The average price of a best-selling ebook fell dramatically this week to $6.39 after hovering around $8.00 for about a month.
The price fall was driven primarily by retailer discounting. Many titles that were selling for around $10.00 were discounted below $8.00 this week.
John Grisham’s Sycamore Row (Penguin Random House) was No. 1 on the list this week at $6.59; it held the top spot last week, too, at $11.99. Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep (Simon & Schuster) is No. 16 this week at $7.64; last week it ranked at No. 11, selling for $10.99.
Retailers also discounted ebooks that were priced below $8.00 to even lower levels. Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game (Macmillan) is No. 4 this week at $2.90; it was ranked at No. 3 last week for $3.98.
The sales could have something to do with the holidays or the price wars between retailers that we have come to know.
In related news, Amazon Publishing titles and some self-published titles made it onto the list this week, including J.R. Rain’s Silent Echo from Amazon, which is currently sitting at No. 2 on the list. The big-five publishers (Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster) have come to dominate the list of late with big fall releases and price promotions on popular back-list titles.
Ebook best-sellers from the week ending 11/10:
– Top Selling Ebooks: $10 and above
– Top Selling Ebooks: $8.00 – $9.99
– Top Selling Ebooks: $3.00 – $7.99
– Top Selling Ebooks: $0.00 – $2.99
Top 25 Ebook Best-Sellers
Week Ending 11/10/13
| Rank* | Title | Author | Publisher | Price** | Change |
| 1 (1) | Sycamore Row | John Grisham | Penguin Random House | $ 6.59 | – |
| 2 (17) | Silent Echo | J. R. Rain | Amazon | $ 4.99 | +15 |
| 3 (8) | The Book Thief | Markus Zusak | Penguin Random House | $ 2.90 | +5 |
| 4 (3) | Ender’s Game: 1 (The Ender Quintet) | Orson Scott Card | Macmillan | $ 2.90 | -1 |
| 5 (2) | Allegiant | Veronica Roth | HarperCollins | $ 6.99 | -3 |
| 6 (4) | Dark Witch: Book One of The Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy | Nora Roberts | Penguin Random House | $ 4.79 | -2 |
| 7 (5) | The Husband’s Secret | Liane Moriarty | Penguin Random House | $ 5.99 | -2 |
| 8 (6) | Divergent | Veronica Roth | HarperCollins | $ 3.99 | -2 |
| 9 (n/a) | Things We Set on Fire | Deborah Reed | Amazon | $ 4.99 | New |
| 10 (7) | Killing Jesus: A History | Bill O’Reilly; Martin Dugard | Macmillan | $ 10.91 | -3 |
| 11 (n/a) | Mine (The REAL series) | Katy Evans | Simon & Schuster | $ 6.87 | New |
| 12 (n/a) | Wilderness (Short Story) (Kindle Single) | Dean Koontz | Penguin Random House | $ 0.99 | New |
| 13 (9) | Insurgent (Divergent) | Veronica Roth | HarperCollins | $ 6.99 | -4 |
| 14 (15) | The Goldfinch | Donna Tartt | Hachette | $ 7.64 | +1 |
| 15 (13) | The Longest Ride | Nicholas Sparks | Hachette | $ 6.62 | -2 |
| 16 (11) | Doctor Sleep: A Novel | Stephen King | Simon & Schuster | $ 7.64 | -5 |
| 17 (n/a) | Double Down: Game Change 2012 | Mark Halperin; John Heilemann | Penguin Random House | $ 11.93 | New |
| 18 (12) | Gone Girl: A Novel | Gillian Flynn | Penguin Random House | $ 4.99 | -6 |
| 19 (14) | Gone (Michael Bennett) | James Patterson; Michael Ledwidge | Hachette | $ 7.64 | -5 |
| 20 (16) | Never Go Back: A Jack Reacher Novel | Lee Child | Penguin Random House | $ 9.74 | -4 |
| 21 (n/a) | The Edge of Always | J.A Redmerski | Hachette | $ 3.63 | New |
| 22 (24) | Catching Fire: (The Hunger Games Trilogy – Book 2) | Suzanne Collins | Scholastic | $ 7.40 | +2 |
| 23 (n/a) | Beautiful Player | Christina Lauren | Simon & Schuster | $ 4.74 | New |
| 24 (n/a) | The Valley of Amazement | Amy Tan | HarperCollins | $ 11.93 | New |
| 25 (20) | The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus Series #4) | Rick Riordan | Hachette | $ 5.99 | -5 |
* Previous week’s list rank in parentheses.
** Price reflects minimum price across all retailers throughout the week. Price may vary between retailers and may change throughout the week. Contact Iobyte Solutions for more information on ebook pricing. Methodology available here.