Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Let me stress that I'm not talking about piracy, although I agree that this is an important issue also.
The specific thing which differentiates a digital product from a physical one is the fact that the digital product doesn't degrade as the physical one does: a second-hand ebook or MP3 file is absolutely identical to the original in every way. Thus, given the choice between buying a "new" eBook for, say, $5, and a "2nd hand" one for $3, there would be no reason - ever - to buy the new one. Thus, to my mind, the mere existence of 2nd hand digital goods would instantly destroy the market for new goods, and that's bad for the consumer in the long term. I honestly don't see how any form of creative marketing could overcome this.
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I think your points are legitimate, but I will respectfully disagree that they are a valid reason to not have a used market for digital goods at all. I will explain. First of all, I think supply/demand would take over and for your $5 ebook the going rate for used might be more like $4.50 (admittedly, I base that on nothing concrete). The fact that there is no real difference between "new" and "used" I would assume goes both ways - there would be no reason to sell a used one for significantly less than new.
I do also agree with Ninjalawyer people might be willing to pay more for new digital items that they have the opportunity to resell. To your point about digital goods not degrading, CDs and DVDs don't either in any significant way with just minimal care, and used bookstores ( in the U.S. at least) are riddled with apparently unread new or nearly new books.
Finally, as with tangible media products, people could choose to support artists by buying new, either on principle or because they took a chance on a cheaper used copy, liked it, and became a fan of that artist or author thereafter.
And with that I suppose I should try to get some actual work done
