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Originally Posted by Oldpilot
Well, not if you expect the book to sell on Amazon.com. Amazon will match the price of a book at any competing retailer, and if the price is zero, it can and at least sometimes has de-listed the book.
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The way I read the post, he was saying that he'd give individual copies to individual people, if they contacted him to say that they had a problem. Effectively, he's offering to replace a "faulty" copy (in so far as the customer can't use it) with one that the customer can use. I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that he's a retailer in that case.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldpilot
I fail to understand the dislike of DRM on this board. All my books are DRM-protected, to the extent that it provides any protection at all, and I can't image why any author wouldn't protect his literary rights to the best of his ability. DRM-free is the equivalent of publishing in a world where machine copying was free and instantaneous. In such a word, nobody would publish anything worth reading, because it would all be stolen without recompense; the only books available would be propaganda and special pleading.
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I don't have an issue with the idea of DRM, I think it can be useful. I don't like the way DRM is currently used. I see two issues with it.
First, it doesn't stop illegal copying, it doesn't even make it difficult. I like Andy McNab, and earlier today I googled for "Andy McNab ebook". On the first page were a few links to legal copies (with DRM), and more links to illegal copies, free to download, without DRM. If I wanted an illegal copy, it wouldn't have been difficult to get one.
Second, it inconveniences people who buy ebooks legitimately. If the cost of a DRM book is sufficiently cheaper than other versions of the book, then I might buy the DRM book. I can then make the choice of whether the cost saving is worth the extra inconvenience.