Quote:
Originally Posted by rogue_librarian
There is only one used copy, and while you can sell it multiple times it cannot be read by more than one person at a time. An ebook can be copied an infinite number of times with ease.
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Theoretically, though I think you would be surprised at just how low the download statistics are for ebooks. Neither an unauthorised download or a second hand paperback will put money in the hands of publishers. Yet they both still bring in new readers who would never have read those books otherwise. Which is something the author ultimately benefits from.
If publishers ever stop putting out new paperbacks, eventually the stock of second hand ones will dry up. Not much of the market for second hand books is likely to switch to new hardback prices for ebooks, so if there is no unauthorised source for cheap or free ebooks those readers will be lost.