A slightly delayed results post from a poll I conducted on my other website in February this year about how much you pay for eBooks. The good thing about leaving it so long to publish the results is that the polls have picked up a fair amount of votes in that time – not a great response to be honest, but the post hasn’t been promoted as much as I should have done.
So here are the results:
How much do you pay for eBooks?
64% said Less than £5
28% said More than £5
9% said I only download free eBooks
6% said I don’t read eBooks
If the eBook was a niche subject would you pay more?
43% said Yes
41% said Maybe
16% said No
If you own an eReader, have you owned it?
33% said 12 months to two years
25% said Fewer than six months
25% said Six months to a year
17% said More than two years
What percentage of your reading is done on your eReader?
47% said 75-100%
27% said 25-49%
20% said 50-74%
6% said 0-24%
Do you own a tablet?
65% said No
35% said Yes
If you own a tablet, how long have you owned it?
57% said Fewer than six months
29% said 12 months to two years
14% said Six months to a year
0% said More than two years
What percentage of your reading is done on your tablet?
38% said 0-24%
38% said 75-100%
13% said 25-49%
11% said 50-74%
How do you value your eBooks – compared to print?
55% said The same
30% said Less valuable (they’re not real “things”, I prefer paper)
15% said More valuable (they’re light, portable and searchable, etc.)
Does price come into consideration when you buy an eBook MORE than it does when you buy a printed book?
70% said Yes
30% said No
What is the maximum you will spend on an eBook?
50% said up to $9.99
25% said up to $4.99
13% said up to $19.99
8% said up to $14.99
4% said Free only
0% said $0.99 cents
0% said up to $2.99
0% said more than $20
I live in?
39% of voters live in the US
35% of voters live in the UK
17% of voters live in EUR
4% of voters live in CAN
4% of voters live in AUS
1% of voters live in Other
Some really interesting results here, I am sure they will be extremely helpful for authors who can use them to see where to price their eBooks in the market. I was particularly surprised by the maximum people will pay for an eBook, the low end didn’t get any votes at all, apart from 4% said they only buy free eBooks. As a general rule though, an eBook priced at under £5 (approx. $8) is the most popular.
That’s good to know – we seem to be pricing our books at the right level! Thanks very much for this research, Jo.
That’s great Joanna, always good to know. 🙂
This was interesting read. Thanks for the information.
Thanks Shawn, pleased it was helpful.
Very helpful since Tammie & I are about to finish up an e recipe book and haven’t firmed up pricing yet. Thanks.
Glad it’s useful Carolina 🙂
Really interesting results. I was quite surprised 30% thought ebooks weren’t as valuable as print – that’s quite a big chunk!
You’re right Jan, some surprising results on some of them.
Thanks for this! Very interesting results 🙂
Thank you Joleene 🙂
Really interesting resluts there. I was particularly surprised by the $.99c feedback.
Thanks Jo, this must have taken you some time to collate.
Thanks Andrew, sorry for the late reply, for some reason WordPress has stopped informing me of comments… Some very surprising results! 🙂
I lowered the prices on my ebooks and they sell just right. I also think of if I wanted to buy a ebook I would want it at the price that I have them. I want everyone to be able to read my work. I enjoy this very much.
Thank you Norma, I am pleased you have found a good price to sell your eBooks which is just right.