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Originally Posted by speakingtohe
The majority of sales are made within the first year or two. Especially for Bestsellers. I would go so far as to say that the majoriy of Paper books, both fiction and non-fiction are not even being printed and sold 20 years after initial publication.
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I understand what you're saying, I just don't think it makes a difference in the long term. After all, the library is going to have to purchase an equivalent number of copies either may they be lending ebooks or pbooks. That is especially true for popular titles since libraries don't have to replace worn or lost copies as the popularity of the book declines.
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And of course the power is still in the hands of the buyer. Just don't buy the product if you don't like the terms.
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For the most part, that is what I do. However, I also realize that there is no such thing as a free market unless there are property rights. Authors should have certain property rights (i.e. copyrights) and authors extend those rights to the publisher. That is, in my opinion, entirely fair. However, the buyer also needs property rights. It is wonderful to claim that the buyer can exert pressure on the market by refusing to purchase a product when they don't like the terms. Unfortunately, we also know that the free market tends to consolidate property rights into the hands of a few. When that happens, the buyer loses control. When the buyer loses control, the free market ceases to exist.