Quote:
Originally Posted by rogue_librarian
It's not an entirely unreasonable expectation, though, is it?
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I wouldn't say that it is an unreasonable expectation but I would label it as unrealistic. Prices will always go up and I am unable to see how a digital means of distribution will change that despite being able to in theory (and you know how much people love to deny the plausibility of theories).
If we end up paying the same amount for the content, whether printed or digitized, I say we come out on top because I think a digitized book has features that greatly increase the desirability over a printed book (even though there are definitely some issues that still need smoothed away). They could say, "Wow, look at this digital wizardry, isn't it super advanced like a PS3 vs Super Nintendo sort of advanced? Isn't that worth a premium?!?!" but they aren't and they probably can't.
I have always regarded the price of a book as the fee for the content and that has greatly buffered my reactions to paying the same price for an ebook while others are scrambling to comprehend how it is that they are not paying dramatically reduced prices for the ebook edition of a book because "Well... the digital production and distribution means the content should be practically free now! Right?!?! Right?!?!". This is non-sensical. My brain was always regarding the value of the content unless I was specifically paying for the container (in which case I was paying prices greatly increased over what the content itself would be were I to be considering that as the sole factor. I paid 65USD for my very special copy of Vanity Fair, for instance. Specifically for the container).
I can understand the desire for a digital utopia. I don't see it happening, though. Nor do I expect it.