Dave, you are absolutely right here. I will try to have a Mod change it to "to keep the 30% cut that was going to Apple" or jjust remove that half altogether.DaveF said:I think "spite" is inaccurate (and link-baity)
http://www.marco.org/2014/04/28/gerry-conway-comixologyThe blame for this lies solely with ComiXology for selling to Amazon. Nobody familiar with Amazon’s treatment of authors and publishers would responsibly hand them complete control of a major distribution system if they cared about the ramifications to the publishers and independent authors.
Either ComiXology was so naive and negligent that they didn’t think Amazon would do what it always does, or they cared more about the money than the future of their industry (and their customers) and simply sold out.
I think if Comixology could expand the "Wish List" concept such that tapping on the "More Books" TAB would allow you to browse the store as before and then place comics you may wish to purchase in your "Wish List" there would be practically no repercussions from this modification at all. In fact, it seems so logical that you have to wonder why the ability to do that has not been included from day one.Sam Posten said:Thanks for your perspective Joseph. If you are correct this shouldn't be too big a deal for end users and as I said my Kindle experience seems along the same routes.
But do you suppose the same is true for the authors and publishes perspective as presented in the OP? Do you really believe the same volume will continue without in app purchases?
You might have read it and disagreed. But if not, the first essay Sam linked has a good answer:Chuck Anstey said:I find this all fascinating simply because of who thinks whom should be paid for delivering any given service. In the context here, Apple is no different than somehow expecting "the internet" should be paid 30% of all transactions that occur on it. Should you pay your ISP a 30% tax on all items you buy on the internet since without your ISP you couldn't buy it? Should you then also have to pay Apple another 30% on top of that as they provided the device that you used to buy the item?
Now, I’ve heard some folks say that Amazon is just trying to avoid paying Apple’s “greedy 30% fee” for in-app purchases. This is such nonsense it almost doesn’t require a response, because there are people out there who have a knee-jerk reaction against Apple that goes beyond critical thinking, but in the hopes of reaching more open-minded readers who might be tempted by that argument, let me address it.
Apple charges 30% for in-app purchases of eBooks, music, video, games. Amazon charges 30% for digital distribution of eBooks, music, video, games. Same deal. Period.
There’s a long and fruitless debate to be had over whether or not Apple “deserves” to make a profit off its App Store. Anti-Apple deniers say no, and their arguments usually boil down to just a dislike of Apple making a profit (or what they consider a “greedy” profit). The fact is, Apple provides a storefront for developers to sell their apps, and as any store owner would, asks for a piece of the money the developers make as a result. Mall owners ask store owners to pay rent. It’s a normal business transaction. Happens every day. Apple’s App Store provides developers with access, and gives them three ways to pay for the privilege: developers can charge for the app directly (and Apple takes a cut, 30%, same as Amazon); developers can provide the app for “free” and Apple will place ads in the app (ad-supported payment, like Google search); or developers can offer in-app purchases (and Apple takes their 30% cut, one step removed).
What Amazon is doing is finessing Apple’s deal with developers by providing an app for free, yet not paying Apple’s fee for the privilege. In effect, Amazon is a store owner in a mall who isn’t paying rent to the mall owner. And anti-Apple deniers think that’s fair, why? Because they just don’t like Apple making a “greedy” profit. But it’s okay for Amazon to make that same “greedy” profit while taking advantage of a loophole in Apple’s deal with developers. To me, this is blatant hypocrisy or blind economic naïveté. But believe me, Jeff Bezos knows exactly what he’s doing: he’s screwing Apple, and he’s screwing the future of comic books. If you let him get away with it because of some bizarre anti-Apple bias, you’re screwing yourself, too.
I'm with you but I've got a buddy who just waits a month or two and a lot of what he wants goes on sale for $2 as the companies try to squeeze a few more dollars out of their 'old' product.Edwin-S said:I was going to try the service at one time, until I saw that the price for a cloud-based digital copy was no cheaper than buying a hard copy. It's ridiculous. There is no printing costs. There are little to no distribution costs and they still manage to charge 4.00 bucks a book?