Quote:
Originally Posted by BWinmill
But how many of these devices are landing in the hands of the average consumer? And even if they realize that they can read on other types of devices, how many average consumers are going to want to? After all, the casual reader is just as easy to scare off as they are to draw in.
And there is plenty to scare them off. Clearly there is price, if they don't have a huge disposable income. Think of it this way: a $20 book is about 3 weeks of cable or internet. There's a lot more entertainment and information for the buck there. Or think of it another way: it is also equivalent to watching a couple of movies at the cinema, or eating out 3 times. I bring those up because a lot of people simply cannot afford it. It is out of their reach. Do we really want to put reading out of the reach of low income families? Maybe we can look at it a third way: print books provide options for everyone. Want the latest release, pay the high price. Want to share a book (and conversations about it with a friend), lend or borrow a book. Do you absorb books by the dozen? Head over to the library. Perhaps you want to enjoy a crisp new book without paying too much. Try the book store's discount bin. Want to collect what you read, but you don't have wads of dough? Check thrift stores (some of them still sell 4 books for a $1), or watch out for the box of "FREE" books on your neighbours lawn.
You can do all of that with print books. You can only use the library (assuming that your library can afford it) or pay the high retail price with ebooks. Consumers may be temporarily blinded by fads, but they aren't stupid. If things keep going as they are, they will catch on. And when they do, publishers will have problems.
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Are people who have to decide between a book or a movie really buying the devices?
And pricing ebooks the same as their new hardback and paperback counterparts isn't going to deprive anyone of anything. People who frequent second hand stores and libraries aren't going to suddenly find themselves deprived.
I simply believe that the devices are now getting into the hands of the casual reader and that they, as a consumer group, won't care that the ebook they are now buying is priced the same as the hardback or paperback they would have bought. They just want the book and it costs what it costs.