With the iPad only days away from launch, a new report states that consumers have “unrealistic expectations” about how low e-book prices should be.

Recently, the New York Times provided a breakdown on the economics of producing a book from the publisher’s perspective. The report noted that while printing costs go away when a book is reproduced in an electronic format, a number of expenses remain, including royalties and marketing.

The report said that while the average hardcover bestseller is IS$26, the cost to print, store and ship the book is just US$3.25. That cost also includes unsold copies returned to the publisher by booksellers.

Publishers get roughly US$13 of the selling price of a book. But after factoring in payments to the author and the cost of cover design and copy editing, only about US$4.05 is left. The report also noted that this figure doesn’t include overhead such as office space and electricity.

Under Apple’s agreement with publishers for the iBookstore, the hardware maker will keep 30% of each book sale, leaving US$9.09 for the publisher on a typical US$12.99 e-book.

“Out of that gross revenue, the publisher pays about 50 cents to convert the text to a digital file, typeset it in digital form and copy-edit it,” the report said. “Marketing is about 78 cents.”

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