Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew H.
I think that most people who claim to be boycotting on principle are actually boycotting because they don't like paying the higher prices.
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I'm inclined to agree with you, to a point. I don't boycott, period. Perhaps that comes from having been surrounded by people whose principles and boycott targets changed with the wind, and I got rather tired of hearing about the trendy cause of the week. Or perhaps it's because there are things I do have cause to be outraged about, things that I can't control, and it makes Agency pricing seem like a peripheral annoyance, rather than an actual issue.
This is all my own perspective, of course, and not meant to disparage those who choose that route - it's just not for me. Past experiences have made the idea of boycotts leave a bad taste in my mouth, and I accept that my perspective may be skewed because of that.
And it gets complicated - now we have the HarperCollins library issue rearing its head, so I'll use that as an example. Not giving money to HC would mean not giving money to two authors I really like, authors whose contracts were in place before any of this crap happened. Even if the things in my first paragraph didn't exist, I still could not do that.
Regarding ebooks as luxury goods - yes, I agree that ebooks are, at this time, luxury goods.
Not books as a whole, just the electronic versions that we're discussing here - the ones where cost is an issue. I'm a big supporter of literacy programs and libraries, and the preservation and advancement of culture. At this point, ebooks are in the position of shaping those things going forward, but those things aren't yet dependent on ebooks. When that time comes, they will no longer be luxuries but will become essential.
Now that I've put everyone to sleep (should I put tl;dr at the top?) I will tell you where my line is drawn and why. For me, it's simple economics. If there's a book I really, really want (assuming I can afford it at that time), it's worth more to me for a possible variety of reasons - could be the next book in a series I love, or the latest book from a favorite author, or a story that means something to me. But if that "really want" condition isn't met, I simply calculate how many other books I could buy instead of that one book. When the price outweighs the desire, it comes down to stretching my dollars.