Why e-books?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by John F

What I don't like:
ebooks are now more expensive than pbooks

I've found that if you switch your country to India at Kobo, you can buy your eBooks cheaper than Amazon (including the currency fee).

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Doesn't seem to be restored.

That's because that image was oversize. The one in this post was resized to meet the guidelines and did get restored after I deleted it in error.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Even buying primarily new releases, I rarely run into an ebook that costs more than its physical counterpart (from the same vendor).

http://www.amazon.com/Excel-Power-Pi...e%3A1249100011
http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Bricks-A...e%3A1249100011

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

That's because that image was oversize. The one in this post was resized to meet the guidelines and did get restored after I deleted it in error.

Gotcha!

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Even buying primarily new releases, I rarely run into an ebook that costs more than its physical counterpart (from the same vendor).

Originally Posted by JSWolf

http://www.amazon.com/Excel-Power-Pi...e%3A1249100011
http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Bricks-A...e%3A1249100011

You do realize the sigificance of the fact that those are actually books that you've run into, and not myself, right? Why does everybody think I'm asking for proof that some ebooks are priced higher than MMPBs?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

You do realize the sigificance of the fact that those are actually books that you've run into, and not myself, right? Why does everybody think I'm asking for proof that some ebooks are priced higher than MMPBs?

Because when you say you've not see it, everyone else wants to show you so you will have seen it.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Because when you say you've not see it, everyone else wants to show you so you will have seen it.

And then it can never be unseen... the horror

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Because when you say you've not see it, everyone else wants to show you so you will have seen it.

If I stipulate that I'm perfectly-well aware that some ebooks cost more than than their physical counterparts, can we get back to discussing just how prolific the issue really is (or how relevant its occurrence might be)?

I just find it a little puzzling that some people (who indicate that there's reasons--other than price--for why they prefer to buy ebooks) seem downright offended by the fact that a version of a book that they don't value enough to want to buy, might occasionally be a little cheaper than the price of a version they DO value enough to want to buy.

I understand those who place a hard ceiling on what they're willing to pay for any ebook (even though I don't practice it myself). What I don't understand is admitting that buying the ebook would be your preference, and then making it a requirement that your personal preference is not allowed to occasionally cost a little more than something you don't want to buy.

Set a hard price that you think an ebook is worth, and don't worry about what its physical version costs. I mean really: if two different ebooks you want are both available for $6.99, and their physical versions are $7.99 and $5.99 respectively, are you (rhetorical) going to buy the first (in ebook form) and complain that the second (available for the same $6.99 as the first) is priced too high (ignoring, for now, those who wouldn't buy either because $6.99 exceeds the price they're willing to pay for ANY ebook)?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Set a hard price that you think an ebook is worth, and don't worry about what its physical version costs. I mean really: if two different ebooks you want are both available for $6.99, and their physical versions are $7.99 and $5.99 respectively, are you (rhetorical) going to buy the first (in ebook form) and complain that the second (available for the same $6.99 as the first) is priced too high (ignoring, for now, those who wouldn't buy either because $6.99 exceeds the price they're willing to pay for ANY ebook)?

Of course! It is just morally wrong, or something.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I just find it a little puzzling that some people (who indicate that there's reasons--other than price--for why they prefer to buy ebooks) seem downright offended by the fact that a version of a book that they don't value enough to want to buy, might occasionally be a little cheaper than the price of a version they DO value enough to want to buy.

I never understood that either.

What does it matter if the paperback, or the hard cover for that matter, is cheaper than the e-book, if I'm not ever going to buy the paper version? It could be free for all I care, because it's not a product I'm interested in.

A parallel is music, and there I can be 'offended': often, buying an album in MP3-format can be more expensive than buying the CD, especially if you can get the CD second-hand. This is something I won't ever accept, because the MP3-version will be worse (lossy) than the CD-version of the music.

I don't even know for sure if I'd buy a FLAC-version at the same or lower price than the CD; one never knows how the FLAC was created. Maybe they came from a bad source ('loudness war'-infected version of the CD, or even a previously encoded MP3 or something...), which leaves you with a bad file that can never be fixed. Thus, I always buy the CD, rip it to FLAC myself, create my 347 backups, and then give the CD away

[theducks]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Of course! It is just morally wrong, or something.

Spot on.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

What does it matter if the paperback, or the hard cover for that matter, is cheaper than the e-book, if I'm not ever going to buy the paper version? It could be free for all I care, because it's not a product I'm interested in.

By the time I drive 15 miles to the nearest large city where there's a decent bookshop, find somewhere to park, pay an extortionate fee for the parking, walk 20 minutes from the carpark to the bookshop, spend a frustrating time trying to find the book I want, walk 20 minutes back to the carpark, and finally drive home again, I really couldn't give a damn if the paperback is £1 cheaper .

[Phogg]

Oh.
One thing I forgot (because electronic ink wasn't around when I first embraced ebooks) is reading outdoors in wind.

I bought my wife a PRS-505 years ago because she wasn't interested in a UMPC like the one I had bought. Whilst gathering all of the accouterments of a picnic and loading them up in the car after the wind came up, I noticed my wife still blissfully engrossed in her book. Right then I realized that I also needed an ereader.

So reading outdoors is often much more enjoyable (or at least a possibility) with an electronic reader as opposed to paper.

[Xenophon]

Baen Webscriptions, starting in 1999. Four (or more) SF/Fantasy books every month for $10 (originally, later $15, now $18). Mostly books I would have purchased anyway, for far less than the cost in dead-tree-format, paying the publisher and authors at least as much as if I had bought the DTF.

In addition to all that, my personal library was over 5K books in DTF so avoiding the need to store more paper was a huge plus.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

Baen Webscriptions, starting in 1999. Four (or more) SF/Fantasy books every month for $10 (originally, later $15, now $18). Mostly books I would have purchased anyway, for far less than the cost in dead-tree-format, paying the publisher and authors at least as much as if I had bought the DTF.

Me too; I've bought every "Webscription" release since they started. Was it 1999? I had a vague feeling it was a little earlier, but you may very well be right - it was a long time ago!