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Originally Posted by Penforhire
Because of typical DRM you can't buy a used copy of any given e-book. So that comparison fails.
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You can buy a used copy of the HARD BACK book (or paper back, or get the book from the library). There is no law that says once a person buys an ebook reader that they can no longer buy paper books.
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Originally Posted by Penforhire
The rest of your argument is a reasonable free market commentary. However, while e-books may be a free market item (and I might debate that now), as Borders closes while Amazon and iTunes ascend, they are not likely to remain a free market item.
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It wouldn't matter to this reality if Amazon attained a sole monopoly over all ebooks and ebook pricing. The paper version of a book competes against the electronic version of the book. OTHER books compete against the purchase of an ebook. OLD books compete against the purchase of an ebook. All other forms of entertainment compete against the purchase of an ebook.
This is not milk or bread or gas for your car. No one has to buy an ebook, and there is a LOT of competition for that money.
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Originally Posted by Penforhire
They are, or will be, sole source items. Buy from vendor "A" or you will never get that e-book. They may drop their price over time or they may not. You may argue I don't have to read that particular book. True. But that is not an argument that supports a high e-book price. Look at it this way, if the price is really too high then piracy will increase. So there is such as thing as "too high" in that regard.
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Piracy and the used book are the same thing with regard to a publisher's inability to set too high of a price. I left it out intentionally as the usual side debate about piracy has been well covered and no need to muddy the waters.
The argument that goes along the lines of "but I want to read THAT ebook, and I want to read it NOW, and I want to read it in electronic form" -- all lead to DEMAND pricing. It all goes to why discussion of the cost to produce or the efficencies of digital distribution have NOTHING to do with ebook pricing. All that matters is that enough folks want to read THAT book, want to read it RIGHT NOW and want to read it in electronic format.
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Originally Posted by Penforhire
In the far future, but within our lifetimes, I expect e-books to dominate sales. So used p-books may not be as much an option then.
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By then the market will have spoken for so long, there will be no controversy. The time when ebooks are so dominant that paper versions, used versions, and library versions are no longer competitors -- is far away. But let's fast forward, shall we.
An ebook comes out and there is no paper version. It STILL cannot be overpriced. It STILL has to compete against all other books (ebooks or not). It still has to compete with every book that's out of copyright and being offered for free. It still has to compete with every self published new author giving their books away or selling them for $1. And it still has to compete for every other form of entertainment.
Which leads us back to the point you so wisely bring up. "I want to read THAT book, right NOW, in electronic form". Welcome to the world of demand pricing.
Lee