Re:An eBook pricing model that resulted in $100,000 in sales
by salemh on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @10:28PM
(#5748463)
Increases barrier to his "I want a paperback" as a simplistic counterpoint. Your sunk cost of "I need a laser printer for other reasons" does not reflect the issue of "I want a paperback," not that "I want a paperback, but I'll settle for buying and printing it myself."
Printing it yourself is actually quite inexpensive -- provided that you have a laser printer. (The economics of an ink-jet printer for long documents is horrible.)
Let's do the math:
The OP says his book is a 125-page PDF. My double-sided laser printer will use just 63 sheets of paper. I can buy high-quality 22-pound paper for $10, including tax, for a 500-sheet package. Therefore, paper will cost 63/500 * $10 = $1.26.
The cost of my laser printer is one-time sunk cost, and I need a laser printer for other reasons than printing e-books, so I'll ignore the laser printer's cost (besides, it's not even that expensive).
I can refill a 6000-sheet toner cartridge (black only) for $75 including tax. Thus, toner to print the 125-page PDF will cost 125/6000 * $75 = $1.56.
Total cost to print the PDF yourself: $1.26 + $1.56 = $2.82.
So unless you really care about the binding, or the PDF is in color (and needs the colors), then printing it yourself is really quite cheap.