added that will enhance the content. Sections with math formulas will have widgets that will allow you to enter the variables and solve the problems without doing the longhand calculations. Website references will be clickable links instead of something you have to manually type into a browser. In short, electronic books can have a lot of value added that makes up for the cost being the same.

Ok, so we're talking about different things really. I was using the creation of a new work as my model, rather than the conversion of an already published work. I was also under the assumption that we were discussing ebooks that are just digitized versions of their physical counterparts (rather than interactive ones). Since that entails all different content or at least additional content and enhanced features, then disparate pricing makes sense.

 

[mdram]

One format doesn't cover multiple screen aspect ratios when you have a lot of photos and/or illustrations. Also, all formats don't support the same widgets so that would require designing to the lowest common denominator - something I really don't want to do.

you refering to an interacive/technical book

for most of the books out there, this is not an issue

 

[mperdue]

you refering to an interacive/technical book

for most of the books out there, this is not an issue

And if you had said most books in your original post I'd have agreed with you. My point is there are many reasons that your blanket statement is wrong.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

All 50 states may join e-book refund settlement — paidContent

The lawsuits over price-fixing in the e-book market took a new twist today after a HarperCollins lawyer predicted that three publishers could reach a settlement with all 50 state governments in the next two months.

Such a deal would not only expand an existing proposed settlement that would refund money to e-book buyers, but would also short-circuit part of a large class action case now underway against publishers and Apple.

The developments came at a status hearing in Manhattan attended by Apple, the five “big six” publishers who are under investigation, the Department of Justice and three state governments.

 

[navychop]

Well, I just had an eye opener the other day on this. BBC World News was interviewing a publisher at the London Book Fair. He stated the actual costs of printing, warehousing, distributing books - all the costs associated with the dead tree part of the business - totaled only about 10-15 percent of the selling price.

I was stunned. I can only take him at his word.

And on top of that, there are some expenses in e-publishing that don't apply to paper publishing.

 

[navychop]

I prefer paper. But I have bought some e-books, but only ones that I don't think will be of any value to me in a few years.

There is a drawback to e-books, which I will touch upon lightly and carefully to avoid politics. Imagine you travel into an area controlled by a government that has banned certain books for whatever reason. It would be possible for them to remove such books from your device, even to charge you with a crime. Or prevent such from being downloadable in the first place. Will this practice spread?

 

[dangue]

I prefer paper. But I have bought some e-books, but only ones that I don't think will be of any value to me in a few years.

There is a drawback to e-books, which I will touch upon lightly and carefully to avoid politics. Imagine you travel into an area controlled by a government that has banned certain books for whatever reason. It would be possible for them to remove such books from your device, even to charge you with a crime. Or prevent such from being downloadable in the first place. Will this practice spread?

How would that be any different from them confiscating your physical book? If anything, it'll be more difficult for them to realize you have a forbidden text in your device. If you go to a country that demands to go through your data before entering, you'll probably have greater concerns than them not approving an ebook you have on a device. And if they make you remove it, at least you can re-download it again once you leave the country (if your physical book gets confiscated, you'll have to buy it all over again).

 

[navychop]

How would that be any different from them confiscating your physical book?

That's my point.

If anything, it'll be more difficult for them to realize you have a forbidden text in your device. If you go to a country that demands to go through your data before entering, you'll probably have greater concerns than them not approving an ebook you have on a device. And if they make you remove it, at least you can re-download it again once you leave the country (if your physical book gets confiscated, you'll have to buy it all over again).

No, it'll be easier, as the process can be automated. Perhaps with, perhaps without, your cooperation. That's a possibility opened up by electronics. And not just a country, even state to state with wildly varying interpretations of "porn" or "community standards" or "what is truth/science/opinion." It all depends upon how far things go. You might be allowed to read things in one state, and not another. Not far fetched, when you think about it, it's just an extension of how things are today. Some areas allow Playboy on Dish, some don't. But this cannot go much farther, or could be continued at Sonic.

Controlling how things are priced is being pushed by the fed & state governments. Content, too, just a matter of degree.

 

[dangue]

No, it'll be easier, as the process can be automated. Perhaps with, perhaps without, your cooperation. That's a possibility opened up by electronics. And not just a country, even state to state with wildly varying interpretations of "porn" or "community standards" or "what is truth/science/opinion." It all depends upon how far things go. You might be allowed to read things in one state, and not another. Not far fetched, when you think about it, it's just an extension of how things are today. Some areas allow Playboy on Dish, some don't. But this cannot go much farther, or could be continued at Sonic.

Controlling how things are priced is being pushed by the fed & state governments. Content, too, just a matter of degree.

Navy,

I think you're talking about content distribution and delivery as opposed to the scanning and removal of pre-existing content from devices as you travel with them from one location to the next. I would classify one as the regulation of commerce and the other as an intrusion into one's personal property. Both are problematic in an area that implicates free speech rights, but, one, there will always be ways to circumvent such barriers/content filters. And two, if we ever give the states the unilateral power to ignore the 4th amendment and go through our data on such a elimination mission, society will have far more to worry about than a few censored books.

Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

 

[navychop]

I agree. But I have been stunned at certain "intrusions" mandated by certain state governments. I can't help but wonder if we've already crossed a line.

 

[mperdue]

Well, I just had an eye opener the other day on this. BBC World News was interviewing a publisher at the London Book Fair. He stated the actual costs of printing, warehousing, distributing books - all the costs associated with the dead tree part of the business - totaled only about 10-15 percent of the selling price.

I was stunned. I can only take him at his word.

And on top of that, there are some expenses in e-publishing that don't apply to paper publishing.

I'm not at all surprised by this. I currently have a 244 page book on the market and printing costs run about 12% of the retail price.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Sure there are other expenses, but e-publishing is changing the paradigm, and when Amazon comes out with its own publishing house, as it has, it even further changes the dynamics of the market. The publishing industry needs to adapt to the new world, and I think the reality is people are demonstrating their unwillingness to spend $35 on a hardcover.

 

[John Kotches]

I don't think this paradigm shift is limited to the book business. to me, it's clear that electronic distribution is slowly but surely destroying traditional print mediums.

newspapers and magazines are thinner and all of them are struggling to survive.
how many will survive to see the 2020 decade?




Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

 

[navychop]

Ain't it the truth.

My boss & I have a sort of bet going. I've guessed that the W Post will essentially drop its printed paper by around 2015. My boss, 2013.

May we both be wrong.