12-09-2009, 12:52 PM | #16 |
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Well, I am currently reading Under the Dome digitally. I will recieve another copy on my kindle on December 24. I considered cancelling my order, but I didn't intend to steal the book. I just can't stand being manipulated in this manner.
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12-09-2009, 12:52 PM | #17 |
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Really funny that with the massive changes in technology and the world economy that the publishing industry thinks that IT should remain exactly the same. If the major publishers of today don't "adjust" to the new realities they will go the way of the dodo bird... Just ask your local newspaper for some insight into how the world is changing...
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12-09-2009, 12:54 PM | #18 | |||
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12-09-2009, 12:57 PM | #19 |
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I've got the same gig going on myself. I don't like to "steal", but they need a wake up call
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12-09-2009, 12:59 PM | #20 | |
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If there is no reason to think there's going to be an e-book version out at all, I see nothing wrong with buying a paper copy and then getting an e-copy from the darknet if you don't mind dealing with those sites. That's just format switching. If the e-book version is coming out later, though, why not wait? We wait for the paperback version all the time. There's a risk to the publisher there, that by the time the later version comes out you won't want it anymore: they'll be sacrificing the "impulse buy" market. But hey, if that's what they want to do... (shrug) Personally I wish I had the time and energy to switch a large portion of my paperbacks to e-book versions. But I don't really want to put in the time/money to get a scanner and learn how to work it, and then OCR and proof everything. I admire and appreciate the MobileRead folks who post out-of-copyright works--not least because I'm to lazy to emulate them :-) |
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12-09-2009, 01:00 PM | #21 |
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You're not stealing. Youv'e paid for the book, you're just reading it when it should have been available in the first place. I too read (most) of Under the Dome from a digital copy that wasn't offered by the traditional publishers. If anybody was stolen from, it was me, I paid £10 (half-price) for the hardback of the book and only 100 pages of it were worth a damn penny. It's the last money that parasitic industry gets from me.
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12-09-2009, 01:03 PM | #22 |
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12-09-2009, 01:09 PM | #23 |
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Like a few others, I dont buy hard cover books, and I rarely get the paperbacks either unless it is something that I know I'll like and will read again. Most (60%) of my books come from the library, so waiting to read a title is not too unreasonable for me - 4 months though is a bit long.
I don't have an eReader yet (soon, very soon) but I can see my purchasing habits changing to doing more purchasing and less borrowing, if for no other reason than the convenience of being able to do it while sitting on my couch. I think this is bad call on their part it might increase hardcover and paperback sales a small amount. At the same time it will almost certainly decrease the eBook sales. |
12-09-2009, 01:15 PM | #24 |
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If I were advising the publishers I would recommend that they get in front of ebooks before they lose total control...as what happened in music. They should consider backing a single format that has DRM and releasing it at the same time as the hardcover. The reason is that if they allow the device makers to maintain their own formats....then the sony's and amazons will gain a disproportionate share of the value capture (profits) since it increases the device maker's and retailer's negotiating position.
They should release the ebook format right away because it reduces incentive to pirate, maximizes on marketing costs, and reduces the size of the secondary market. In general, when a firm tries to increase value capture at the expense of value creation it wins in the short run but loses in the long run. This is a fairly consistent phenomenon in business. On the pro side for not releasing the ebook format right away is that it does the job of "price discriminating"....people with a high value on the book purchases right away and pays high price. people with a lower value on the book pay a lower price by delaying purchase. So, this makes sense.....but I think the cons are stronger. Last edited by markbot; 12-09-2009 at 01:19 PM. |
12-09-2009, 01:18 PM | #25 | ||
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12-09-2009, 01:19 PM | #26 | |
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Rose Fox has a post on this subject at Publishers Weekly.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/blog...630051163.html One of the really interesting points is: Quote:
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12-09-2009, 01:37 PM | #27 |
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Are they trying to encourage piracy??? The new generation of internet users aren't exactly used to waiting...and the culture of "sharing" is rather strong. Why give the users an incentive to look elsewhere for an ebook? Really, based on how it went for the music industry they should know in tough economic times people cut discretionary spending first. When it comes to file sharing not everyone is morally strong enough to withstand temptation and wait 4 months.
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12-09-2009, 01:42 PM | #28 | |
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This is about convenience. They, the big companies, fed us on a diet of convenience and low-low prices for the last fifty years. They provided that fattening food of getting-it-quicker and getting-it-cheaper. But now the pirates are providing it quicker and cheaper than they ever could. It's not morals, it's ease-of-use. It's the microwave vs the oven. The bicycle versus the car. The airplane ride vs the rocket to the moon. I wonder who will win |
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12-09-2009, 01:49 PM | #29 | |
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Smart people, those publishers. |
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12-09-2009, 02:23 PM | #30 | |
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Yes, when customers get used to paying lower prices, they'll insist on them. Unfortunately for the publishers, they can't invent market rates; they can only influence them. If *all* publishers agreed to this, they might have a chance to keep their current pricing schedule. However, several other major publishers, and dozens (hundreds?) of small/independent publishers, and lots of individual authors, have decided that ebooks should be cheaper than hardcovers even when released at the same time. Apparently, these publishers are oblivious to how many people *never* buy hardcovers, and are not switching from hardcover to ebook, but paperback to ebook. Insisting that their ebooks lag behind hardcover sales won't get them back the customers who buy from their competitors during the lag time, because when that 4 months is up, there's a new crop of bestsellers--and their competitors' titles are available as ebooks *now.* |
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