MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

Steven Lyle Jordan · 03-21-2012, 09:13 AM

A recently revived subject by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Scarcity and Abundance, examines the ebook industry in terms of the shift from a "scarcity" economy, in which things are valued and priced due to their limited availability, and "abundance," in which items are available in almost limited supply, turning the old economic model upside-down or destroying it entirely.

I've touched on the subject in my own blogs in the past: I don't think there is any aspect of ebooks that isn't impacted by the shift from scarcity to abundance... and most of those aspect changes are good things. The (possible) exception to this is in ebooks' economy. Abundance has shaken consumers' expectations of what a book should cost, in light of its now-ephemeral state and the need to use a device to read them. And authors/publishers who still desire to make a reasonable income from books struggle to create an economic model that works for both parties, with mixed success.

I, myself, still work to promote my books, whilst watching the market and re-evaluating book pricing and value, on a regular basis. But I've come to realize that I still think in terms of the scarcity market in many ways, possibly (probably) clouding my mind to avenues and solutions I'm not seeing.

Can the average ebook be monetized in an abundance market? Is profit to come only to rare books... the "scarce" success or popular subject? Do we need an entirely new economic model for ebooks, and indeed all digital goods, that properly takes abundance into account?

Or are ebooks in general destined to remove themselves from the profit market, and perhaps become promotional items for some other commodity that still sells in the "scarcity" economy?

03-21-2012, 09:13 AM	#1
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Ebooks: Scarcity, abundance and economy A recently revived subject by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Scarcity and Abundance, examines the ebook industry in terms of the shift from a "scarcity" economy, in which things are valued and priced due to their limited availability, and "abundance," in which items are available in almost limited supply, turning the old economic model upside-down or destroying it entirely. I've touched on the subject in my own blogs in the past: I don't think there is any aspect of ebooks that isn't impacted by the shift from scarcity to abundance... and most of those aspect changes are good things. The (possible) exception to this is in ebooks' economy. Abundance has shaken consumers' expectations of what a book should cost, in light of its now-ephemeral state and the need to use a device to read them. And authors/publishers who still desire to make a reasonable income from books struggle to create an economic model that works for both parties, with mixed success. I, myself, still work to promote my books, whilst watching the market and re-evaluating book pricing and value, on a regular basis. But I've come to realize that I still think in terms of the scarcity market in many ways, possibly (probably) clouding my mind to avenues and solutions I'm not seeing. Can the average ebook be monetized in an abundance market? Is profit to come only to rare books... the "scarce" success or popular subject? Do we need an entirely new economic model for ebooks, and indeed all digital goods, that properly takes abundance into account? Or are ebooks in general destined to remove themselves from the profit market, and perhaps become promotional items for some other commodity that still sells in the "scarcity" economy?