While readers in the US may be benefiting from a drop in eBook prices following settlement of the Apple eBook price fixing case, Canadians are not sharing in the benefit of declining eBook prices.
Laura Hazard Owen reported yesterday that retailers have begun cutting eBook prices in response to the settlement of the Apple eBook price fixing case. Her post included a table comparing prices at which certain books are offered by the various major eBook retailers in the US.
I focused on the fact that my favourite eBook seller, Kobo, was the highest priced seller in all examples. I tweeted about this and was promptly called out by Jennifer Fox.
@thornley @kobo Those are American prices. Even Amazon would be charging you more in Canada.
— Jennifer Fox (@theyellowline) July 11, 2013
@thornley But not in Canada. COOKED is same price for Kindle edition on Amazon.ca as Kobo. E-book pricing articles are irrelevant here.
— Jennifer Fox (@theyellowline) July 11, 2013
Jennifer makes good points. Canadian prices always are higher than US prices and a comparison of US prices does not transfer into Canada.
So, I decided to take a look at the prices that the Ebooks in Laura Hazard Owen’s example are being offered in Canada. .
Laura Hazard Owen’s US price table
Canadian prices for the same books
| Title | Author | Kindle | Nook | Apple | Kobo | |
| And the Mountains Echoed | Khaled Hosseini | $ 16.99 | n/a | $ 16.99 | $ 16.99 | $ 16.99 |
| Entwined with You | Sylvia Day | $ 10.99 | n/a | $ 10.99 | $ 10.99 | $ 10.99 |
| The Fault in Our Stars | John Green | $ 15.99 | n/a | $ 15.99 | $ 15.99 | $ 15.99 |
| The 9th Girl | Tami Hoag | $ 13.99 | n/a | $ 13.99 | $ 13.99 | $ 13.99 |
| Whiskey Beach | Nora Roberts | $ 15.99 | n/a | $ 15.99 | $ 15.99 | $ 15.99 |
| Backfire | Catherine Coulter | $ 10.99 | n/a | $ 10.99 | $ 10.99 | $ 10.99 |
| Youtility | Jay Baer | $ 12.99 | n/a | $ 12.99 | $ 12.99 | $ 12.99 |
| The Great Degeneration | Niall Ferguson | $ 13.99 | n/a | $ 13.99 | $ 13.99 | $ 13.99 |
| Cooked | Michael Pollan | $ 15.99 | n/a | $ 15.99 | $ 15.99 | $ 15.99 |
Do you see what I see? For Canadians, one high price for each book, regardless of retailer.
Canadians are not benefiting from the drop in US eBook prices
It’s clear that agency pricing persists in Canada. And that means higher book prices across the board with no competition on price.
That’s not good for consumers. That doesn’t promote reading. And that’s something that must change. Now. Not next year.
What will it take to end agency pricing of eBooks in Canada?
Who will see this as an opportunity and take the lead?
I buy from Kobo because of its commitment to ePub standards and its device-agnostic approach. And I’m willing to pay a premium for being part of an open system that lets me consume my books on the device of my choice.
So, Kobo, you’ve already got me for the right reasons. Now why don’t you go the next step by seizing the opportunity to break the agency model and lead the way to better book prices for Canadian eBook readers.
Kobo, are you listening?