I'm not going to put the blame on Amazon here. If you go into a book store they don't give away public domain books for free. In most cases they are not any cheaper than any other book. Amazon doesn't set the price on e-books, the publishers do. If a publisher creates an e-book version of a public domain book they can charge for it.
Blame the clueless publishers who still refuse to change their long-standing sales and pricing methodologies to adapt to an inevitable electronic market place.
What annoys me most is when I see that a paperback copy of a book is a few dollars cheaper than the electronic Kindle version. It's insane. All content publishers are trying to rip us off in the electronic marketplace. If I subscribe to Wired magazine via Amazon it's $10 for 12 issues. If I buy an issue on the Wired iPad app, it's $3.99 an issue. Why would I do that? For the convenience of having an electronic version? It's a rip off. At least offer me a discounted subscription price.
I would really like to get some of The Walking Dead comics. In the iPad Comixology application they are $1.99 per issue. On Amazon I can get a book version of the first 48 issues for $37. Physical book version $37, electronic version $95.52. When I'm done with the electronic version, what can I do with it? Nothing! I can't resell it. I can't lend it to a friend. I can't donate it to a library. It's actually in the publishers best interest to encourage me to get the electronic version because it limits the number of times it can be consumed. Is that so hard for publishers to understand?
 | Amazon Charging Users For Free eBooks | |
| eBooks may be cheaper than their hardback counterparts, but that doesn't mean you should assume you're getting a good deal. As the Washington Post reports,... | ||
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