Did you already own the HP paper back?

[mrscoach]

I have one copy of books 1-3 in paperback, and two or three copies of all the others in hardback. My kids and I were the geeks that were at the midnight releases of books 5-7. I even made 'wizard robes' for us to wear to those and the movie releases (my son has had 3 sets).

We had to get three copies of book 7 because none of us wanted to wait long enough for the others to finish reading before we got to start.

I have reread them several times through the years, so I do not fall in the group of adults that loved the books as a kid but haven't read in 5-15 years ago. I am glad to get a legal copy for my readers.

[Ginwen]

I got the first one as a gift, then bought all the rest as they came out. I liked them all, but didn't really see myself re-reading them, and they took a lot of room on my full shelves, so I ended up selling to half-price books (probably got about $5 for the bunch, being able to resell books is kind of overrated).

I thought I'd buy the UK versions, but they made it a teeny-tiny bit challenging, which gave me time to reconsider, and I ended up realizing I don't really need them right now.

[laughingdragons]

I have all in pbook except the last 2 books which I have in HC.

[snarkophilus]

Originally Posted by Shopaholic

And for how many books were you one of the geeks waiting in line at midnight to get your grubby little paws on the newest one?

Damn, guilty as charged!

I don't recall when we (my daughter and I) started queuing up, but might have been around Goblet of Fire time as well. Here in Oz the books went on sale at 8am I think (or was it 9am?), and we were at the bookshop before 6am to stand in line.

Cheers,
Simon.

[sabredog]

At one time we had 4 sets of paperbacks, down to two now as our two oldest daughters have married and left home.

I have no interest in buying the ebook set and my wife has not expressed any interest to date either.

[Victoria]

One set of hardcovers. One set of mismatched paperbacks - picked up in various airports bookstores over time- the hardcovers being too heavy to carry. And now the full set of e-books.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by snarkophilus

Harry's situation should have been a separate option - "own both paperback and hardcover and silly enough to buy a third time".

And there'd probably be quite a number of those, myself included.

I have all the hard covers. Read a copy of book 1 from a friend and that was the only book I didn't get on release. Then I bought paperbacks for re-reading. The hardcovers really are just too heavy and I wanted a copy that I wouldn't mind breaking the spine or spilling coffee on or something. I also bought the trunk box set when Deathly Hallows was released which was kinda disappointing since they just used really cheap cardboard. The actual product didn't do the pictures justice.

Just bought both US and UK versions of Harry Potter ebooks so this actually makes it the 4th and 5th time I've paid for Harry Potter books.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by snarkophilus

Harry's situation should have been a separate option - "own both paperback and hardcover and silly enough to buy a third time".

Include me in that catagory. E-books are a different format. I did not expect to get the paperbacks for free when I bought the Hardcovers. Why should I think it ok to get the e-books for free?

[JoeD]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Include me in that catagory. E-books are a different format. I did not expect to get the paperbacks for free when I bought the Hardcovers. Why should I think it ok to get the e-books for free?

I agree partly. I think if someone wants to scan their own hb/pb to make an ebook rather than rebuying, they should be allowed to. Much like I think if you've bought a DVD and want it on your PC or iPad you should be allowed to rip/convert it. If you have an ebook in mobi and want epub again should be allowed to diy it. Or converting CD -> mp3. If you have pb and want to make your own hb, you should be free to do so, but obviously you have to make it yourself not nip in a store and just acquire a copy

However, when it comes to having a DVD and wanting a BluRay where there's a improvement in quality of picture and sound, I think you should have to buy it (same for BR -> 3D). However, if you have a BluRay and for some reason need a DVD version I think you should be free to convert.

The grey area imo (for digital items) is where someone has content in one form and wants it in another but doesn't want to scan, rip, convert it themselves. The end result is the same, but I'm still not sure where I stand on that one.

[ProfCrash]

Agreed. I am assuming that the vast majority of the population is as lazy as I am and does not want to take the time to scan all seven books and then clean them up. That being the case, I am assuming that anyone who has not paid for the e-books but has the e-books did what I did (until they were legally available) and pirated them.

The e-book is a different format then then Hardback which is a different format then the paperback. For me that means you buy them (when they are available) or you scan them on your own. Otherwise, you need to pay for the different format. (shrugs)

But what do I know, I read my Kindle during takeoff.

[sakura-panda]

I have not yet bought the ebooks (but I plan to buy them sometime soon); I own paper versions of all of the books (mostly paperback, some hardcover) and about five of the audio books.

[JoeD]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

The e-book is a different format then then Hardback which is a different format then the paperback. For me that means you buy them (when they are available) or you scan them on your own. Otherwise, you need to pay for the different format. (shrugs)

I don't think format shifting should involve a repurchase though, as long as it is just format shifting. Downloading a BluRay because you have the DVD for example would be a quality increase and not count, BluRay converted to DVD though should be fine (of course DVD -> BluRay should also be fine if you're using the DVD as source as you're not really getting the improved content, just format shifting, but downloading the actual BR would not be). If you were able to make yourself a hard back cover for your paperbacks (as silly as that might sound) I see no reason for you not to be allowed to do so.

But what do I know, I read my Kindle during takeoff.

couldn't find a plane crashing smily, so joined you with headphones

[ProfCrash]

How is shifting from paperbook to e-book any different then shifting from hardback to paperback? There is a cost associated with creating the e-book, scanning, formating, retyping, storage ect...

When you shift from a CD you own to an MP3, you make that move on your own. You rip the MP3s from your CD. If you want the e-book without paying, scan your copy of the paperbook. If you do not want to scan the book yourself, pay for the e-book.

[JoeD]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

When you shift from a CD you own to an MP3, you make that move on your own. You rip the MP3s from your CD. If you want the e-book without paying, scan your copy of the paperbook. If you do not want to scan the book yourself, pay for the e-book.

I pretty much agree with that. When I want my sheet music on my iPad to play from, I do the scanning myself, even though PDF copies are floating around the net.

However, I do see it as a grey area in terms of morals, as someone who downloads the PDF rather than scanning it has still only format shifted. So whilst I would re-buy in e-form if I didn't want to scan/convert myself, I'm not sure I'd condemn anyone else who chose to just download an electronic copy as long as they retained their physical copy and destroyed the electronic copy the moment they get rid of the physical.

[ProfCrash]

I see piracy as theft (we can avoid the debate, I know that there are folks who claim it is not theft because nothing physical is stolen and that it something else. Let's safely assume we have had said debate and you think I am an idiot for calling it theft after you explain why it is not and I think that you are simply playing with semantics to make people feel better for not paying for something that they should be paying for.) So, yes, I do feel that it is wrong and should be avoided.

I have stated that I would only pirate a book when I have purchased the book and the e-book is not available on the market. The day the e-book becomes available, I will buy the e-book because I believe the author should get paid for their efforts. I paid for one format, I want another format, I pay for the second format.

I get that other people do not see it the same way and feel like it is ok to pirate e-books of books they already own even if they could purchase the e-books. I have seen the various reasons why. I don't agree with this but such is life. I would not encourage said behavior but I am not going to run around saying that people who pirate are evil.

I think they are wrong but I do things that other people think are wrong as well. So I will continue to work on crashing airplanes with my Kindle, they will continue to "infringe on the copyright" and we will all have to let whatever diety we believe in sort it out in the end.