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Originally Posted by rlauzon
Not necessarily. But part of the value of the book is that when you are done reading it, you can do more with it than just throw it away.
That's especially true when the book is a nice hardcover - which is what eBooks are priced at today.
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It's not part of the value for me, in any sense that can get a price tag attached.
I read for pleasure. I appreciate a well crafted book in terms of the production values as well as the content.
But content is key, and production values have a negative effect, not a positive one. If the book isn't something I'm interested in reading in the first place, fine production values won't make it any more attractive to me. If it
is a book I want to read, poor production values can make it
less attractive.
As mentioned, I buy books to read and keep. If I do dispose of books, I give them away.
Resale value isn't a concern, nor is trading value.
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So you would rather pay $15 for a DRMed eBook that can only be read for a short time and cannot be resold/given away, then pay $10 for a paper book that be read for a long time and can be resold/given away?
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I don't buy DRMed ebooks, so the question isn't meaningful.
Other than space limitations, I don't have a problem with paper books. For me, ebooks are an additional format, not a replacement. If you could wave a magic wand and give me ebook editions of all of my paper volumes in exchange for my paper books, I'd refuse the deal. I
like paper books.
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The only thing that I assume is that intelligent people want to get the best value for their money.
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As do I, but what constitutes "value" isn't the same for everyone.
I believe your basic point is really "DRM is bad" and "ebooks are over-priced". I agree with both statements, but if that's what you meant, that's what you should have
said.
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Getting back on the topic:
My point was that there seems to be quite a market in trading used romance novels. Moving to DRMed eBook versions of these seems to be a good idea for the publisher - but a bad idea for the reader.
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And the same holds true for any other genre of literature.
But by that logic, publishers shouldn't offer ebooks at all, because what you appear to desire would be good for the reader but bad for
them.
With a paper book, there is a single physical copy. If I buy and read a paper book, and choose not to keep it, I can dispose of it. I can resell it, trade it, give it away or simply throw it in the trash. But if I do any of those,
I no longer have it. There is only the one copy, and I can't resell it/trade it/give it away
and keep it for myself.
With an ebook, that goes out the window, which is why publishers impose DRM in the first place.
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Dennis