Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
--- BoB (or any other eBook store) are NOT "buying books up front" from Ingram, Mobi, etc. - they don't have a "stock" of books which they've paid for and are waiting to sell to you. The transaction is only carried out at the time that the customer buys the book, and it's done directly by Ingram, Mobi, etc, via the BoB (or whatever) server. BoB then pays commission to the distributer for the transaction. ie it's a "direct sale". That is why, for example, you can't buy a Mobi book if Mobi's server is down at the time.
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Warning - random thought-stream/ramblings follows:
This got me thinking... do I as a consumer then enter into agreement (buy from) BoB or from someone else? I'd imagine that the consumer is entering into a contract (buying from) BoB. The buyer can't be entering into a contract with Ingram/whomever without even knowing it? Who charges the buyer's credit card, BoB or someone else? What if I buy books from different publishers at once from once 'e-bookstore' - am I then entering into simultaneous contracts with various publishers for the book/license?
In short: is it correct to place the consumer in a different position than when buying a paper book from the same place, when the transaction for all practicalities "looks/feels" the same to the buyer? The buyer's experience is identical: choose a book from list of available titles, place it in the shopping basket, check out and pay, receive the book.
This similarity is what is good and bad. Good as in it puts ebooks and paperbooks in a similar position. Bad in that the legalities (licence vs. product) differ.
AND then let's not forget the different legislation regarding 'fair personal use', and that some courts (in some countries) have ruled that a consumer is not always bound by a 'routine license agreement' depending on how and when it's presented.
Hopefully things will get more clear with time... one can always hope. It is very annoying to want to buy a certain book in ebook format, and not be able to find it at all, or if you find it it's not available for you to buy.