Quote:
Originally Posted by Nate the great
I have a hypothetical situation for you, Steve. Let's say I bought an ebook from you. I download it, and copy it to my ebook reader.
I now have two copies, one on my PC and the other on the reader. Should I pay you for the second copy?
Why can't the same principle apply for a pbook and an ebook? If the content has been paid for, why does the consumer have to buy it a second time?
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And this is the crux of the matter. The ipod has been so successful because you are not forced to buy content again for the device, if you already own it. Hey, I'll pay for content, and have for years. But I absolutely refuse to pay for the same content more than one time. It's unfair, and it is lining the pockets of a few entities at my expense.
I own alot of ebooks bought at ereader. I re-read alot of them over time. I absolutely refuse to EVER buy one of these books in a different e-format.
IMHO, we will see some sanity in the ebook market coming from overseas at first. Rumour is that CHina is looking to replace paper texts with etexts. The textbook market is where I see this sanity emerging. Ebooks can be great, they can have alot of beneficial effects. But if the publishers cling to their old model, and expect us to pay almost the same price for an ebook as a pbook, while at the same time depriving us our rights (right to resell, etc.), then there won't be an ebook market of consequence. Consumers, as an entity, aren't this stupid.
Ipod's success? Well, if you buy a music cd, you can convert it to Ipod or anything else you want, again and again. You can make a backup of the cd on hard drive so you have a good copy if your cd is scratched. You pay for content one time, and can use it on different devices that you own. For $15 or $20 for a cd, that's fair.
And here is what some book publishers tell us- you spend $24 for my hardcover edition, you must spend $20 for an electronic version ofr your palmpilot. And if you buy a kindle, baby, shell out more cash to read on that. And if the Kindle disappears ever, and you still want to read the book you have already purchased, shell out more cash for a new format.
Given that the population that regularly buys books is a much smaller one than that which regularly buys music, well, this doesn't seem to be a strategy that will lead to market success.