Limited edition ebooks

mr ploppy · 02-24-2011, 01:11 PM

What is the logic of limited edition ebooks? Issuing a limited edition hardback I can understand, but why limit the ebook version and remove it for sale when the hardback has sold out?

The hardback will live on in the second hand market, but once the ebook is gone it is gone forever unless someone pirates it. Either way there is no possibility of further income from that book for either writer or publisher.

I can't really see how the existence of an ebook would devalue the hardback either, the markets are completely different.

Anthem · 02-24-2011, 01:43 PM

"Limited Edition e-Books"?

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Breathe!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

taustin · 02-24-2011, 02:21 PM

Hardbacks may live on in the second hand market, but the second hand market also provies no income for the publisher or author.

The idea of a limited edition ebook, however, is just silly.

outlander78 · 02-24-2011, 02:33 PM

Limited releases of ebooks is the dumbest and funniest idea I have heard today. Thanks.

The purpose is simple - artificial scarcity to drive up the price.

wvcherrybomb · 02-24-2011, 03:07 PM

I was

before I even clicked on this thread. Is there really any such thing?

mr ploppy · 02-24-2011, 03:37 PM

Yes.

neilmarr · 02-24-2011, 03:44 PM

As I see it Mr P, ebooks should have no limits or boundaries. Lose DRM and they are there forever. That's how it should be. But it takes all kinds, I guess ... bestests. Neil

CWatkinsNash · 02-24-2011, 03:49 PM

What an odd concept. I can almost see using a limited edition book (in all formats, HB, PB, EB) as a promo or publicity move, but not the ebook format as a limited edition itself or attached to a HB limited ed. Usually when a HB is billed as limited edition, it's then followed by the MMPB. A HB limited ed. makes some sense in that context, and adds a secondary (though admittedly subjective) value to the HB format.

But ebook? Not so much, especially since we're currently still in a world where ebooks are often seen (at least in the case of traditionally published books) as a derivative or secondary format. And that's without even considering the fact that removing DRM is now dead easy and makes "limiting" the ebook pointless. If you copy a limited ed. HB, you end up with a copy of a limited ed. HB, not the same book. If you copy a digital file, you have an exact duplicate. Ironically, in that case, a file with DRM attached would have the greater (illusory) value. That makes me giggle.

outlander78 · 02-24-2011, 03:57 PM

Could you give some links to limited edition ebooks that you have come across? I am curious what genre they are from.

mr ploppy · 02-24-2011, 04:14 PM

This is the one I wanted, I had it in my Kindle wishlist but didn't want to buy it until I had a gap in my reading schedule. But now that the book has sold all its 400 copies the ebook has been withdrawn.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hero-J-F-Gonzalez/dp/1935006029

The parrot on my shoulder is no help either.

pietrocrazy · 02-24-2011, 04:25 PM

What is special about a limited edition ebook? Different cover art? I just can't imagine. Why would anybody want to buy one?

Worldwalker · 02-24-2011, 04:52 PM

Why would anyone want to pay a hundred dollars for a limp stuffed animal? Let alone get into a physical fight over one at a store? It makes no sense, but you just have to remember the Beanie Baby craze for a perfect demonstration of the power of artificial scarcity.

(admittedly there's a small Beanie varanid sitting on my desk right now, and it used to be on top of this display before I bought a flatscreen ... but I had to: it is obviously a monitor lizard!)

Hamlet53 · 02-24-2011, 04:54 PM

Wonder if there is any relation to this thread : https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=122994 ?

I have to admit that this is a very strange idea. It almost strikes me as an encouragement to DRM removal and file sharing.

pietrocrazy · 02-24-2011, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

Why would anyone want to pay a hundred dollars for a limp stuffed animal? Let alone get into a physical fight over one at a store? It makes no sense, but you just have to remember the Beanie Baby craze for a perfect demonstration of the power of artificial scarcity.

(admittedly there's a small Beanie varanid sitting on my desk right now, and it used to be on top of this display before I bought a flatscreen ... but I had to: it is obviously a monitor lizard!)

Beanie Babies are different. They are physical objects. You can collect them, show them off, play with them (not that I think all that is worth what people pay for them). Ebooks are really very bare-bones, all there is is the actual information, ust the words inside the book, so one ebook should in theory be the same as the next, unless there are special limited edition footnotes or something. I just can't imagine anyone finding it worth the money. People who are interested more in the physical aspect of owning a limited edition book tend to buy real books, not ebooks.

Worldwalker · 02-24-2011, 05:13 PM

You have a point there, Pietro. My monitor lizard does, after all, hang out on (or under, now) my monitor. Though I got him for a buck at a yard sale, and I don't think anyone pays insane prices for them anymore. But an ebook is the words ... what can there be but the words? The whole "limited edition" idea seems to be limiting how many people can read those words ... and that seems utterly self-defeating to the seller of words.

Ah, well, I will never get through my TBR list in my lifetime anyway (it grows faster than I can read it down) so I feel no sense of loss whatsoever if some random person doesn't want to sell me an ebook. There are a hundred others clamoring to take his place.

02-24-2011, 01:11 PM	#1
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	Limited edition ebooks What is the logic of limited edition ebooks? Issuing a limited edition hardback I can understand, but why limit the ebook version and remove it for sale when the hardback has sold out? The hardback will live on in the second hand market, but once the ebook is gone it is gone forever unless someone pirates it. Either way there is no possibility of further income from that book for either writer or publisher. I can't really see how the existence of an ebook would devalue the hardback either, the markets are completely different.

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02-24-2011, 01:43 PM	#2
Anthem Guru Posts: 704 Karma: 1622328 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: USA Device: Kindle Oasis, OnePlus Nord	"Limited Edition e-Books"? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Breathe! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

02-24-2011, 02:21 PM	#3
taustin Wizard Posts: 1,358 Karma: 5766642 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Nook	Hardbacks may live on in the second hand market, but the second hand market also provies no income for the publisher or author. The idea of a limited edition ebook, however, is just silly.

02-24-2011, 02:33 PM	#4
outlander78 Zealot Posts: 104 Karma: 263218 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Sony PRS-T1, Kobo Touch, Kobo Arc 7	Limited releases of ebooks is the dumbest and funniest idea I have heard today. Thanks. The purpose is simple - artificial scarcity to drive up the price.

02-24-2011, 03:07 PM	#5
wvcherrybomb Sharp Shootin' Grandma Posts: 847 Karma: 1123940 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Sunny Florida Device: Kindle 3, Kindle Fire, Literati (has been adopted by my daughter)	I was before I even clicked on this thread. Is there really any such thing?

02-24-2011, 03:37 PM	#6
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	Yes.

02-24-2011, 03:44 PM	#7
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,215 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	As I see it Mr P, ebooks should have no limits or boundaries. Lose DRM and they are there forever. That's how it should be. But it takes all kinds, I guess ... bestests. Neil

02-24-2011, 03:49 PM	#8
CWatkinsNash IOC Chief Archivist Posts: 3,950 Karma: 53868218 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Fruitland Park, FL, USA Device: Meebook M7, Paperwhite 2021, Fire HD 8+, Fire HD 10+, Lenovo Tab P12	What an odd concept. I can almost see using a limited edition *book* (in all formats, HB, PB, EB) as a promo or publicity move, but not the ebook format as a limited edition itself or attached to a HB limited ed. Usually when a HB is billed as limited edition, it's then followed by the MMPB. A HB limited ed. makes some sense in that context, and adds a secondary (though admittedly subjective) value to the HB format. But ebook? Not so much, especially since we're currently still in a world where ebooks are often seen (at least in the case of traditionally published books) as a derivative or secondary format. And that's without even considering the fact that removing DRM is now dead easy and makes "limiting" the ebook pointless. If you copy a limited ed. HB, you end up with a copy of a limited ed. HB, not the same book. If you copy a digital file, you have an exact duplicate. Ironically, in that case, a file with DRM attached would have the greater (illusory) value. That makes me giggle.

02-24-2011, 03:57 PM	#9
outlander78 Zealot Posts: 104 Karma: 263218 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Sony PRS-T1, Kobo Touch, Kobo Arc 7	Could you give some links to limited edition ebooks that you have come across? I am curious what genre they are from.

02-24-2011, 04:14 PM	#10
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	This is the one I wanted, I had it in my Kindle wishlist but didn't want to buy it until I had a gap in my reading schedule. But now that the book has sold all its 400 copies the ebook has been withdrawn. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hero-J-F-Gonzalez/dp/1935006029 The parrot on my shoulder is no help either.

02-24-2011, 04:25 PM	#11
pietrocrazy Connoisseur Posts: 74 Karma: 706 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Kindle	What is special about a limited edition ebook? Different cover art? I just can't imagine. Why would anybody want to buy one?

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02-24-2011, 04:52 PM	#12
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	Why would anyone want to pay a hundred dollars for a limp stuffed animal? Let alone get into a physical fight over one at a store? It makes no sense, but you just have to remember the Beanie Baby craze for a perfect demonstration of the power of artificial scarcity. (admittedly there's a small Beanie varanid sitting on my desk right now, and it used to be on top of this display before I bought a flatscreen ... but I had to: it is obviously a monitor lizard!)

02-24-2011, 04:54 PM	#13
Hamlet53 Nameless Being	Wonder if there is any relation to this thread : https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=122994 ? I have to admit that this is a very strange idea. It almost strikes me as an encouragement to DRM removal and file sharing.

02-24-2011, 05:13 PM	#15
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	You have a point there, Pietro. My monitor lizard does, after all, hang out on (or under, now) my monitor. Though I got him for a buck at a yard sale, and I don't think anyone pays insane prices for them anymore. But an ebook is the words ... what can there be but the words? The whole "limited edition" idea seems to be limiting how many people can read those words ... and that seems utterly self-defeating to the seller of words. Ah, well, I will never get through my TBR list in my lifetime anyway (it grows faster than I can read it down) so I feel no sense of loss whatsoever if some random person doesn't want to sell me an ebook. There are a hundred others clamoring to take his place.