Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
Publishers are oblivious to a *huge* section of the market: the people who never bought new books. The entire used bookstore economy is invisible to them; they've got no idea what those people are willing to pay for ebooks, no idea how many potential customers have never been on their pie charts.
A lot of those people are willing to buy ebooks--at the prices they'd pay for used pbooks. Those aren't losses; they're customers who otherwise don't exist. And whether those people stick to paper, or ebook freebies, or download from the darknet (and potentially become "criminals") isn't relevant to publishers--they are people who aren't buying now, who would be if someone were selling on their terms.
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I think this varies by location. Perhaps, it's a West Coast thing. Used book stores and thrift stores are not everywhere especially in the East. To drive 60 miles to the nearest used book store in hopes of finding something reasonable priced is not palatable. And prices in these stores are not are low as they used to be. (Prepare a second mortgage for non-fiction books.) After all, they have leases, payroll, electric bills just like the Big Box stores.
That leaves us with the internet. Again, prices vary with many on my fiction wishlist between $4 - $10. Some are higher, if available at all. Then you have the unknown condition of the book and 7-10 day delivery. Plus recycling when finished.
For some this may justify paying a few dollars more for the ebook. Or you may find as I did the ebook is cheaper than the used print edition.
I am beginning to suspect that used book retailers are looking at ebook prices also when pricing their own inventory. Nothing scientific but trends I see in my own little world.
Fortunately, my library has a good loan system and they have been able to
procure for me all my requests this year. Currently, my cap is $0 (link below) which is better than used book prices.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ght=calculator