Smaller profit margins will slow adoption of larger Kindle

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Part of the myth

is that the costs of textbooks will go down dramatically because cost of reproduction (publishing) will go down. When in fact, the actual cost of the paper, printing and binding are minor costs in the production of the textbooks. There should be SOME savings, but not nearly enough to cover the cost of a $500 machine for each purchaser to replace the physical book. The purchaser would need to buy a LOT of books and keep that machine a LONG time to make this a cost savings venture.

A Kindle should not be marketed as a cost saver. It should be marketed as a valuable tool to enhance what you can do with a printed book made of paper. It should be marketed as a product that allows you to buy books anytime at whatever whim the user has without risk of having them go to the store to find it not in stock. Digital books never go out of print. Digital books never get lost (the machine might, but a good vendor would allow a purchaser to make backups or at least re-download). In other words, the Kindle should be marketed for what it allows you to do that you cannot with a printed book, and it should go to great lengths to minimize the things you lose by abandoning the printed book.

Posted by: Michael Kelly   Posted on: 05/08/09 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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