Quote:
Originally Posted by brecklundin
Something I see missing from the arguments on both sides is the issue of used book sales. I cannot remember the last time I bought a new pback. I see no reason to spend 2x-5x more for a pback when in in a few weeks or a month I can find the same book for 1/2 the price. On sale or at a thrift thrift store is even a bigger savings.
If ebooks are priced between say $4.00 - $5.00US each I will pretty much be willing to spend the extra $1-$2 for them over the used editions I currently buy. This will create an entire new profit center that publishers and retailers have no income from currently. never had a shot at before.
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A very good observation. I would also like to add that publishers would be able to sell and make a profit off of books that are out of print. I cannot tell you how many times I go to a bookstore, browse through one of my favorite authors- say Piers Anthony- find a title that looks interesting, only to find it's volume 5 in a series where volume 1 is no longer in print. Now I can go to Amazon and buy a 2nd hand copy for a few dollars- but does the publisher and the author make a profit from that? No.
Right now I am trying to find several Heinlein books that I loved as a child so I can read them to my children- ie The Star Beast. It is no longer in print- I was able to pick up an ex-library copy through Amazon, but did the publisher profit? They
could have if they released it as an ebook priced for say 3.00. Some will say that publishers won't make enough money off ebooks priced at the same price as used books- but how much do they make off books that aren't even in print? NOTHING! Next time I see volume 5 of an interesting Piers Anthony series I could buy it knowing that I could find volumes 1-4 cheaply and instantly available- If the publisher had any sense.