The used pbook conundrum

[KenJackson]

After I bought my Sony Reader, I made the decision to attempt to buy all books as ebooks. It's just more convenient to read my Reader.

If I want a specific book (meaning it's not available at Smashwords) I typically find it on one or more ebook sites and then take a look at Amazon to see how much they're selling used pbooks for. Often, the book I want is available for less than a dollar + $3.99 shipping. So I have a choice: buy my preferred format for $9 to $20 or buy a like-new used paper book for $4 to $5.

It seems like about half the time anymore I end up with the paper.

I don't care that someone has already read it and it's a little banged up. And I do appreciate the lower price. But the irony Irritates me a little.

[twowheels]

Yep, true for a lot of us.

I used to read exclusively used. I now pay more for my reading, but always look at the used price and wonder whether I should just buy the pbook.

[crossi]

I don't buy fiction in paper. If it is priced too high as an ebook (more or just equal to the the MM paperback) then I simply don't buy it in any form. I'm trying to clear out all my boxes of paperbacks.

[charlesatan]

I can understand the argument that eBooks should cost less than their print counterparts, but definitely not that they should cost less than secondhand books (which can arise anywhere from remaindered copies to disposing of a book to make space).

The benefit of eBooks for me is that it's convenient, and I'm paying for the convenience one way or another.

[faithbw]

I have a similar issue. For some books, it really is better cost wise for me to buy a used copy or to just borrow it from the library if possible. It means that I use my Sony Reader less than I could but being cost efficient is really important for me as a grad student on a tight budget.

[Giggleton]

Irony?

Why not just buy the printed book, download the ebook from a torrent site, and then burn the printed book when it arrives in the mail? It would save you the trouble of scanning the thing yourself...

Or would it be more ethical to give the printed book away??

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by charlesatan

I can understand the argument that eBooks should cost less than their print counterparts, but definitely not that they should cost less than secondhand books (which can arise anywhere from remaindered copies to disposing of a book to make space).

The benefit of eBooks for me is that it's convenient, and I'm paying for the convenience one way or another.

The problem is that ebooks ARE competing against used books. If we're stuck with DRM then we should at least get the right of first sale and be allowed to resell it via some online marketplace.

It seems that Amazon (and others) could easily allow us to put the book up for resale. I could finish reading the book, choose to resell it on their website. It'd go into a pool of available copies and become unavailable to me. Let's assume that the new book cost $12, so the used sells for $6. Once somebody buys it I get a cut (say $2) the publisher gets a cut (another $2) and Amazon gets a cut (yet another $2). The used copy sold for half price, yet everybody got some money. This system would allow for a healthy used market without the publishers whining that they're getting cut out. They'd get more than they do with used paper books (which is $0!) and somebody has to buy the original copies that go into circulation. Even if they put an artificial limit on how many times that a book could be resold (say 2 times, the last buyer gets a slight discount since they can't resale it) it'd still be better that what we've got now.

[KenJackson]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

..., download the ebook from a torrent site, ...

Trouble. I know there are sites that have copyrighted (pirated) ebooks you can download for free but I don't visit them. Yes, I suppose you can justify it by saying you paid for the paper copy, but it still stinks like something unethical. I'll avoid it.

Originally Posted by Giggleton

... the trouble of scanning the thing yourself...

Scan it? Others have written that they scan books, but I don't understand why anyone would expend that much effort for anything but an important reference book, or extenuating circumstances.

I just read the pbooks the old fashioned way. It's not terrible, just less convenient.

[KenJackson]

Originally Posted by twowheels

If we're stuck with DRM then we should at least get the right of first sale and be allowed to resell it via some online marketplace.

You proposed a very good and doable idea.

However, one disadvantage is that it would add legitimacy, function and value to the practice of DRM while we're all hoping we can eventually shovel it into the landfill.

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

Irony?

Why not just buy the printed book, download the ebook from a torrent site, and then burn the printed book when it arrives in the mail? It would save you the trouble of scanning the thing yourself...

Or would it be more ethical to give the printed book away??

Yeah - I actually agree to this to some extent. I've never really thought about it from a perspective of the purchase of used books though. For pbooks I've bought retail I don't have much of an issue with the methodology - a kind of "pass the buck" format shifting.

[apbschmitz]

Originally Posted by twowheels

It seems that Amazon (and others) could easily allow us to put the book up for resale. I could finish reading the book, choose to resell it on their website. It'd go into a pool of available copies and become unavailable to me. Let's assume that the new book cost $12, so the used sells for $6. Once somebody buys it I get a cut (say $2) the publisher gets a cut (another $2) and Amazon gets a cut (yet another $2). The used copy sold for half price, yet everybody got some money.

So everybody except for the person who wrote the book gets a cut?

[wyndslash]

i bought a bunch of used books last year, but only because they were really old titles and would probably never be Kindle-ized. so i guess there's still a role for used pbooks, besides the price factor

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by apbschmitz

So everybody except for the person who wrote the book gets a cut?

It was my assumption/intention that the publisher would give a portion of the proceeds to the author just like they do when they sell it the first time. That said, your comment points out that the publisher's cut would probably need to be bigger than Amazon's and the seller's since it goes to more people.

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

i bought a bunch of used books last year, but only because they were really old titles and would probably never be Kindle-ized. so i guess there's still a role for used pbooks, besides the price factor

Yes, and to tie it together with another thread, I would say that used book stores are "harbours of culture". Libraries seem to be purging all books that aren't really popular, and you can't count on them to have books that were heavily borrowed only twenty or thirty years ago. If not for the used book market, most would have disappeared for new readers by now. I've picked up quite a few used books via AbeBooks that were unavailable to me any other way.

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by rkomar

Yes, and to tie it together with another thread, I would say that used book stores are "harbours of culture". Libraries seem to be purging all books that aren't really popular, and you can't count on them to have books that were heavily borrowed only twenty or thirty years ago. If not for the used book market, most would have disappeared for new readers by now. I've picked up quite a few used books via AbeBooks that were unavailable to me any other way.

It's just a problem of storage, I can most probably assure you that any librarian worth their salt would tell you that if they had the space they would store all books...

WE HAVE THE SPACE.