iPad May Hurt e-Book Prices

The introduction of the iPad may turn out to hurt consumers; in a rather strange and ironic turn of events, e-book prices could be going up.

Amazon, the maker of the Kindle e-reader, has been fighting with publishers over e-book prices. Amazon wants to keep them at around $10 per book; the leading publishers want to raise prices to around $15 per book. Apple has entered the fray, saying it will let publishers set prices for e-books on the iPad.

There does not seem to be a valid reason for raising e-book prices. E-books are vastly different than traditional printed books: you cannot lend an e-book to a friend, or sell it to someone else, or even put it on a shelf in your home. There are no printing costs associated with e-books, either. Logically the price of e-books should remain lower than that of printed books. Amazon understands this, but publishers seem to have a more shortsighted view of the situation.

Publishers should be focusing on getting more e-book customers. Instead, they may be alienating current and potential future customers with this price increase.

Via PC World.