Ebook Rental: Wished-For Features

[anamardoll]

Like the others, I use Overdrive (via Free Library of Philadelphia) for the ~30 dollars a year or whatever that costs. If there was an Overdrive that didn't have waiting lists, then I'd probably join for, say, $100 a year. Maybe $150. I would figure that the subscription would save me money from buying things that I end up not wanting to read again.

Having said that, as others have pointed out the major problem right now is the publishers, not the customers. Most of them just won't deal at the moment.

[teadonkey]

Y'know, I'd love to know how many people strip DRM. I don't. I don't personally know a single person who does. The only place I come in contact with the idea of doing that is here. I'm sure there are other ebook forums out there where people mention it, but I don't go to any other forums - and quite frankly, forums by nature attract the type of people who would do something like that for techie reasons. So I find it interesting that so many people just ASSUME a large portion of the population strips DRM. I have some major doubts the average joe reader does that.

So I think a rental system would work but I can't help but say... what would possess me to pay for a subscription to a rental system for ebooks when I can go rent paperbacks from my local library like I currently do? I don't live near a big library; we just have a smaller county one. Whenever I go book shopping, I write down all the titles/authors I'm thinking of reading and check to see if the library has them. If they don't (which is not uncommon), I buy the ebook version. If they do, I just read the paperback. For free. I can't be the only one who does something like that. So the only way I can see a program like this working is if they have a nice, broad selection with very short wait times - to compete with the library - AND a nice, cheap price - to compete with buying the book.

[rogue_librarian]

Originally Posted by teadonkey

... what would possess me to pay for a subscription to a rental system for ebooks when I can go rent paperbacks from my local library like I currently do?

No waiting, great selection, keep as long as you want... (why do people bother with Netflix? Surely the libraries have the same DVDs, eventually.)

[teadonkey]

Hm, I suppose those are good points, but I think the longest I've kept a library book is the 20 days they gave me, and you can always renew!

My boyfriend and I use Netflix because our Blockbuster is dying and our library has a super, super small selection of DVDs. I mean super small.

[Tome Keeper]

Originally Posted by teadonkey

Hm, I suppose those are good points, but I think the longest I've kept a library book is the 20 days they gave me, and you can always renew!

In my libraries you cannot renew e-books, once the time is up (sometimes as little as 7 days) your book goes to the next person on the list and you have to join the que again.

[misling]

I wonder about another possibility - I don't know whether it would appeal, though. What about 'rent-to-buy'? you pay a (LOW) price to have the book a week or so - as part of a subscription program maybe. In that time you could read it once or start reading it. Then (if you like the book and want to keep it) you pay the rest of the price to have it permanently. Otherwise it expires and you lose it.

I'd go for that for the 'popcorn' books that I want to read once. I have a ton of them on my shelves. Used to trade them to used book stores, but those are hard to find any more.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by misling

I wonder about another possibility - I don't know whether it would appeal, though. What about 'rent-to-buy'? you pay a (LOW) price to have the book a week or so - as part of a subscription program maybe. In that time you could read it once or start reading it. Then (if you like the book and want to keep it) you pay the rest of the price to have it permanently. Otherwise it expires and you lose it.

I'd go for that for the 'popcorn' books that I want to read once. I have a ton of them on my shelves. Used to trade them to used book stores, but those are hard to find any more.

I'd like this a LOT. The biggest issue with me for paying very much for a subscription service is that if I then want to KEEP the book, I've essentially paid for it twice. A rental service where a few bucks more would let you opt to buy would be ideal for me.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by teadonkey

Y'know, I'd love to know how many people strip DRM. I don't. I don't personally know a single person who does.

In my experience, it's not something most people volunteer in conversation. Nobody wants to be The Test Case, ya'know?

Still, any time you hear someone talking about reading a B&N book on their Sony reader or a Kindle book on their Nook, you can take a rough guess that someone likes cabbages........

[Tome Keeper]

Originally Posted by teadonkey

Y'know, I'd love to know how many people strip DRM. I don't. I don't personally know a single person who does. The only place I come in contact with the idea of doing that is here. I'm sure there are other ebook forums out there where people mention it, but I don't go to any other forums - and quite frankly, forums by nature attract the type of people who would do something like that for techie reasons. So I find it interesting that so many people just ASSUME a large portion of the population strips DRM. I have some major doubts the average joe reader does that.
.

Maybe an anonymous poll, although I would think the results for MR would be biased.

Most people are pretty cagey about it, considering the legal implications.

[hollyert]

Wow, guys, thanks so much for your feedback thus far! The comments (critical and positive) are also very enlightening.

I have indeed thought about the rent-with-option-to-buy and now I regret not remembering to put that on the poll. It seems kind of like a no-brainer.

I too am interested in the prevalence of DRM-cracking. I'm a huge techie, very computer-oriented, and starved for books and money but I have never once had the desire to break DRM. So I don't know really what proportion of lay book readers want to put that much effort into getting a few more days out of a library book.

[rogue_librarian]

Originally Posted by hollyert

I too am interested in the prevalence of DRM-cracking. I'm a huge techie, very computer-oriented, and starved for books and money but I have never once had the desire to break DRM.

I don't see anything unethical in removing digital restrictions from content that I buy.

So I don't know really what proportion of lay book readers want to put that much effort into getting a few more days out of a library book.

Much effort, you say?

[GreenMonkey]

Originally Posted by hollyert

Wow, guys, thanks so much for your feedback thus far! The comments (critical and positive) are also very enlightening.

I have indeed thought about the rent-with-option-to-buy and now I regret not remembering to put that on the poll. It seems kind of like a no-brainer.

I too am interested in the prevalence of DRM-cracking. I'm a huge techie, very computer-oriented, and starved for books and money but I have never once had the desire to break DRM. So I don't know really what proportion of lay book readers want to put that much effort into getting a few more days out of a library book.

I don't trust companies any farther than I can throw them. I'll leave it at that.

It's like filling out mail in rebates. You do it right away, before you get to enjoy your new product. Otherwise you keep stalling until it is too late and then you get screwed.

I love the idea of a netflix-style subscription service. I'd probably consider it a must-have, just like netflix. Good luck getting publishers to agree to it. Netflix has been working for years to get as far as they have.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by rogue_librarian

I don't see anything unethical in removing digital restrictions from content that I buy.

This. I would really like put to bed the notion that the only DRM-stripping is the "keep a book from the library indefinitely" variety. In my opinion, it's ignorance or straw-manning to suggest otherwise.

And I'm frankly a bit tired of the "but what about DRM-strippers" coming up in every library/rental thread ever. Overdrive exists just fine now; I assume a commercial rental system would work similarly to Overdrive.

[Rich_D]

Originally Posted by hollyert

Wow, guys, thanks so much for your feedback thus far! The comments (critical and positive) are also very enlightening.

I have indeed thought about the rent-with-option-to-buy and now I regret not remembering to put that on the poll. It seems kind of like a no-brainer.

I too am interested in the prevalence of DRM-cracking. I'm a huge techie, very computer-oriented, and starved for books and money but I have never once had the desire to break DRM. So I don't know really what proportion of lay book readers want to put that much effort into getting a few more days out of a library book.

I strip the DRM from every book I buy. It's the first thing I do, before I load it to my devices. I occassionally read on my android phone and prefer to use Moon+ as my reader.

That being said, I don't buy many books. I buy books from about 6 authors, the rest I check out from libraries. I don't have an issue with the waiting periods so I probably wouldn't spend money on a subscription service.

[carpetmojo]

Just lots of books..........