The launch of the iPad has caused a veritable war over eBook pricing between Apple and Amazon. To promote the Kindle and expand its market share, Amazon sells kindle editions of newly released and best selling books at a loss.
Apple on the other hand, offers to publishers the same deal iPhone developers get; they are free to set their own prices, and Apple keeps 30%.
This deal, despite
Steve Jobs clearly stating the opposite,
is believed to result with iPad eBooks being more expensive than their Kindle equivalent; well folks,
we found out that's not the case.
I had the chance this week to be presented a not-so-NDA-complying preview of it and it looks like Steve is not to be doubted. This is not a rumor, as I have seen the iBook store and its pricing first hand (screenshot above).
Anyway, at the moment, out of the 32 eBooks featured in the New York Times' Bestsellers section, 27, including
the entire top 10 are priced at $9.99.
Here are the top 5:
- 1. Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang By Chelsea Handler - $9.99
- 2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett - $9.99
- 3. The Silent Sea by Clive Cussier & Jack Du Brul - $9.99
- 4. Missing (under negotiation?)
- 5. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith - $9.99
As for the remaining five, the highest priced one, Poor Little Bitch Girl by Jackie Collins, goes for just $12.99. Although it's Kindle counterpart sells for $8.83, these prices are very bad news for Amazon as iBooks has matched the coveted $9.99 price point.
Check back later as we might have been shown some more...
