[Timboli]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

I don't base my book purchases on price.

That's a weird thing to say. Are you rolling in the money or something?

I don't care what the print book price may be if I'm shopping for a digital book. I don't expect publishers to price Kindle books at a lower price than the same print books. I think that actually encourages the idea that e-books are a fad, or are somehow inferior to print books.

When I purchase something, I have to weigh up the cost, as I am sure most people do. In the case of ebooks, how do you best determine that cost? As someone who has been buying books for many decades, and who has transitioned from physical books to ebooks, it is only natural to compare the difference in cost between the two.

At the end of the day, what do you get out of a book? A story and an experience. Is that significantly different between formats? Hardly. Sure there are pros and cons to each format, but at the end of the day, it can be hard to say which is definitively better, as that is very subjective. I personally believe ebooks are better and even more importantly, the way of the future.

Digital books offer more benefits. IMO they are worth more than paper books. I can't read paperbacks anymore, and I have trouble even with hardbound books. E-books made it possible for me to read for pleasure again.

To you it seems they are, but you are not everyone else. It can be down to a whole range of factors, including aspects of your health.

It is not just about the cost of an ebook either. There is the cost of the ereader device, and in reality that is kind of ongoing, as you cannot read without such a device (or PC if they let you), complicated by DRM in many cases. Let's not forget the cost of charging and maybe even replacing the battery etc at some point.

There are many who only read a dozen or less books a year. When you factor the cost of an ereader plus ebooks over a few years, they are not exactly cheap compared to physical books.

Sure you get benefits like adjusting font size (great if it means you can avoid wearing glasses) and lighting when dark (not as disturbing to your partner as a bedlamp etc). You also gain the benefit of saving on shelf space (though I like to see my books on display ... reminds me of a library ... now my own), so that is quite subjective, unless space is very limited (which could just be a choice). Then you get the benefit of being able to take a vast library with you wherever you go, and even access others via the web if a good possibility. I can list a bunch of other benefits, but I think I have covered the main ones.

What you lose though, is also important. If I read an ebook and I don't care much for it or just wouldn't bother to read again, I can no longer flog it off. In fact, I can not even give it away to the benefit of another, even a charity. So if that ebook cost the same or more than a paperback etc, then I have made a bigger loss compared to how it used to be. After a while that can add up to a significant sum, and it is one area in particular, where Publishers and Authors are laughing all the way to the bank ... not to forget providers like Amazon etc also benefiting. I have to treat my device with kid gloves, especially the screen, so I cannot afford to be relaxed with it, but need to stay alert ... even falling asleep in bed while reading, could be devastating. You also have to be far more careful when transporting and how you pack in a bag etc. You also need to be on the ball with batteries being charged, as how terrible if out somewhere and deep into your story and it goes flat. It is wise to have more than one device, even if it is just an ebook capable phone as backup. Extra devices cost more money, and sometimes you need to factor that in, especially if you paid an extra portion for that backup ability.

Loaning your ebook to another, while not impossible if you don't mind breaking some rules you shouldn't have to, is problematic, especially where DRM is concerned. I often shared my books with my mother and father. To do that now, they need a device and I must be a so called bad boy, and they also willing to be naughty. I am sure, that in many instances, another copy is just bought, and once again the providers etc are laughing all the way to the bank.

It is not all that uncommon for things to go wrong with both ereader or ebook. That adds a level of complexity or frustration especially for those who are not tech savvy. But even for those of us who are at times.

Unless you are using a Tablet, Phone or PC etc, you rarely see the cover in color, and once engaged in reading a story you don't see the cover at all without mucking around. I and others enjoy many of the covers.

If you lose or get your reader stolen, it is not a low cost affair.

There are many other things I could say, but I have created enough of a word wall for now, that hopefully addresses what you and some others have said.

We all have things we buy that some find extravagant. That doesn't mean their price points are out of line. We happily pay $20+ per pound for sockeye salmon when it is available. Not everyone would "get" that.

I don't see how that is really a factor. Books are just books, not some exotic item that we need to pay more for due to rarity or high cost of production.