What is the value of a book?

[HorridRedDog]

PHYSICAL BOOKS
I can read it.
I can lend it (and hopefully get it back).
I can sell it.
I can keep it.

I still have books that I bought back in the 60s'.

DRM EBOOKS
I can read it.

Will I be able to read it (and I don't mean, buy or get, another copy) in the future? Don't think so.

I still haven't bought a DRM book. The value, because of the limitations, is too small, the price too high.

I DO have many non DRM books that I have bought for $10 or less.

This IS NOT about paying as little as I can. I want the authors to make enough money to keep writing (maybe even get rich).

I also want the publishers to make enough money so that they can bring forth the best in a writer, as well as find new talent.

To use an analogy used elsewhere - publishers need to stop trying to make horseless carriage owners pay for a buggy whip.

[kjk]

DRM eBooks:
I can carry my library with me wherever I go.

[TallMomof2]

Originally Posted by kjk

DRM eBooks:
I can carry my library with me wherever I go.

Until the content server goes down or I buy a new device.

[Bremen Cole]

To answer the thread question.... whatever you are willing to pay.

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by HorridRedDog

PHYSICAL BOOKS
I can read it.
I can lend it (and hopefully get it back).
I can sell it.
I can keep it.

I still have books that I bought back in the 60s'.

DRM EBOOKS
I can read it.

Will I be able to read it (and I don't mean, buy or get, another copy) in the future? Don't think so.

I still haven't bought a DRM book. The value, because of the limitations, is too small, the price too high.

I DO have many non DRM books that I have bought for $10 or less.

This IS NOT about paying as little as I can. I want the authors to make enough money to keep writing (maybe even get rich).

I also want the publishers to make enough money so that they can bring forth the best in a writer, as well as find new talent.

To use an analogy used elsewhere - publishers need to stop trying to make horseless carriage owners pay for a buggy whip.

Ummm... Let's re-cast your views of paper vs. ebooks.

Paper books

I can read it.

I can get rid of it. (giving it away - in any form - is getting rid of it.)

Ebooks.

I can read it.

I can get rid of it.

Derek

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by Bremen Cole

To answer the thread question.... whatever you are willing to pay.

Precisely, which is one big reason that I will not pay the same for a restricted ebook as I would for one I could freely use. Even though I know how to use the tools to decrypt the files myself, I would value the book more highly if it also came with a reasonable licensing agreement.

I would still not pay as much for an unrestricted ebook as I would for a paper book. That seems odd because I prefer ebooks. I value the conveniences of they have over paper however something in me still rebels against the idea of paying the same price. It's a matter of fairness. It's not logical at all. It has nothing to do with my use of the product. We all know that there are costs in the paper book that do not factor into the ebook, less than many people think but there are still real costs. Charging the same feels predatory.

[Lemurion]

It depends on the book.

Watchmen is worth a lot to me: Twilight isn't. Content plays a huge part in the value of a book.

[stustaff]

if it were the same title then book =

order of value to me
1st Non DRM ebook
2nd DRM ebook(adobe epub)
3rd Paperback
4th Hardback
5th DRM ebook(shabby DRM choose one from many)

[HorridRedDog]

Originally Posted by Bremen Cole

To answer the thread question.... whatever you are willing to pay.

That would be a price, not a value.

The definition I would like to use is;
Noun : value
The quality (positive or negative) that renders something desirable or valuable.

DRMed books lower the value in an ebook in a way that a copyright does not.

Originally Posted by Lemurion

It depends on the book.

Watchmen is worth a lot to me: Twilight isn't. Content plays a huge part in the value of a book.

Which would have a greater value to you - a hardcover edition for $54
http://www.amazon.com/Watchmen-Absol.../dp/1401207138
or a Kindle version (that you can't use on any other ereader (leaving aside removing DRM)) for $14?

[Deneb]

Originally Posted by Alisa

I would still not pay as much for an unrestricted ebook as I would for a paper book. That seems odd because I prefer ebooks. I value the conveniences of they have over paper however something in me still rebels against the idea of paying the same price. It's a matter of fairness. It's not logical at all. It has nothing to do with my use of the product. We all know that there are costs in the paper book that do not factor into the ebook, less than many people think but there are still real costs. Charging the same feels predatory.

Agree with that. Books are still a product with manufacturing costs. There is no convincing me to pay the same price for a product that doesn't have them anymore. There is just no getting arround that.

It's sad when I read people ready to buy a PB if the ebook is at the same or higher price. That's exactly what they want. Keep the old model going...

I want ebooks, and I want them at a fair price, which is lower than the PB when the book is in PB.
I haven't bought a HC in years so I don't mind waiting a few months but I won't be blackmailed into buying a paperback instead of an ebook. That will be a lost sale for them.
That's the only power I have, that we have as consumers, I don't intend on loosing it...

[LDBoblo]

For me a book's value is decided by the convergence of five characteristics:

1. Content desirability
2. Quality/workmanship
3. Purchase price
4. Size/portability
5. Product dependencies

Sometimes #1, #3, and #4 are attractive enough to justify a purchase for me, as long as #2 and #5 are not too horrific. Most currently-available ebooks I've come across are in the gray zone between purchasable and non-purchasable, with price increases slated to push many into the latter realm for me, unless quality is dramatically improved (which seems unlikely).

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by HorridRedDog

That would be a price, not a value.

The definition I would like to use is;
Noun : value
The quality (positive or negative) that renders something desirable or valuable.

DRMed books lower the value in an ebook in a way that a copyright does not.



Which would have a greater value to you - a hardcover edition for $54
http://www.amazon.com/Watchmen-Absol.../dp/1401207138
or a Kindle version (that you can't use on any other ereader (leaving aside removing DRM)) for $14?

I own that edition of Watchmen. I bought it even though I already had a trade paperback. The content of Watchmen is worth a lot to me. Having said that, I might well also pay $15 for an edition I could read on my Sony, even if it had DRM.

DRM does decrease value; however, I am willing to pay a premium to get content I really want sooner.

I'll pay more for David Weber books than Stephenie Meyer. When I buy hardcover fiction, I pay the surcharge because the content is worth it to me.

[Scott Nicholson]

I originally published for Kindle with DRM but since realized it wasn't fair for consumers not to be able to transfer a book they paid for, especially since the technology is changing so fast. I am a value shopper so I am happy with a used paperback or to wait on a new release in a cheaper format.

Scott Nicholson

[HorridRedDog]

Speaking of DRMed books, is "They Hunger" by Scott Nicholson only available at amazon?

The guy should start selling them himself.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

Until the content server goes down or I buy a new device.

But, equally, paper books degrade with time. I've bought at least half a dozen different editions of "Lord of the Rings" because I've read it so often that they just fall to pieces after a few years. eBooks don't degrade.