Quote:
The two big reasons for preferring print are value for money and an emotional connection to physical books. On questions of ebook pricing, 28% think that ebooks should be half their current price, while just 8% say that ebook pricing is right.
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While I can understand the emotional connection to physical objects (and wanting to be able to hold a physical object, as mentioned later in the article), I think "value for money" and "ebooks should be half their current price" is misguided.
Value for money: True, ebooks don't give you any stuff to hold, but they give you a lot of extra perks, such as portability, customizable font, built-in lighting in your reading device (if you're using a tablet or a newer reader), and space savings in your home. That's a lot of value for money in my book. (Uh... yeah.)
eBooks should be half their price: For me, eBooks ARE already half the price of the paperback versions, or close to that, assuming I shop around a bit, and sometimes prices are even lower. I can buy best sellers or newly released books for prices like $10 (€7.35), where the same book in paper would invariably cost me around €12, should I buy it as a paper edition. Often it's easy to find even cheaper stores or use coupon codes.
I think this research is another stupor of the publishing industry, fearing that they will be made redundant. E-books give the artist the possibility to sell directly to their fans, either through a store, or maybe even through their own websites.
We're seeing the same thing happening as with digital music. Back then (around 2000), there were many reports that a lot of people preferred CD's over digital music. Back then I could appreciate that, because a CD *IS* better than an MP3. I still prefer CD's as source material.... to create my own digital music, after which the CD will be archived. With e-books, there need not be a quality difference, as long as the publisher / author takes care to layout the book properly.