Would you buy ebooks subsidized with ads?

[MV64]

Ebooks shouldn't need ads to become cheaper. Without the cost of production and supplies they shouldn't be charging what they do charge for many new e-books.

Ads should be nowhere near ebooks.

[Xenophon]

Originally Posted by MV64

Ebooks shouldn't need ads to become cheaper. Without the cost of production and supplies they shouldn't be charging what they do charge for many new e-books.

Ads should be nowhere near ebooks.

My cost-per-book from Baen/Webscriptions is right around $3.40. I've purchased over 500 books from them over the past 9 years. This is, by the way, net cost after the effect of bundles and counting multiple purchases* only once.

So we'd really only "need" ads to reduce the cost of eBooks down below $3.50 each (or so). Assuming that other publishers were equally clue-full, of course.

Xenophon

*Because Baen does a bundle of each months output, they sometimes have repeat books. This happens when they issue a paperback this month (say) that was a hardcover last year. To keep the bundles a good deal, they guarantee at least four books never before in bits in each month's bundle.

[Sydney's Mom]

I believe the ads would interfere with the story. No.

[YGG-]

Never ever. period.

[YGG-]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

I'd buy them in a red hot minute if ads reduced prices.

Nice new avatar, DG!

[Ceili]

I won't even Pay for a movie that plays commercials before and after the show (unless they announce the actual time of the movie prior to it's start so I can go in and pass on the commercials). I'm trying to convince the family it's time to give up cable... we used to pay for cable to show us movies... now it's all infomercials and commercially interrupted movies... why would I pay for that when I can get it on regular tv?

I'll buy a book, but I won't buy a book with commercials in it, sorry, but that would just disrupt my reading flow way too much!


feeling a wee bit adamant about everything at the moment... giving up the demon (tobacco) weed *sighs*

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Personally, I don't know what the big deal is. Novels have ads in them now... I never hear anyone complain, or return a book, or throw it on the ground in irritation, because it has an ad in it. (Usually it's just an ad for more books from the author or publisher, in the same vein as the book purchased, so it's generally the kind of ad people want to see.)

I suspect the worry is that ebooks could contain web-style ads: blinky things, flash movies, distracting content that bounces around the screen, and things like that. Or DVD-style ads: you must watch this ad before you can flip the page to start reading... every time you open the ebook.

I don't mind a half-page ad near the beginning of a book, and an excerpt or ad for other books at the end. I could tolerate a SMALL, UNOBTRUSIVE blurb ad at major section breaks of a book. But anything more than that--extra page per chapter for ads, or animated ads, or (shudder) dymanic ads that re-downloaded themselves on a regular basis... no. I'd (1) seek the book elsewhere, possibly including pirate locations, and (2) support the development of ad-stripping procedures, including time-consuming screencapture options.

If publishers start to think of ebooks like "magazines with single-topic contents," and plaster ads throughout to "offset the costs," they're going to discover that their ebook customers will resent being treated like a pair of eyeballs for hire when they were trying to enjoy their leisure time.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

If publishers start to think of ebooks like "magazines with single-topic contents," and plaster ads throughout to "offset the costs," they're going to discover that their ebook customers will resent being treated like a pair of eyeballs for hire when they were trying to enjoy their leisure time.

Do you really think that would bother them overly much ?

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I suspect the worry is that ebooks could contain web-style ads: blinky things, flash movies, distracting content that bounces around the screen, and things like that. Or DVD-style ads: you must watch this ad before you can flip the page to start reading... every time you open the ebook.

Television has the capability of interrupting programs, mid-sentence, with full-screen ads, or having characters bouncing all over the screen in the middle of a major scene... but wisely, they refrain from being that obtrusive, and puts ads at commercial breaks, and along the bottom of the screen.

I think worrying about pop-up flash ads flowing willy-nilly about an e-book screen is over-reacting a bit. The ads will be (probably) in front, (certainly) in back, and maybe somewhere in the center of the book between chapters, or an ad per chapter break. They will not be wild, flashy animated ads, because that absolutely does not go with the medium (for the same reason television ads don't show you a still photo and text to read).

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Television has the capability of interrupting programs, mid-sentence, with full-screen ads, or having characters bouncing all over the screen in the middle of a major scene... but wisely, they refrain from being that obtrusive, and puts ads at commercial breaks, and along the bottom of the screen.

I think worrying about pop-up flash ads flowing willy-nilly about an e-book screen is over-reacting a bit. The ads will be (probably) in front, (certainly) in back, and maybe somewhere in the center of the book between chapters, or an ad per chapter break. They will not be wild, flashy animated ads, because that absolutely does not go with the medium (for the same reason television ads don't show you a still photo and text to read).

It is certainly not in an advertisers best interests to antagonize the customer. They like to think of themselves as value added.

Dale

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

It is certainly not in an advertisers best interests to antagonize the customer. They like to think of themselves as value added.

Exactly. So most ads they place will be fairly unobtrusive... just as they have been in printed books for years.

[Blue Tyson]

Actually, I like ads in books - for other relevant books or maybe something directly associated.

Not for cars, tvs, dunny roll, or whatever, but if they are there at the end, wouldn't really care.

Used to be some in cheap paperbacks, anyway, when it was worth it to them as they sold enough, I suppose.

[Oscar713]

It would really depend on the price difference for me. I don't have all the money to spend in the world, but I love to read, so if I see it saving me a lot of money over time, then I may consider.

[peitsao]

NO WAY, NO HOW! I would go back to reading the paperbacks.

[RobbieClarken]

I suspect if the ads consisted of a few unobtrusive pages throughout the book and resulted in a significant discount relative to the ad-free version (say, more than 50% off), then many people claiming they wouldn't buy them no matter what the price would soon change their mind. Alas, I don't think the ads would yield much revenue so we won't ever see if I'm right.

Honestly, if there is a book you are mildly interested in but not willing to buy and there is a free version with a few ads, are you going to flat out refuse to read the free version?