Quote:
Originally Posted by Highroller
No, I said money grubbing and I MEANT money grubbing. When I buy a paper book I OWN it. I can resale it. I can donate it and write it off my taxes. I can lend it to a friend. I can keep it for any many years as I want to take care of it. For an ebook that costs LESS to produce and I CAN'T resell it or donate it or in most case lend it to cost as much as a hardback IS the definition of money grubbing.
I also run the risk of needing to change to a new ebook reader and not being able to. Since you are at BEST renting an ebook you should pay a RENTAL price not a purchase price. Until the publishers do this they are money grubbing or at least trying to maintain their status quo by keeping ebook prices so high they aren't worth "buying" (ie renting).
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Then you should buy a paper book because it doesn't sound like e-books will meet your needs. It's not like publishers make any additional money because you can't lend, resell, or donate e-books. It's not like the authors, editors, proof-readers, etc. have to work any less on an e-book. The fact that you can't lend, sell, donate, etc. an e-book doesn't really affect the publisher's bottom line; it is merely your preference. If these things are important to you (they're not to me), buy a paper book.
You do run the risk of needing to change to a new e-book reader. That's a risk that everyone incurs when they buy an e-book reader; it's inherent in the technology. It's not like publishers or authors somehow benefit from this.
Buying an e-book isn't like renting a book. Rented books have to be returned. E-books don't have to be returned.
Publishers generally sell e-books at a discount (not a large one) to hardbacks. If, based on your personal needs, a hardback is a better fit, than you should buy a hardback and not complain that the e-book medium doesn't fit your needs.
But I don't see that the publishers are any more money grubbing than, say, you are.