[tobymax]

Since 2000 I have bought nothing but used books. Yes there is a connection to ebooks.

I noticed a post about some company (Simon and Schuster?) not publishing
ebooks for 4 months after hardcover comes out. Which makes me wonder
about all the paperbacks that come out that have no hardcover published first.

Four months btw is important and thats in the used book market for
bestsellers.

Used books have 2 seasons. The mid-April to mid-November season is the
fleamarket season. In my area there are 2 major fleamarkets one on
Saturday and the other on Sunday. This is where one finds the bulk of
new books. Its also yard sale season.

The second season is the thrift shop season for the rest of the year,
Along with the stray indoor fleamarket which is rare.

Now any hardcover bestseller that comes out during the fleamarket season
will be found in a fleamarket in less the 2 months. For those bestsellers
during the other months most likely you will see it in a thrift shop and definately withen the first month of fleamarket season.

For any popular paperback novelist one can find the book anywhere from
one week later and at most 2 months.

So this 4 month deal from hardcover to ebook seems to me like the
publishers consider ebooks as nothing but gravy. They have to know as
well as I do that these ebooks of popular writers will already be out in the
used book market by the time its in ebook form. Its almost like a surrender.
I suspect that the pirates are going to be used book buyers and library readers. I won't - but honestly I can't get my mind around paying more then
a dollar for a paperback novel and that better be a less then 2 month old book and 2 dollars for hardcover which better be new.

Now I have been noticing in the past few years in thrift shops how books
can stay on shelves for literally years. At one rather popular thrift shop they
have had the same row of Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts books for years
with books not selling. There is an entire wall of just paperbacks pb 25 cents
hc 50 cents.

I often volunteer at this thrift shop to put the books
away for them when they arrive (I get first dibs that way). Actually at this
thrift shop which is constantly busy with people buying - except books.
One worker said there are two consistant buyers - me and another guy.

This weekend I was at one of the rare indoor fleamarket that is very popular
which is at the local Senior Center. One table is just of books from the
Center's library. The books are just novels hc and pb. This weekend I arrived
early at 7:50 and was there until 10:30am - the height of the fleamarket
is these hours (I ate breakfast and gabbed with dealers I know). Well the
table of books sold exactly one dollars worth of books (10 cents 12 for a
dollar). A private dealer had also set up books of all Debbie MacComber (sp?)
for 25 cents each and she sold 0.

So over the years I think there is an important lesson - books are essentially
worthless. Its only of value to the person interested in that novel. Savers
which sells used paperbacks just openned in my area a few weeks ago I went in 4 times I never saw a person buying or looking at paperback novels which
they have 4 rows of - the prices are 1.99 to 2.99 (7.99 cover price).

I am going to get an ebook reader to read old rare out of print novels.
I will compliment that with new books I find in the used book market.

I also can't quite figure out also why publishers would want to get into
ebook format. I suspect ebooks with piracy are nothing more then a form
of used book but publishers have slightly more chance of getting money.