Quote:
Originally Posted by BenBanned
... Not to mention I am never paying for an e-book the concept seems absurd to me, most of time I could just wait a few days and get a hardcopy for the same price.
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I think it depends on how someone feels about books. If they read a lot of novels then they're probably used to tossing it at the end, whereas someone who tends to mostly read non-fiction would probably be more inclined to keep the book for future reference, if it was a hardcopy.
My book buying habits haven't changed since I got my reader; I still buy just as many p-books. It seems to me that they are intrinsically more valuable, probably because I want to keep them after reading, I can lend them, or could give them away if I want to. Whereas I feel that e-books are just another form of the book - an extension of the book - which is more convenient in some ways, but less so in others. So, overall, I feel that p-books are more valuable than e-books, therefore I would expect to pay less for an e-book version. In some cases a lot less.
For example, an e-book version of a lavishly illustrated colour p-book wouldn't provide the same experience on my monochrome reader. So the e-book would be worth a lot less to me. Sure there are devices that can display colour, but my chosen reader is monochrome. There's not much added value in an e-book, compared with its paper version, or at least not sufficient to make up the perceived value difference - for me at least.
However, it isn't just the typos and layout issues that make e-books feel less valuable, but it also has something to do with their durability and practicality. If an e-book isn't really mine, when I buy it, if my ability to read it depends on the viability of my reader or the publisher, if I'm not allowed to lend it to a friend, or give it away, then all these things - for me at least - make e-books seem considerably less valuable. DRM is a repellent, so far as I am concerned.
I have read both legally downloaded free e-books and DRM-free commercial ones. It terms of the reading experience, both seem remarkably similar. All right, perhaps the DRM-free commercial ones contained fewer typos, but overall their perceived value was pretty much the same.
So, I am left with the feeling the e-books are worth less than p-books. In some cases considerably less. I wouldn't dream of stealing a hardcopy, but understand why some people are tempted to pirate e-versions, particularly those which are geo-restricted. If I walk into a bookstore at an airport and buy a hardcopy, I can take with me anywhere, I can lend it, give it away, or keep it forever.
There are people who will always pirate, and those who do so to overcome minor irritations and inconveniences. I think it's important to distinguish between the two. It seems to me that the already struggling publishing industry is not doing itself any favours by alienating those who would otherwise buy e-books, but for the DRM or geo-restrictions.