Should we consider price in a review?

[LJian888]

I have a question for readers and authors alike. (I am both—an avid reader and not so best-selling author.)

It is now fairly common for publishers to price the Kindle version of their books near or above the price they charge for their print versions. Their argument that the incremental cost of printing a book is not as significant as many readers assume is a fallacious one, but that’s not my point/question here.

I just took a look at the New York Times fiction bestseller list on Amazon and all of the top ten books offered Kindle versions, ranging in price from $12.99 to $15.99. Six were priced at $14.99. That’s a lot of money for a book that costs the publisher pennies in direct materials costs and, if my memory serves me well, quite a premium over the historical price of the bestselling paperbacks of yore.

I also looked at the current Kindle bestselling list and seven of the top ten, and all of the first six, are priced at $4.99. And, of course, Amazon is always offering Kindle deals for as little as $0.99 and it’s not hard to find free Kindle versions of many books if you’re willing to search for them.

My question is this: When we, as readers, review a book for the benefit of other potential readers, on sites like Amazon,Goodreads, and onlinebookclub, should we take price into account? Should we rate a book that costs $0.99 to the same standard that we rate a best-seller that sells for $15.99? That’s a big multiple—like comparing a mid-size American sedan with the most expensive European luxury and performance cars.

As readers, I think, we also have to consider our self-interests. Consumer acceptance of the higher prices is ultimately going to further enhance the market power of the big publishers and consolidate the market into fewer and fewer branded authors who can quickly get a thousand reviews and propel their sales ever upward.

Eventually, the $.99 authors and publishers will just go away and readers won’t have that cheaper option any more. And as a reader that consumes a new book every few days, that would certainly impact my reading habits. Yes, I can go to the library but we all know that the waiting list for the hottest new books can be a long one. (And publishers, one would expect, will just keep raising their prices as the market consolidates and their pricing power increases.)

It seems to me, in the end, that while good writing is good writing, regardless of price, value is important given the fact that it drives our economy and we consider value in every other purchase we make. Why shouldn’t we evaluate books within a price range? That is, after all, how the books are priced, in theory. A $14.99 e-book, in the eyes of the publisher, is supposed to be worth $14.99. That’s a pretty high standard. Shouldn’t we evaluate the product accordingly?

What do you think?

[RegularGuy3]

I don't think price enters into the rating itself, but might be worth mentioning as a note or explanation of value. I don't consider a movie better or worse if it's a matinee or I have a groupon, but it's not a bad shorthand: see it at the theater for great ones, wait to rent it for the lower tier.

[Mailis]

I kind of take note of the price, because the disappointment if the book isn't up to standard is smaller if I haven't paid big bucks for it. I think this is true for every product out there.

[DustinPBrown]

I think the price is important for the reader to know, but I don't think it's up to a reviewer to discuss the price in their review of the book. A review is about the content of the book, they're more "timeless" than a price can be. Prices fluctuate all the time with authors offering discounts or giveaways or raising or lowering the price because they want to. Imagine a review says, "The book is too expensive at $9.99" but then later on the book becomes cheaper because the author lowered the price. Then that part of the review would be useless. Better to not mention it.

[Kieran_Obrien]

Some authors wouldn't have a say in the price of their book so it seems unfair but I get what you mean. I've read a LOT of videogame reviews, for instance, that recommend waiting until a game goes down in price before buying it.

[Arrigo_Lupori]

It is important to know about the price in relation to the author's career and in relation to the length and/or quality of the manuscript.

[kfwilson6]

In terms of the rating of the book I would say no. I get the majority of my books from the library so I have no idea what they cost. Additionally, the price changes. Did you buy it in hardcover or paperback, new or used? I try not to spend money on books, not because it's not worth it, but because I could never go through the number of books I do if I had to spend $19.99 to acquire a hardback. For those reasons, I am purely concerned with content.

[Jfoust1988]

While you shouldn't give out the price. I do think that a high populatry book with a big price should perhaps have a stricter review guideline. So when doing reviews have a general guideline for all reviews. Then have additional high ranking review guideline And low ranking review guideline. If a low ranked book transends to quilfy for a high rank review give it. This will help the popularity of the book. If a high rank book falls below to a low ranked review, express that.

[Eryn Bradshaw]

I really don't think that price should factor into a review. There can be sales or permanent discounts. While it's always nice when you buy a cheap book and find it a really enjoyable read, or upsetting when you buy a book at full price and it was disappointing, the book could've been priced differently and you could find the same enjoyment out of it. Also, because we're on the internet and if you post a review on a site that doesn't list the price, but is more of a review site, people from anywhere in the world can read the review and price won't matter to them because it could be different.

[[Valerie Allen]]

I simply believe in thinking, you're certainly on to something and stand in agreement with your point of view.

[MrsCatInTheHat]

The price should not factor into the review. Prices fluctuate. Sometimes there is a special sale, sometimes it is even offered for free for a limited time. Ultimately, you should be looking at the quality of the story, it's formatting, grammar, etc. Not the price.