MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Will $0.99 ebooks make library loans less needed?

Kali Yuga · 03-06-2011, 04:30 PM

If you have a chance, go to the library

and borrow a copy of Daniel Ariely's Predictably Irrational.

In it, he offers numerous examples of how attaching any price whatsoever -- even 99¢ -- radically alters behavior. In short: "Free" generally gets treated like a social service or good. Assigning any dollar amount instantly changes it to an economic relationship.

Libraries also do more than just hand out books, of course. They have a separate value as a social space for a community.

So despite the fact that $1 ebooks abound, chances are slim that this would truly replace the function of libraries.

03-06-2011, 04:30 PM	#15
Kali Yuga Professional Contrarian Posts: 2,045 Karma: 3289631 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 4 No Touchie	If you have a chance, go to the library and borrow a copy of Daniel Ariely's Predictably Irrational. In it, he offers numerous examples of how attaching any price whatsoever -- even 99¢ -- radically alters behavior. In short: "Free" generally gets treated like a social service or good. Assigning any dollar amount instantly changes it to an economic relationship. Libraries also do more than just hand out books, of course. They have a separate value as a social space for a community. So despite the fact that $1 ebooks abound, chances are slim that this would truly replace the function of libraries.