IF the information contained is proven to be valuable and well-expressed than yes, I agree, $39 (or even $99 or whatever) is totally worth it when the expertise derived pays off. BUT, for an unknown quantity it's still steep. There are plenty of poorly written tech books not really worth the "paper" they're printed on. So asking people to pony-up that kind of money is a little shocking. It might be better to provide (as they have) a sample chapter, and then split the book in parts. Then each part could be $X (say, $12?) which allows people to pay a smaller amount, ascertain the value the book provides and then shell out the full amount.
People are price-sensitive. Their expectations--derived from pricing observed for similar books--is that a book's "retail" price would be somewhere between $20-$30. A book that's nearly $40 is almost unheard of. Additionally, this is especially true for "self-published" books. We expect them to be cheaper because their distribution/production costs are cheaper (or at least we perceive them to be cheaper) and we acknowledge that often self-published books don't have expensive, but quality-assuring, intermediates like editors. In other words, a self-published book is a much greater unknown quantity than one from a publisher which has been edited etc. Plenty of books from publishers suck, but an even greater proportion of self-published books suck.
Asking $30 for a book is shocking? I expect to pay at least that for a good technical book. This is a book I paid $60 for: http://www.amazon.com/Linux-Programming-Interface-System-Han... I did so because the information in it is relevant to my job, it's unlikely to change in a significant way over the next decade, and I was tired of not having a single place to look up Linux systems stuff.
If I was a web developer using Meteor, I imagine I would come to a similar conclusion about this book - with the exception that because it's online, the authors can update it over time.
Where did you get that? He explicitly said that "if the information contained is proven to be valuable and well-expressed than yes, I agree, $39 (or even $99 or whatever) is totally worth it." He literally said the exact opposite of what you are alleging that he said. Literally.
His shock was in regards to the fact that the offer no sample chapter (which they probably should).
Now I'm getting confused. I agree that it was an unknown quantity before I began reading it.
The main point I was attempting to make is that some of those (perhaps a very small minority) interested in learning Meteor operate on very tight budgets. On a good month I get a $50 "allowance." Most months I don't get an allowance. This month my wife agreed to take the cost of the Discover Meteor book out of our grocery budget. So when things are that tight, $30 or $40 is a lot to swing. It's roughly 10% of our grocery budget (for context).
For those who make their living as web developers and have sufficient disposable income, I'm sure the asking price of $39 isn't a problem.
I don't know why you think that they don't offer a sample chapter, as one of the only actions possible above the fold is to download a sample chapter from the book.
Actually, I expressly did mention that they offer a sample chapter. I was suggesting that in addition to the sample chapter they might consider (if they want to keep the overall price where it is) selling the book in segments which cost less allowing those who are especially price-sensitive to test drive the content. E.g. Part 1 costs $10 and then the rest costs $29. Silly idea, but I just like to think about this kind of thing.
I wasn't responding to you, I was responding to the parent comment above me that says "His shock was in regards to the fact that the offer no sample chapter (which they probably should)."
I feel as though it is fair to note here that if you are not satisfied with this book, you are able to get a full refund for it. $39 may still be too much for a speculative buyer, but at least you aren't throwing away money if it's not up to your standards
People are price-sensitive. Their expectations--derived from pricing observed for similar books--is that a book's "retail" price would be somewhere between $20-$30. A book that's nearly $40 is almost unheard of. Additionally, this is especially true for "self-published" books. We expect them to be cheaper because their distribution/production costs are cheaper (or at least we perceive them to be cheaper) and we acknowledge that often self-published books don't have expensive, but quality-assuring, intermediates like editors. In other words, a self-published book is a much greater unknown quantity than one from a publisher which has been edited etc. Plenty of books from publishers suck, but an even greater proportion of self-published books suck.