I was going to pick up this book. Because VSL told me to. I often do what they tell me to do and they haven't let me down yet.

I was looking forward to the prospect of holding it whilst relaxing in a lawn chair in the backyard this summer (ok, somebody else’s backyard, I live here).
Then I was like... well I wonder if it’s available on the Kindle? Lo and behold, I see down there in the lower left that it sure is. Bonus.
That’s cool, I could get it faster. Immediately even. (Even though my Kindle is at home and turned off, when I next turned it on this book would be there "waiting for me" in all its line item glory sooner than I would ever be ready to read it).
Then I was like... I’d probably want to share this one with my wife Steph or my friend Rene. It would make me look smart and I could nerd out about it with somebody. That couldn’t happen with the Kindle though (and Steph would be like 'get out of here with that nonsense, you nerd'). And this book might have pictures that I want to look at (I don’t think so actually, it seems like a collection of essays.)
Then I was like... what’s the price difference (notice the tardiness of this question)?
$0.21
So the inherent difference in the value of this book is $0.21? Says so right up there. (Apparently a pleasant voice is worth another $8.39, but the robot voice on the Kindle is free.)
Well maybe. Price is what you pay and value is what you get. Amazon sets a price, but we say how valuable it is.
As a Prime customer, I’ve already covered the shipping differences quite nicely for them and order more books than I otherwise would if I was to consider the incremental cost of shipping each time I bought a book (brilliant!). I’ve already bought the Kindle. But... let’s ignore sunk costs for a second (MBA kicks in).
Then I was like... Screw that. I’m offended. I want to buy the paper now because I can share it, hold it and it will get here soon enough for my purposes. That is, sooner than I can read it. If I'm paying to destroy trees, then I want the trees. On the margin, the value of the paper is greater for me (or at least I tell myself). Or at least until and if paper goes away. And paper hasn't yet been wrested from my cold dead hands.
But then again, I can’t stick the book on that “library” of mine for when I travel. Who cares? I’ve got enough book inventory to allow me to shelter in place while revolution and reality shows rage around me. They could give me both. They might someday. They're giving me lots of free books right now with some channel price discrimination. That's both a problem and an opportunity they have: two simultaneous models.
Then it occurred to me... Amazon’s got me. I’m a sucker. I love them, but I’m a sucker. Bezos is an innovation hero, but seemingly my arch nemesis as well. (Okay, okay. I'm my worst enemy.) He's found a price and designed an experience that has me considering paying the same price! I'm trapped, but do I want an alternative?
But at this price, is Amazon really going to change the industry and simultaneously maintain control? Perhaps, but I don't think they are destroying enough value yet!
They need to price this book at 50% the cost of the physical book. But then again, those publishers aren’t that interested in doing that right now either... There’s some breakeven for the production side of the value chain that keeps the creators whole (or even better off), while passing on a savings to me the consumer and winning Amazon share of all these little profit bombs.
If you didn’t have to cover the costs of other aspects of your business (publishing print for example, or shipping toasters), what would you charge? What’s the right price to put food on the table of the authors, editors and the rest of that value chain? What could I cut out? How should I deliver the experience for both consumers and creators?
The pricing out there in this world is really, really dynamic. I'm really in need of knowing more of the details of the margin models though. Anybody know?
So, what did I do? Nothing. Can't decide. Frozen.
