Quote:
Originally Posted by mcl
So, would you pay hardback prices for a mass-market paperback released day-and-date with the hardback?
No, you wouldn't.
Would you pay hardback prices for a mass-market paperback released a few months after the hardback?
No, you wouldn't.
What we object to is using the hardback price as the basis for pricing ebooks. They're not the same thing. No more than a MMPB is the same thing.
|
Well, I can't really see myself paying hardback prices, full stop. Of course, there are exceptions ( I think I have a hardback copy of Jerry Mander's "In The Absence of the Sacred"). For the same price, I would buy a paperback, because hardbacks are too heavy and awkward. I would buy an ebook before either, even for the same price (as long as it was a price I was willing to pay). The only disadvantages for me are that you can't get it signed and it is harder to lend. Ebooks have a ton of advantages (I'm reading Moby Dick now, along with some articles, and I doubt I would ever lug that sucker around on the bus).
Opportunity pricing is real. The hard/paper format shift has some value that some people appreciate, but it certainly doesn't justify the price delta.