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Steve Jobs emails that show how to win a negotiation

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Re: Steve Jobs emails that show how to win a negotiation

#131

Post by stock_toaster »

ricardobeat wrote: post #130
stock_toaster wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So here we are, Apple has sold a bazillion iPads, and yet Amazon dominates ebooks. There is a kindle app for the ipad. Even while the kindle experience on the ipad is sub par[1], I think the difference in price (cheaper), features (whispersync, email to kindle), and existing library keep people in the amazon ecosystem (via kindle app). [1]: you can't purchase books from inside the app because amazon doesn't want to…

The lack of in-app sales is overrated IMO. You don't sit down with an iPad and think "hmm, maybe I should buy a book". There's a great chance you're browsing the web when you get the idea, so you just hop over to amazon and do a one-click purchase.

Strongly disagree. I have often finished a book and though, "hmm, that was great. I want to read the next one in the series". But wait! I have to pop over to the browser, log in[1], search and the book I want, buy it, then go back to kindle app, sync....

It could be sooo much better. Is there a next book in the series I am reading that I don't yet own? Show it on the "would you like to rate this book" page or something. Take my money amazon! Take it faster!

[1]: Which due to my own idiosyncrasies requires me to fire up 1password and copy my ridiculous password to paste it into amazon login.

Re: Steve Jobs emails that show how to win a negotiation

#133

Post by wavefunction »

_lex wrote: post #43
smallegan wrote: post #17

I guess it is the capitalist in me that doesn't really get what Apple was doing wrong by trying to set higher eBook prices with the major publishers.

It's a digital good (so marginal cost is zero). Price floors are the only thing stopping the average price from falling to zero. This means that an apple-imposed price floor is enticing. However, apple can always remove the price floor once they have enough inventory to make their market appealing.

To zero? Maybe asymptotically as time progresses...

Re: Steve Jobs emails that show how to win a negotiation

#134

Post by dakrisht »

meepmorp wrote: post #115
skeletonjelly wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still, the difference is staggeringly: staring at a lightbulb vs a surface.

They're different, sure; I prefer staring at the lightbulb, apparently.

You guys are funny. It's simple: Kindles are better for books and iPads are better for magazines and color.

Re: Steve Jobs emails that show how to win a negotiation

#135

Post by mortehu »

ricardobeat wrote: post #130
stock_toaster wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So here we are, Apple has sold a bazillion iPads, and yet Amazon dominates ebooks. There is a kindle app for the ipad. Even while the kindle experience on the ipad is sub par[1], I think the difference in price (cheaper), features (whispersync, email to kindle), and existing library keep people in the amazon ecosystem (via kindle app). [1]: you can't purchase books from inside the app because amazon doesn't want to…

The lack of in-app sales is overrated IMO. You don't sit down with an iPad and think "hmm, maybe I should buy a book". There's a great chance you're browsing the web when you get the idea, so you just hop over to amazon and do a one-click purchase.

... and it's not like it requires a lot of effort to switch to the web browser on an iPad. Just swipe up with four fingers and touch the Safari icon. And at that point, you don't have to deal with the terribly slow monochromatic screen.

Re: Steve Jobs emails that show how to win a negotiation

#136

Post by dakrisht »

greyboy wrote: post #21
larrys wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jobs most certainly sent the emails but we don't know who else was involved in drafting, wording, the tone, or strategy.

I agree - that didn't seem like the Jobs-esque writing I'm used to.

Completely agreeing with you guys here and it is most likely the case.

Eddie Cue was probably sitting right next to Jobs and perhaps even legal counsel would have looked at these emails. Consider the significance of a publishing deal like this one, it is in Apple's best interest (and the interest of the shareholders) to strike a deal and do business.

Great post, it's always an interesting learning experience to read how deals between giants are done. Murdoch held his own but Jobs proved victories; Jobs did make a few good points by saying he though $16 eBooks would be priced too high, but in terms of iPad eBook revolution - I'd say the Kindle is the eBook leader in the space today and for a while...?

Re: Steve Jobs emails that show how to win a negotiation

#137

Post by mtgx »

rkudeshi wrote: post #55
seldo wrote: post #7

My two big takeaways from this are: 1. Amazon sells every Kindle ebook at a loss of $3 -- they pay $13 wholesale and sell it for $9.99. I thought this was a typo, but then Jobs repeated the figure (though he said $12.50). It was my impression that Amazon also sells the Kindle itself at near-cost, so does that mean that Amazon's entire ebook business has been running at a loss the whole time? 2. Jobs certainly did win…

A little backstory to explain the $13 wholesale -> $9.99 retail thing: Books have traditionally been sold to wholesale at $14, then sold at retail for $28 MSRP. When Amazon started selling ebooks, they stuck with the same model - they were buying ebooks wholesale from the publishers at $14 each. However, they proceeded to sell them to consumers at $9.99. Yes, they were losing money on every sale. Why? Because they kn…

> "Amazon's MP3 store, despite launching with cheaper and DRM-free music, has never been able to make a serious dent in iTunes' market share".

Maybe because iTunes selling DRM'ed music for so long helped them gain that market lock-in, just like it helped Amazon get the same lock-in with DRM ebooks.

If publishers knew what's best for them, they would force Amazon to offer DRM-free books before it's too late, and the process can't be reversed anymore.

Re: Steve Jobs emails that show how to win a negotiation

#138

Post by otisfunkmeyer »

lostlogin wrote: post #54
grimtrigger wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2) Doubt this is a fair comparison. Kindles are clearly a superior device for reading than iPads.

Not for all. 1) Reading for me involves access to a browser and typing on a kindle is deeply unpleasant. 2) Reading in the dark requires a light and the attachments for the kindle have all seemed a kludge to me. That said, the iPad is imperfect here are the screen doesn't dim enough.

If you jailbreak, there's f.lux which greatly helps and there's another tweak which makes the lowest brightness even lower. It's a great combo and changed the game for night-reading on the iPad for me.

Re: Steve Jobs emails that show how to win a negotiation

#139

Post by chrisbolt »

TechNewb wrote: post #123
seldo wrote: post #7

My two big takeaways from this are: 1. Amazon sells every Kindle ebook at a loss of $3 -- they pay $13 wholesale and sell it for $9.99. I thought this was a typo, but then Jobs repeated the figure (though he said $12.50). It was my impression that Amazon also sells the Kindle itself at near-cost, so does that mean that Amazon's entire ebook business has been running at a loss the whole time? 2. Jobs certainly did win…

Another interesting note is the level of innovation. Apple is reinventing the 'book' in the digital realm, by providing authoring tools for free, while rethinking what a textbook can be in the digital real (videos, interactive content, etc.). I hope more publishers take advantage of it. I personally still prefer the PDF for e-books, as it maintains original design, layout, and typography, as well as page numbers. I'd…

"I personally still prefer the PDF for e-books, as it maintains original design, layout, and typography, as well as page numbers."

That's great if your device happens to match up with the size of a book, but it's far less flexible when it comes to devices of different sizes. I want to read books on whatever device I have, phone, small tablet, large tablet, computer, whatever. And I want the ability to adjust the size of the text. I don't want to lose that just because some books might not have that flexibility, and most do.

Also, Kindle and iBooks have page equivalents, that solves the page number issue.

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