Well, in comparison with fiction books - which seem to have a tendency to very low prices, 0.99 or so - I notice that non-fiction books in Amazon usually have, and stay, with higher prices, but there is a great price disparity, even some are priced very high and stay in the first positions. So that, what could be a reasonable "average" price, if such average exist, for a non-fiction book? Your previous experience and comments are most than welcome, since I do not have much experience in trying different prices.

Hi Raul,

I've noticed the same thing about how fiction and non-fiction books are priced. My guess is that the disparity is due to an economic principle I learned about in business college called the price elasticity of demand. The demand for some products is very elastic. Raise the price even a little bit and consumers go find an alternative product or supplier.

Non-fiction is different in that the author is often a specialist and there really aren't as many alternatives to the education and knowledge of a specialist. Someone who is intrigued by a particular subject is going to tend to gravitate towards the masters of that subject. How many alternatives are there to Stephen Hawking's books?

Thank you.
Anyway, there are also a lot of competition in non-fiction specialist, so that many alternatives for similar subjects (yes, we are not all S. Hawking!! ). At the end, the idea I've got is just to go through trial and error, changing prices and check results. Anyway, I have seen that one of the best scales is 2.99-3.99, though you can also find many non-fiction books higher than that, but usually those who are already popular and can afford to increase the price.

I am new here and this is an interesting question. I submit that those who purchase non-fiction works are a smaller group, having a limited number of specific interests. These readers are willing to pay a higher amount to add a new volume to their library, to become another acquisition in a limited topic collection. Published in smaller quantities and more limited in circulation, these books will retain their value longer.
Fiction readers, by contrast, are a larger group, having a broad range of interests. The constant shift in fiction readers' interests shortens general fiction shelf life, leading to prices declining much more frequently and more steeply in order to clear older inventory.