Remember how Amazon Kindle was supposed to give us all a more affordable way to buy and read books? After all, Amazon was supposed to set its own e-book prices so low to make it possible for Kindle owners to save money in the long run. We always knew that large publishers would not give up their profits easily. That’s exactly what has happened with Macmillan. The publisher has reached an agreement with Amazon to set its own e-book prices. It will also keep 70% of its sales for itself.

What does that mean for us consumers? It means e-book prices could be on the rise, essentially making the cost of owning a Kindle much higher than before. Of course, Macmillan is not the only publisher capable of standing up to Amazon. More large publishers will follow suit, and we could technically see higher e-book prices across the board. Authors Guild executive, Paul Aiken, put it best:

Are Amazon or other e-book sellers’ prices too high? That’s the question many experts and e-book fans have been asking in the past few months. When Amazon launched the Kindle product line, it started pushing the fact that “most” e-books were priced at $9.99 as a way to grab more market-share. After all, if you get a bargain price on all your purchases, your device will pay itself off in a short period of time. But is charging $9.99 for e-b00ks what you would call a bargain? Let’s not forget that Amazon does indeed a whole lot more than $9.99 for a decent number of books, so chances are that you don’t really save too much money on your favorite books. But regardless of that fact, paying $9.99 for a book that you can’t sell or transfer to someone else is not getting a bargain.

A recent story on Wall Street Journal mentioned a report by Forrester that confirmed what most of us have doubted for months. Serial readers have a lot of options when it comes to picking up a device to read e-books on. You can always pick up a netbook or a smart-phone to read your books on the go. So if you can find a way to pay less for e-books and read them on those devices, you may end up saving a whole lot of money in the long run. Amazon and other e-book reader makers need to lower e-book prices not just for us consumers but to make e-b00k readers more than they could be in the current situation. Here is what the Forrester analyst had to say about the future of e-book readers:

will never be mass-market devices like MP3 players, but they can exceed current forecasts for adoption.

One could argue that she may be right about the future of this business in the short-term. But at the same time, you should never use the word “never” when dealing with technology. With e-book prices too high and e-book readers using primitive hardware systems, the above statement may in fact be true. But even the most pessimistic experts expect Amazon and its rivals to not only improve their hardware but also lower e-book prices. These are issues that Apple had to deal with in its early days with the iPod. The iPod hardware was not perfect in those days, and the music came with DRM that put a limit on what people could do with their songs. Amazon needs to loosen up its restrictions on e-books, work on a way to get developers involved in improving the Kindle platform, and build better Kindles in the future. It may sound like a challenge, but if e-book readers are to become mainstream, something’s got to change. At the end of the day, it all comes down to innovation (product development and business model).

Your turn: are e-books too expensive currently?

I know. How do you even define “used” eBooks? eBooks don’t deteriorate as you use them. They don’t age. They don’t disintegrate after you have read them a million times. Your eBook is going to look new while your Kindle ages. So eBooks last longer than paperback books. But you can’t sell them. I have been complaining about this very issue since Kindle 1.0 was introduced. When you buy a paperback on Amazon, you can read it a hundred times and once you are done with it you can sell it to someone who really needs it but does not want to pay the full price for it. With Kindle books, you have the DRM to deal with. And you can’t easily transfer an e-book from one Kindle to another let alone sell it.

The guys at Business Week duly note that we all should be able to do whatever we want with our Kindle books (except duplicating them). I do give Amazon credit for giving us a minor discount on e-books. Paying $9.99 on most e-books helps cover the up-front cost associated with buying a Kindle. But what I do not appreciate is becoming the last owner of all e-books that I buy. Amazon really needs to take a look into this whole issue and provide us customers with ways to get rid of books that we do not want anymore.

Here is what Amazon can do:

• Allow third-party Kindle book sales: that’s the most straight forward approach here. I am sure it will bring some technical headaches for Amazon, but we should be able to sell our books on Amazon if we want. And I am sure Amazon wouldn’t mind charging us a transaction fee.
• Create an e-book-to-e-book exchange program: this is my favorite option. Let’s say Amazon creates a social community around the Kindle. Wouldn’t it be fun if owners could reach out to each other and exchange books through an Amazon interface? Amazon can charge folks a small fee for the exchange.
• Create e-book share program: now this is a wild idea! What if you could share your book with someone who needs it for a while without transferring your rights. In the real world, I would give you my book, you’d read it, and return it to me when you are done. A lot of authors complain that they do not get paid for this transaction. With e-book share program, Amazon charges a small fee to enable the transaction. The other party loses the book once your agreement runs out. Everybody’s happy. Asking for this feature is probably wishful thinking but who knows. We may see it.
• Allow e-book donations: I am sure at some point Amazon will start to give free or highly discounted Kindles to folks who may need it. I am not sure when that happens, but I do like to see “a Kindle for a child” program. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just donate your e-books if you want to?

Amazon has worked hard to make Kindle 2.0 better than the first generation Kindle. But it’s time for Amazon to step up and take the Kindle store to the next level. Paying $9.99 for an e-book is great, but being able to sell those e-books is even better.

I can’t believe how many times folks ask me how they can find more content for Amazon Kindle. I am more in science and technical books, and there are plenty available, but a whole lot of folks actually use their Kindle to read novels and classic masterpieces. Now, that is you, then you have about two choices. You can either look for it on Amazon. But what if Amazon doesn’t have the work you are looking for? Try eBay!

That’s what I have been doing for a while now. There are folks who actually sell content for Kindle on eBay (take a look at this). eBay maybe a struggling company these days, but it is still a goldmine for niche items such as Kindle content. The good thing about purchasing Kindle content on eBay is that you can get your items fast. But you want to make sure you work with the right seller.

In the end, there are thousands of books available for the Kindle platform (way more than anyone can consume in a lifetime). But if you are looking for a super niche book, then you should try eBay (or maybe craigslist).

Your take: have you had any success finding ultra rare e-books for your Kindle on eBay?