Quote:
Originally Posted by Maggie Leung
As strange as it might seem to some consumers, there are people who support independent businesses, even if it means they don't get the cheapest prices, best deals and such. Many Portland residents are very pro-independent businesses.
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Isn't it more convenient to buy things where you want, and just write a check for the difference to the business you want to support? Sort of personal welfare?
As for the deal ... non-profit or not, they still have to bring in enough money to pay their rent, utilities, and so on. They're not giving books away. Unless they're operating as a "free books" charity, they
can't be giving books away, not and meet their obligations. They, like any business, do things that bring in money. So if they're offering to trade pbooks (if they're non-profit, were those books donated?) for Kindles (that are in high demand, and can be sold for a good price elsewhere), they're not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts; they're doing it because the money will pay their store rent, etc. It would be naive to think otherwise, just as if you thought a car dealer taking a trade-in was doing so for your benefit, not his own.
So, that's actually something notably in favor of ebooks: the fact that a business thinks that an ebook reader is worth more to a segment of buyers than the same amount of money in pbooks, even though the Kindle buyer would have to then go and buy (or find, if they're into PD) books to equal the same total, spending
more money on the Kindle+books combination than on pbooks alone.