It’s not “Do it my way or else,” but more maneuvering the situation until he’s ready to close.
Negotiating the Steve Jobs way
It’s not “Do it my way or else,” but more maneuvering the situation until he’s ready to close.
Jobs arguing for higher prices? Fascinating. Did he misunderstand the value destruction of digital media wrought by the iPods et al? All digital titles (tunes, games, apps, shows, books) are falling to a buck.
But I think the scenario Jobs wanted to avoid is something we see happening now in the App Store. Customers now EXPECT apps and games to be priced at 0.99, even when a game CLEARLY deserves more than just 0.99. It’s very hard for a developer to get any traction on the App Store if they price above 2.99, and very difficult to break the top charts priced above .99, even when the game is clearly worth much more than .99
Anytime I see something priced at 4.99 or above on either iOS or Android (especially Android), I see comments online or even in the reviews complaining about price. People have gotten spoiled and now just demand everything be priced dirt cheap.
When I think about how much software used to cost, I’m always stunned at the kind of value I get with less than 10 dollars. Unfortunately not all people are rational and don’t always see it this way.
Also, Jobs seems to be arguing for not too high prices, like the publishers want. He’s saying Amazon is priced at below wholesale. With us you don’t have to, but don’t go too high.
Thing is, in the Netherlands, publishers have for many years set the price for books, at which retailers must sell at. It is Dutch law. However, there is no such requirement when it comes to eBooks. I think book price law is different across European countries, but price protection does exist in many countries.