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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Assuming we're talking about only keeping one legitimate copy per sale in existence at one time, if there were no new purchases, there would be no used ones to resell, so it would not destroy the market, it would change it.
The marketing that might overcome it might be, for example, value added content or services--precisely the same factors that keep people buying new physical good from various retailers even though the price for the exact same thing might be less elsewhere.
There is also the possibility that more people would be inclined to purchase more new content if they knew they could recoup some of their cost later if they don't want to keep their copy.