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Harry:
You have chosen to compare what sounds like:
1 - A limited edition, pre-ordered print run of 1000 molecular biology textbooks (QUITE SCARCE and hopefully signed by the author)
with
2 – My assertion that in the world of digital goods (an ebook version of said molecular biology textbook), scarcity doesn't exist and as many copies can exist as desired or not.
I can see why you wouldn’t agree – I wouldn’t either. The comparison is apples to oranges.
On a side note, is it really your position that the size of the customer base determines the price of textbooks? I would be interested to hear from other forum members where they have found that the price of their textbooks was directly related to their relative class size. I have not found that to be the case in my personal experience whatsoever.
It was also my impression from earlier posts that the discussion on textbooks was limited to a small market population (students) who are required to purchase textbooks in order to successfully acquire their educational credentials. I think any references to the "man in the street" are confusing, unconstructive, and the basis for a different discussion if you want to go there.
To wrap up the discussion at hand, you said you wouldn't sell more copies of a molecular biology textbook if you reduce the price from $100 to $20. Sparrow disagrees – he said if required for his course, he would buy one at $20 and zero at $100.
Dumas
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