A recent blog post by S.J. in The Economist entails the difference pricing for each of the two editions of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Material trilogy – teens and adult. The blogger identifies this practice as a classic case of price discrimination through market segmentation. Although the books were initially categorized at young adult fiction, the publishers also recognized that the trilogy may also have a strong appeal to older adults as well. Ticketing the adult edition at a price that is 17% higher, the publisher hopes to increase sales within the adult market. The bookstore staff also described the practice as charging an “adult book premium” on the book for its not-so-childish appearance.

source:http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/sep/30/american-library-association-banned-books

This behaviour by the publisher can be identified as a attempt to maximize profit as the respective costs for each edition are roughly the same. In reality, people do judge a book by its cover. It is a smart move on the producer’s part in recognizing the added value of the alternative version of book, and taking advantage of this added value by increasing the price of book to increase profit. Personally, I don’t believe there is an ethical issue in play, because adults do have the freedom to choose the cheaper edition over the other. It is simply a question of how much the reader is willing to pay for his/her image.

Price discrimination: The adult-book premium | The Economist:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2011/11/price-discrimination