The Digital Book World E-Book Best-Seller list tracks e-book sales ranking and price data across six major e-book retailers with the goal of providing the most accurate picture of which e-books are most often purchased by consumers and at what price point. The full methodology is available here.
The average price of a bestselling e-book shot up nearly a dollar to $6.16 as deep discounting on some popular bestsellers has abated at e-book retailers.
Last week, the average price of a bestselling e-book hit an all-time low at $5.27 as retailers were selling books like the critically acclaimed “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt (Hachette) at unheard of sub-$2.00 prices. Three of the top four titles this week were in the top three last week and all were selling for below $4.00.
Still, like last week, none of the top-25 bestselling e-books are priced above $10. Last week, the priciest title on the list was all five of George R.R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones” books for $9.99. This week it’s “King and Maxwell” by David Baldacci (Hachette) for $8.99. The price has gone up for the “Game of Thrones” titles to $19.99 and it’s now ranking at number 106 on the DBW e-book bestseller list.
At the same time, there are few books priced below the $3.00 threshold on the list this week. Only Barbara Freethy’s self-published title “Don’t Say a Word” made the cut at number 24 for $0.99.
The question for e-book publishers (and readers) is if we see the deep discounting resume for after the holidays, when millions of new e-readers and tablets will be unwrapped and used for the first time. Check back in after the new year to find out.
E-book best-sellers from the week ending 12/15:
1. “Sycamore Row”, John Grisham, Penguin Random House, $6.49
2. “Divergent” (“Divergent” Series), Veronica Roth, HarperCollins, $3.99
3. “The Goldfinch”, Donna Tartt, Hachette, $7.50
4. “The Book Thief”, Markus Zusak, Penguin Random House, $4.99
5. “Insurgent” (“Divergent” Series), Veronica Roth, HarperCollins, $6.99
6. “The Gods of Guilt (Lincoln Lawyer)”, Michael Connelly, Hachette, $7.50
7. “Allegiant” (“Divergent” Series), Veronica Roth, HarperCollins, $6.99
8. “Takedown Twenty: A Stephanie Plum Novel”, Janet Evanovich, Penguin Random House, $6.49
9. “Timebound (The Chronos Files)”, Rysa Walker, Amazon, $4.99
10. “Cross My Heart (Alex Cross)”, James Patterson, Hachette, $7.50
See the complete list of this week’s top 25 e-book bestsellers at Digital Book World.
Jeremy Greenfield is responsible for managing all editorial content on DigitalBookWorld.com, including the DBW Expert Publishing Blog, the Digital Book Wire and editorial email and social media communications. Prior to joining Digital Book World in October 2011, Jeremy spent three years as a careers editor at FINS.com. Jeremy lives and works in New York City and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.