[Open-access] [open-science] Elsevier: some facts, by Tim Gowers

Wed Apr 30 15:58:49 UTC 2014

the two are definitely related; Elsevier charge whatever they can get away
with because of their monopoly position with regards to owning content. if
you don't like apple, you can buy an android; it's different, but is
similar enough for most people's needs. so there is genuine competition. if
you need to read an elsevier article, you (or your library) have no choice
but to pay (unless there's a green open access version, or #icanhazpdf
etc). elsevier et al's profit margins are a symptom of a dysfunctional
market.

On 30 April 2014 16:41, P Kishor <punk.kish at gmail.com> wrote:

> This conversation seems to have wandered from Elsevier abusing its
> (possibly monopoly) position to Elsevier's profit margin. While the two
> could be related, are us folks concerned that Elsevier is making money
> hands-over-fist, or that they are not providing us with a satisfactory
> solution? am curious. Case in point -- Apple's margins are around the same
> as Elsevier's yet I have little to complain about and happily buy their
> products in spite of alternatives (just not as good, in my view) of my my
> own volition.
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 30, 2014 at 8:37 AM, Song, Stephen <stephen.song at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> On 30 April 2014 12:08, Graham Triggs <grahamtriggs at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On 30 April 2014 14:45, Bjoern Brembs <b.brembs at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Someone needs to do an infographic on that and compare these margins to
>>>> other industries...
>>>>
>>>
>>> What, you mean like this? (Comparison, rather than infographic. And yes,
>>> it's a couple of years out of date)
>>>
>>>
>>> http://seekingalpha.com/article/269679-oil-industry-profit-margin-ranks-fairly-low-there-are-bigger-fish
>>>
>>
>> Here is a long list from the Internet Information Provider world.  There
>> is quite a variance.
>>
>>
>> http://www.macroaxis.com/invest/marketScreener/stockIndustry/operatingMargin/Internet_Information_Providers
>>
>>
>> ..
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Puneet Kishor
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> open-access mailing list
> open-access at lists.okfn.org
> https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/open-access
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/open-access
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/open-access/attachments/20140430/41f62c90/attachment-0002.html>