MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - are you participating in the 9.99 boycott?

catsittingstill · 07-12-2010, 06:27 PM

Hmmm.

I don't precisely boycott. But for me $10.00 is the point at which a book no longer has a hope of being an impulse buy.

For a recently released book by an author I *really* like (Lois McMaster Bujold, say), I'm willing to pay oh, maybe as much as 15$. Maybe even more (though never more than the hardback). This is comparable to me buying the hardback because I can't wait for the paperback to come out, and I think about it for a few days. If I forget about it in that time, oh well. Lost sale. Maybe I'll remember in time for the paperback.

If it's available in hardback but is not an author I swoon for, then the 9.99 price point is about my limit. If I'm feeling flush, my impulse buy limit is set about here.

If the paperback is out, I won't pay more than the paperback price. Why should I? I can just order the paperback instead.

Now, that said, I *do* recognize the information in the book file as having value, and the fact that it can (theoretically) be copied for free does not change the fact that it is valuable, as far as I'm concerned. If the value of the book were in its paper and ink, I would pay just as much for a blank book as for _Cryoburn_, (hint--this is not going to happen).

When I'm buying an e-book I'm buying the information from a paper book. The fact that it weighs nothing and takes almost no space is an advantage--the fact that the file is easily corrupted and might not be readable on my next gadgets is a disadvantage, and for me the right price point is a few dollars cheaper than the cheapest paper edition. But I can't afford to buy many hardbacks, and I can't afford to buy many $10+ books either.

07-12-2010, 06:27 PM	#96
catsittingstill Guru Posts: 643 Karma: 551634 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle 1.0.8, iPod Touch, Kindle Keyboard	Hmmm. I don't precisely boycott. But for me $10.00 is the point at which a book no longer has a hope of being an impulse buy. For a recently released book by an author I really like (Lois McMaster Bujold, say), I'm willing to pay oh, maybe as much as 15$. Maybe even more (though never more than the hardback). This is comparable to me buying the hardback because I can't wait for the paperback to come out, and I think about it for a few days. If I forget about it in that time, oh well. Lost sale. Maybe I'll remember in time for the paperback. If it's available in hardback but is not an author I swoon for, then the 9.99 price point is about my limit. If I'm feeling flush, my impulse buy limit is set about here. If the paperback is out, I won't pay more than the paperback price. Why should I? I can just order the paperback instead. Now, that said, I do recognize the information in the book file as having value, and the fact that it can (theoretically) be copied for free does not change the fact that it is valuable, as far as I'm concerned. If the value of the book were in its paper and ink, I would pay just as much for a blank book as for _Cryoburn_, (hint--this is not going to happen). When I'm buying an e-book I'm buying the information from a paper book. The fact that it weighs nothing and takes almost no space is an advantage--the fact that the file is easily corrupted and might not be readable on my next gadgets is a disadvantage, and for me the right price point is a few dollars cheaper than the cheapest paper edition. But I can't afford to buy many hardbacks, and I can't afford to buy many $10+ books either.