I don't have a set limit for ebook prices - it depends on the book. As a recent example, I'd been looking forward to the newest release in my favourite series for a year, counting down the days; when I noticed Kobo had it available a week before release date, I cancelled my Amazon pre-order for $13.79 and bought it from Kobo for $17.09 instead, because I had to have it
now. (I also bought it in hardback, but that didn't reach me until two weeks later, and I'm planning to buy it in paperback, too - I have all the rest of the series as legally bought (not geo-restricted for me) ebooks, hardbacks and paperbacks, all bought new. But that's a very rare case and a series that I adore.)
Otherwise, being in a country where agency pricing doesn't apply and not having moral qualms about DRM removal for personal purposes (I learned that lesson after moving from Sony to Kindle), I generally shop around - I mostly buy books that have been available for a year or more and more often than not, end up buying them with Kobo's coupons for $6-7 on average.
I think that's a fair price; books are my main entertainment and I read a lot, but I also live in a country where incomes are much lower than in the West, so my available book budget is not unlimited (and neither the library nor used books are an option). If I had to buy all contemporary books for $9 or more, instead of the occasional brand new release for $10+ and the rest at $6-7, I'd probably be re-reading a lot of my older (paper) books instead.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tompe
So my point was that there is a double standard here. Removing DRM and buying things that you should not be able to buy seems to be OK but piracying seems not to be OK. All actions hurt or has the possibility to hurt somebody. So if you accept one of these actions you should accept all of them.
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Whom do I hurt when I occasionally pretend to be an American in order to buy an ebook that is available to Americans but not to me? Do I hurt the author by giving her money? Do I hurt the publisher of the ebook by giving them money? Do I hurt the bookshop where I'm buying it from by giving them money?
Do I hurt my local book publishing industry in my country who will never release the book here in English? Who will most likely also never release a translated version locally, because on our market they might be able to sell 200 copies for €20 at the most? (Even if they did, I wouldn't buy it. I haven't been able to read translated versions if the book is written in a language I am fluent in for fifteen years - my mind is too busy backtranslating into the original to enjoy it.)
I'm sincerely curious here - how does my breaking geo-restrictions in order to buy a book hurt anyone and how is it comparable to getting the book for free off a torrent site?