Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
I wonder to what extent responses here reflect users who accumulated large libraries back in the days of cheaper prices and aggressive promotions? I'm a heavy OverDrive user, but I also find it easy to resist purchases at current BPH prices, in part because I have plenty to read already and in part because my expectations about ebook prices have yet to adjust to the new reality.
Similarly, Audible conditioned me to far cheaper audiobook prices with the OD Whispersync option and much lower Whispersync prices. The result is that most of my consumption has shifted to OverDrive and, increasingly, Hoopla.
I have no idea how long it takes for consumers to adjust to a sudden and sharp uptick in prices, but in a situation like this where there's a readily available free option and where consumers might be working off a large inventory, I suspect it's quite a long time.
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I'm sure that expectation has something to do with it. That is one reason the publishers objected so strongly to Amazon's pricing schemes.
People who read have long been separated into a number of buying groups. In broad terms (because many people can be a mixture of groups), for years they use to be and still are to an extent.
- Free readers. They don't buy anything. All their reading material is via the library or books they borrow from other people.
- Used books. They frequent used book stores and never buy new books. Many trade in books, so their walk out price is extremely low.
- On Sale books. They wait for books to be reduced in price as book stores look to reduce inventory. They also frequent the low cost book stores.
- Walk in books. They buy books from the regular book stores at the regular price. Many buy paperback books for the most part, and only buy certain books in hard back (top sellers, favorite authors, etc.)
- Specialty books. These people are looking for specific books and are willing to pay what is necessary to get those books. Many will special order books. Some use book search companies to find rare or hard to find books.
So much of the divide we see at mobileread is nothing new. Many people tend to drift between categories depending on their interests and financial means. I've been in several different categories myself over the years. For a while, I was into collecting Civil War books, and still have a collection that cost thousands of dollars when I bought the books. I have no idea what they are worth now. Of course, most of those books are in PD now and I have electronic copies that were either free or cost a few dollars. I also have a few books that were purchased in London because they were not available in the US, so geo restrictions and getting past them is nothing new either.