Quote:
Originally Posted by calvin-c
Lots of pbooks have ads in them. Of course these are ads for books. But what do you think the 'other books by this author' page at the front of many books is, if not an ad?.
So, IMO it depends on the ads-what they're for & how they're handled. Do it right & I've got no problem with it. Do it wrong & I'll quit buying books from that author/publisher/store.
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This may be a day late and a dollar short, since I am only reading page 4 in what is a 7-page thread at this tiime, but wish to take this moment to agree.
When someone first mentioned ads, my first thot was pop-up ads, or randomly inserted ads that break the flow of reading, since at this time pop-up probably doesn't work in ebooks, yet. That's a great big "won't buy this author again".
I would fully expect to continue to see "other books by..." lists -- hopefully even delineating ebook availability. And I wouldn't have any problem with the carry-over ads from pbooks already mentioned: excerpts from forthcoming editions, or just random ads in the back for genre authors. I seldom read either one. Typically when I read the conclusion, the book gets closed.
I used to read the "coming attractions" excerpts, but by the time I finally saw the pb on the shelf and read the synopsis, I would find the story somehow familiar and think I already read it.
Would I be willing to pay more for ebooks without ads? No. And shame on anyone for suggesting the notion as a bargaining chip. But I'd stop buying if random ads started appearing INSIDE the book.
I tolerate ads at movies (and I don't mean the trailers) because there is a myth that it helps keep the ticket prices down -- and because booing at the ads for a year didn't make them go away. And as much as I love going to the movies, if ads started interrupting the movie, I'd be saving money there, too. (Although I love the clever ways they sometimes find for inserting product placements.)
I firmly believe an ebook should cost significantly less (30% less seems reasonable to me) than a pbook. Of course, we can't stop them from upping the price of a pbook so a $10 ebook looks reasonable, but that's a different rant bordering on Machiavellian.