I had to stop and think about this for a bit to sort out my typical decision tree for buying fiction. Non-fiction is a completely different matter, especially when it's professional or reference books. Anyway, here goes...
These are all Yes/No questions. If an option is not listed, fall through to the next item in the list.
- Do I want to read the book at all? (No --> Nothing to see here, move along)
- Am I interested enough to pay $$ for the book? (No --> Get it from the library or borrow from a friend)
- Is the author/series/etc. on my list of "buy in hard-cover without fail"? (Yes --> buy hardcover, but also continue)
- Is the book available in bits from Baen? (Yes --> just purchase the bits now, perhaps in a monthly bundle) [note 1]
- Is the book available in bits at a reasonable price (e.g. well under $10), with no DRM? (Yes --> buy the bits, and stop)
- Is the book available in bits at a reasonable price, but with strippable DRM? (Yes --> think hard about buying and converting. If so, stop) [note 2]
- Is the book available only at an unreasonable price? (Yes --> back to the Library or borrow option)
- At this point, the eBook is either too expensive or I can't strip the DRM, or both. Fall back to Library or Borrow from Friend. Purchase in DTF only if I'm truly desperate and those approaches fail.
Overall, buying the eBook doesn't displace a print purchase; rather,
it displaces no purchase at all.
Note 1: Books from Baen are all DRM-free, available in multiple formats, and inexpensive (no more than $6.00 in quantity 1, cheaper via bundles). I support their business model very strongly, so I'm biased in favor of purchasing through them when possible.
Note 2: These books are reasonably priced and can be made usable by removing the DRM. But purchasing them sends the economic message that DRM is acceptable (and I don't want to send that message). So this choice is a balancing act between message and desire. I decide differently on different days.
Xenophon