Kindle book pricing: WTF?
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Kindle book pricing: WTF?

13 May Kindle book pricing: WTF?

Posted at 23:03h in news by
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I thought e-books were supposed to be cheaper than the printed equivelant? A few weeks ago I went online to buy the latest Stephen King, but was put off by the relatively high price.

As an Irish Kindle owner, I am for some reason obliged to buy my e-books through Amazon in the US, rather than the UK. On the US site, as shown below, the e-book version is almost three dollars more expensive than the hardcover … what the hell? At $18.76, I’d consider this to be a very expensive e-book, but the fact that it actually costs more than the hardcover edition is ridiculous.

I took a look on the Amazon UK site for comparison, and found the situation was the same, though the e-book is about a dollar cheaper in the UK. When I shop on Amazon US, prices displayed include 23% Irish VAT, as I’ve registered my locaiton as being in Ireland. The UK has a 20% VAT rate.

Rather suspiciously, there was an ad displayed on the US site giving a price of just $12.99. I can only assume this is the price US citizens pay, and not the inflated amount Irish buyers are being charged. Clicking on the advert opens a page with the same inflated prices shown in my first screenshot.

So much for the Kindle reducing the cost of reading, at least here in Ireland.

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