Quote:
Originally Posted by stonetools
It's not gouging to offer a full price ad free option and a lower priced ad-supported option. Such options are commonplace in retailing.
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You're not acknowledging allinhi's point. The introduction of lower-priced, ad-supported e-books is only a first step. In time, the prices change. The ad-suported price moves toward what was once the ad-free price, and the ad-free price becomes too high for most people to consider. Most people become economically coerced to purchase the ad-supported model.
This hasn't yet happened to the KSO because it's alone in the market. Competition holds down the price of regular (ad-free) e-readers. If two-tiered pricing becomes the industry standard, then you'll see a disproportionate price increase for ad-free models.
Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeyluis
That's fine. Then I'll pirate the clean copies.
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There's the rub. If all the industry offers is a dirty product -- or if the clean version is priced far higher than the dirty one -- many many people will opt for an illegal but clean product. If ad-supported e-books ever become an industry standard, the darknet might -- just might -- provide the competitive force to restrain the prices of the ad-free versions. The outcome would depend on how severe the lost sales were. Right now, for example, AFAIK the publishing industry's pricing is unaffected by copyright violators. (Consider that e-book prices match or exceed paperback prices.) It's a thin thread on which to hang one's hopes.
Someone will inevitably introduce ad-supported e-books. I just hope the attempt fails before it can take root and spread.