Used book stores, good or evil?

[The Terminator]

I think it's the same as pirating an E-book. Either way the author gets no money.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by The Terminator

I think it's the same as pirating an E-book. Either way the author gets no money.

But that's not true. Unless the physical book was stolen in the first place, the author DOES get money from the initial sale.

[The Terminator]

Yes but YOU are paying the author the same amount of money. I'm sure most authors would rather have all of their books burned than have them resold. Therefore you would have to buy them from a store giving the author more money.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by The Terminator

Yes but YOU are paying the author the same amount of money. I'm sure most authors would rather have all of their books burned than have them resold. Therefore you would have to buy them from a store giving the author more money.

I think ultimately an author would prefer people become familiar with his/her work, creating a demand. Used book stores are perfect becuase we might buy an author we wouldn't usually touch. Example: I heard of the "Cat Who" series from one of our threads, but was reluctant to invest in a series I might not like. I found the first one at a used book store and have decided to give it a try...if I like it I will buy more. Those sales will all be online since the used bookstore is far from home, and there is no guarantee I'll find all of the books there, much less, in order.

Now of course there are going to be people who will always try to take the cheapest route, but I don't think it happens as often as we think. Those same people would probably just look for their books at the library anyway.

[William F]

I don't know about most writer's but I'd fall to my knees alternately weeping in thanks and laughing with unmitigated glee if I ever saw one of my books in a used bookstore...or anywhere else for that matter.
That being said, making a little money would be a nice bonus. Still, I'd rather have them freely read or pirated or stolen by unscrupulous publishers and serialized between the picture layouts in hardcore bondage magazines than burned.
Unless the burning got me some good publicity.

[ucfgrad93]

Originally Posted by The Terminator

I'm sure most authors would rather have all of their books burned than have them resold.

That is quite an assumption you are making there, and quite frankly, I think you are mistaken.

[ebusinesstutor]

Most of my books were purchased used and that is how I discovered most of my favorite authors. The library was also a great way for me to find new authors.

So only about 10 to 20% of my book purchases were new and paid the author. On the other hand, I would have purchased a lot less books if I had to pay full price. So

Authors make more from me now with ebooks since there is no used market and most of my new purchases are in ebook formats. So I think ebooks are a good thing for the authors.

[GreenMonkey]

Originally Posted by ebusinesstutor

Most of my books were purchased used and that is how I discovered most of my favorite authors. The library was also a great way for me to find new authors.

So only about 10 to 20% of my book purchases were new and paid the author. On the other hand, I would have purchased a lot less books if I had to pay full price. So

I agree.

I mean, I read C.S. Friedman's last 2 books "for free" like this and it resulted in me pre-ordering book 3 (due out Sep 6).

I think that authors understand this better than the video game industry, for example. There have been some studies to suggest that the used market helps the new market more than it hinders. I know I am more willing to risk a game for $50-$60 if I know I can resell it for $30 if I don't like it. This is one of the reasons (along with DRM) that I buy console ames now, and almost never buy a PC game any more.

In general, I never risk a new author as a full priced book. In the case of libraries, that's a no brainer. There's a ton of authors I read at the library I'd have never read otherwise, especially as a poor kid. Trust me, I rarely had $5 for a book as a kid.

[xg4bx]

not to be flippant but boo hoo, find another line of work. i'm not spending a dime on something (other than food obviously) that i'm stuck with when i'm done/bored with it.

you're not entitled to more money after the initial sale. you're just not. you don't send the contractors a check when you move into a previously lived in house. you don't send GE a check if you buy a used refrigerator. what makes authors (or video game publishers for that matter) think that they're entitled to continually be paid for their work in perpetuity when almost everything under the sun has a secondary market?

i just won't check out that authors books period. toil in obscurity. *shrugs* i don't buy used books but i would go out of my way to ignore that authors work completely.

[neilmarr]

Just as an aside:

Last year, I saw an out-of-print book of my own offered second-hand (but apparently 'unused') on Amazon and eBay for $465 as a collectors piece.

Had it been offered at a price under the cover cost of the original, I would have been quite content, simply because it was out of print and release had been almost ten years earlier. I've seen the same book in several used book stores and have been happy to know it's still available, cheaply, to be read and shared. That was the whole point of the four years' hard work I put into it.

But I was so darned angry at someone cashing in on my work to this ridiculous extent that I immediately arranged release of a second edition that included the first -- unabridged -- with added and up-dated material for about $16 in paperback and $5.95 in all ebook editions.

The second edition -- released in January this year -- has sold well. The private seller immediately reduced the asking price of his 'collectors piece' and it has since disappeared from view .

As I said, folks, a mere aside.

On the question of second-hand books in general, this thread has adjusted my original strong opinion. I still feel, though, that there should be some slight adjustment in policy ... perhaps re-sale should be discouraged until one year after latest copyright date in a published print book to prevent potential impact on initial sales ... and also to discourage the unseemly but legal practice of many publishers who sell off remainders and returns of a title in bulk to second-hand stores at a tiny fraction of cover price after as little as three-months shelf-life and realistic realisation of a new book's full potential.

Best. Neil