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But such a back and forth that could go on forever. Many e-books vendors frequently reduce their value by limiting access to a specific app/reader, or limit how

But such a back and forth that could go on forever. Many e-books vendors frequently reduce their value by limiting access to a specific app/reader, or limit how useful the functionality you describe can be. For example, search is very much restricted within Kindle (e.g. I can't search for words across my entire library, I have to go into a specific book). And whilst it is true that some people are limited in how much physical space they have access to, it is certainly not universal. Hence putting a hard price on this functionality is nigh impossible - whereas re-sale value is often easier to estimate and clearly tangible to the consumer. Claiming that they are equal is certainly not clear to me.

avar 7y ago
I'm not claiming they're equal, I'm pointing out that the GP's "since I'm getting so much less, why should I pay the same price" point is subjective, and not a statement of fact. Sure, some people prefer hardcopies, good for them. But claiming that e-books being priced similarly is some market failure is taking it too far, for some of us it seems perfectly reasonable. If e-books were priced higher (even as much as 50% more) I'd still buy them over physical copies.
- fragmede 7y ago
  The "market" has decided that Amazon deserves a near-total monopoly on the e-book reader market, which allows them to unfairly pressure publishers who have no realistic alternative if they actually want online sales. (Publishers are not a fan of Kindle unlimited.) Just recently Amazon released a book ahead of embargo and they will face zero repercussion for doing so. A market that had more than one way to "publish" books online would be a different ballgame than the one we're playing now
  - JetSpiegel 7y ago
    > Amazon released a book ahead of embargo and they will face zero repercussion for doing so. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49592021 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49592021
- potta_coffee 7y ago
  It may be subjective but if a big enough market segment has the same subjective opinion, then it becomes "reality".
eyegor 7y ago
> Many e-books vendors frequently reduce their value by limiting access to a specific app/reader, or limit how useful the functionality you describe can be Yup, this is why I'm a fan of the likebook/boox type e readers. They all run stripped down versions of Android and many of them have SD card slots too. I use the likebook Mars (~$200) as my daily reader only (bigger ones are nice if your budget allows) and it is so much nicer than the Kindles imo. Default reader can handle all formats, you can dump your own fonts and dictionaries on it, and you can run the Kindle, kobo, libby, etc apps if you want to (since you can use Google play). Ofc being a cheap Chinese e reader it isn't exactly something that can run real apps at more than a couple fps but it's great for static content like books.

avar 7y ago

I'm not claiming they're equal, I'm pointing out that the GP's "since I'm getting so much less, why should I pay the same price" point is subjective, and not a statement of fact. Sure, some people prefer hardcopies, good for them. But claiming that e-books being priced similarly is some market failure is taking it too far, for some of us it seems perfectly reasonable. If e-books were priced higher (even as much as 50% more) I'd still buy them over physical copies.

fragmede 7y ago
The "market" has decided that Amazon deserves a near-total monopoly on the e-book reader market, which allows them to unfairly pressure publishers who have no realistic alternative if they actually want online sales. (Publishers are not a fan of Kindle unlimited.) Just recently Amazon released a book ahead of embargo and they will face zero repercussion for doing so. A market that had more than one way to "publish" books online would be a different ballgame than the one we're playing now
- JetSpiegel 7y ago
  > Amazon released a book ahead of embargo and they will face zero repercussion for doing so. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49592021 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49592021
potta_coffee 7y ago
It may be subjective but if a big enough market segment has the same subjective opinion, then it becomes "reality".

eyegor 7y ago

> Many e-books vendors frequently reduce their value by limiting access to a specific app/reader, or limit how useful the functionality you describe can be Yup, this is why I'm a fan of the likebook/boox type e readers. They all run stripped down versions of Android and many of them have SD card slots too. I use the likebook Mars (~$200) as my daily reader only (bigger ones are nice if your budget allows) and it is so much nicer than the Kindles imo. Default reader can handle all formats, you can dump your own fonts and dictionaries on it, and you can run the Kindle, kobo, libby, etc apps if you want to (since you can use Google play). Ofc being a cheap Chinese e reader it isn't exactly something that can run real apps at more than a couple fps but it's great for static content like books.