Overpriced Kindle version of JK Rowling 'A casual vacancy'

Because VAT is exempt from print books but not electronic books. Hence it being 20% more expensive as an ebook.

I managed to buy it today in Smiths at £6.99 (in conjunction with another offer).................I couldn't justify the difference onto my kindle.

It isn't so simple. The price of the book is set by the publisher, yes. Most publishers set the price of their kindle edition well below the hard copy book price - in the pricing/royalty constraints set by Amazon, it makes fiscal sense to do so. In addition, the kindle book will cost 20% more because of VAT, so it has to be at least that amount cheaper in order to cost the same price or cheaper as the hard copy, physical book.

Also please remember that the Author gets a royalty from the publisher, and doesn't get a say in the price, which has to cover the print costs, the publishers costs/profit margin and the royalty costs. The Author is paid a set amount per copy sold, no matter what the book price is. Also remember that the publisher has to pay that royalty to the author no matter how cheaply the book sells for.

Now, the book is bought from the publisher by Amazon. The margin that they demand means that the publisher will get pennies per copy, and perhaps feels glad that the book cost will be a little bit offset by the kindle version. At this point, the kindle version is set to bring in say, 2 x the pennies of the hard copy book.

The book launches. Amazon immediately drop the hard copy selling price by at least 50+% - they can afford to do this and still make a stonking profit as they are giving the publisher such a low margin. This leaves the previously cheaper kindle version suddenly far more expensive by comparison. The book sells well thanks to the 50% discount, and Amazon make money. The Author also makes money. The publisher makes a bit of money and tries to sell the book to any other book shop that will give them a slightly better margin than Amazon. The other book shops however have to match or better Amazon's price in order to get sales.

The kindle version is belatedly price dropped by the publisher to match or better still be lower than the hard copy price - and remember, that hard copy selling price is set by Amazon not the publisher, and the kindle price has to be 20% less to price match it, - and the publisher suddenly finds that the kindle edition is actually bringing in less pennies per copy than the hard copy book. Ah, you will say, but it costs nothing to produce the kindle book... Well no, that is not true. The Author still has to get their royalty, and Amazon still get the monster lion's share of the selling price. The publisher gets whatever is left, which is significantly less than either of those two other elements.

That is how it is. It isn't greed, it isn't gross overpricing or whatever else the consumer might imagine, it is businesses trying to earn some money, to keep going, to employ people, to put something into the economy, to turn words into books for others to read.

Don't buy it in book format from Amazon. I placed my order with them in August and they haven't even dispatched it yet. Would have told them where to shove it by now and gone and got it in WHSmith but I was given an Amazon voucher for my Birthday which I used to buy it.