A recent article in the Toronto Star talks about parity pricing—the issue of the publishing industry setting higher list prices for non-Americans, and how customers lose out when all is said and done. I’ve blogged earlier about the bargains to be had for Canadian e-customers, but that was when the dollar was still at par with the American dollar. We’re at about $0.86 cents US now, so are e-books still a bargain?
Here are the last five books I bought from Fictionwise. For each, I’ll list the amazon.com list price, the amazon.ca list price, and the Fictionwise club price I paid. Then I’ll do a little exchange rate conversion at the end and we’ll see how the math comes out.
Thee Plums in One by Janet Evanovich
Amazon.com: $18.48
Amazon.ca: $24.54
I paid: $9.17
I’m a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson
Amazon.com: $10.17
Amazon.ca: $16.15
I paid: $8.04
Dirty Blonde by Lisa Scottoline
Amazon.com: $7.99
Amazon.ca: $9.89
I paid: $6.45
Death Perception by Victoria Laurie
Amazon.com: $6.99
Amazon.ca: $7.50
I paid: $5.64
The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue
Amazon.com: $11.16
Amazon.ca: $13.10
I paid: $8.04
Total Amazon.com price: $54.79 ($64.78 Canadian)
Total Amazon.ca price: $71.18
Total Fictionwise price: $37.34 ($44.15 Canadian)
Now, let’s sort these from highest to lowest…
Amazon.ca: $71.18
Amazon.com: $64.78 ($6.40 cheaper than Amazon.ca)
Fictionwise: $44.15 ($20.63 cheaper than Amazon.com and $27.03 cheaper than Amazon.ca)
That seven bucks I got dinged in exchange rate conversion was more than offset by the massive savings. That’s almost 60% cheaper than the Amazon.ca list price! And let’s not forget the cost to ship them…
E-books: definitely still a bargain for Canadian readers!
