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I just looked up an old book "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith, published 77 years ago in 1943. The ebook is $9.99 and the paper book is $15.99. So while it's true that the paper book is more expensive it's also true that both are overpriced. By the way, that's not truly a complaint. In capitalism that happens and it makes sense when there's demand, which there seems to be. And yet that's a lot of money to pay for a book that was published 77 years ago. I wouldn't pay it.
I did buy the book a few years ago when it was on sale for $2.99. (I just checked that). That's the way to buy ebooks. Catch them on sale. I read a lot of old books and old books nearly always go on sale.
By the way, even though I recognize that prices like that make sense in our system that doesn't mean I think they're fair or reasonable or any such thing. Capitalism is a way to control greed and this is another example of greed under control. But controlled greed is still greed. Someday in a more perfect world old books will cost very little.
By the way again, publishers, decades ago, tried to charge royalties on resales of used books. That way they could keep on making money on old books as long as they stayed in copyright. The Supreme Court in the USA, and I suppose similar bodies in other countries, said no. But now they've found ways to do it with ebooks.
Barry
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