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I am an avid reader, and when a new book comes out in a series I enjoy, often I like to reread the whole series from the start. Of course, that requires that I *find* the earlier books, and since I have books everywhere that's not always easy. I can't tell you how many times I have had to repurchase a book because I just can't remember which storage area has my copy...Well with ebooks that is not going to be a problem any more.
I do think that publishers need to learn the 'Barbie' lesson. No, really, bear with me! When I was a kid (a long time ago...) we all wanted Barbies. It wasn't like now, where Barbie came in collectible versions for big bucks. The doll came in a box and she was wearing a bathing suit and she was CHEAP! Really I think the manufacturer would have given the doll away for free if they could have gotten the stores to carry her. Why? Because once your kid had this doll (and you bought it for her of course because hey, it was CHEAP) you were hooked! You were a captive audience for an endless supply of overpriced outfits, shoes, accessories. The stores were like drug dealers, giving you the first dose for free and then sitting back and waiting for you to come back for more...
EBook reader manufacturers should take a lesson from Barbie. The reader itself should be sold at cost because once it's in the customer's hands, the book sales will never end. Right now they're trying to have it both ways, profiting from the reader sales and then charging hardcover prices for the ebooks, and the money they save on printing and shipping is pure profit.
Consumers are not stupid, and unless they are diehard early adopters, they need to see a benefit. At the moment, unless they are avid readers like me, the benefit is not there.
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