4 ms·

If free is the future, why does Chris Anderson's book titled "Free" still cost $26.99? Considering the whole book is about making money by giving things away, I

by nimbix 17y ago

If free is the future, why does Chris Anderson's book titled "Free" still cost $26.99? Considering the whole book is about making money by giving things away, I'm surprised he hasn't figured it out how to do this with his own book. Also, I believe that the power of FREE is not about money. It's about avoiding the hassle of paying. It doesn't matter whether you're paying 10 dollars or 1 cent - the hassle factor is about the same in both cases. This makes a free product more than 1 cent cheaper than a 1 cent product.

robryan 17y ago
I was wondering the same thing about the book price, it goes against what he is saying because the book is in his idea/ information type category. I think if more of the net unified with a single payments company which was accepted just about everywhere, had low fees and as many ways to transfer money into and out of as possible.
- diN0bot 17y ago
  do you envision a better paypal or something different?
  - robryan 17y ago
    A paypal that is even more widely accepted, on such a large scale that it can offer smaller fees and a more wide range of ways to transfer money in and out.
    - diN0bot 17y ago
      hmmm. so more like credit in the sense of credit cards. i wonder what the fee comparison is between paypal (3% ?) and accepting credit cards (certainly seems more of a hassle for developers).
sonofjanoh 17y ago
If the publisher gets the $26.99 that makes the book free from the author's point of view although I really doubt that Chris Anderson is not getting his share.
tetha 17y ago
The book is about things being free in the digital domain, so in the internet. Thus, a physical copy of the book is still allowed to cost some money, as the paper just does cost money. However, a good question would be: where is the free ebook?
- mcantor 17y ago
  I think you missed Mr. Gladwell's point... if we extend his reasoning, books do not cost money because they require paper (fuel). Books cost money because of the complex infrastructure required to find, edit, print, assemble and distribute them!
- jcl 17y ago
  He should have taken a cue from Abbie Hoffman and titled it "Download This Book". :)
davetufts 17y ago
I agree about the hassle factor vs. cost. In Dan Ariely's pricing experiment, if he gave a US audience the choice: 1 Candian penny for the Lindt truffles or a US dime for the Hershey Kisses, I'm sure 70+ percent would pay the dime because it's more convenient. It wouldn't prove that people want to pay more for a (seemingly) inferior product.
rgrieselhuber 17y ago
Good point about hassle. I think it's one of the reasons why smart card based payment systems have so much potential (for offline).
look_lookatme 17y ago
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2009/06/29/free-free http://daringfireball.net/linked/2009/06/29/free-free It will be free.
frossie 17y ago
Also, I believe that the power of FREE is not about money. It's about avoiding the hassle of paying. I think the power of free is mostly about money. Look at Freecycle(.org) - the hassle in offering something that you give away for free, sifting through all the responses, going through the whole arrange time/place shennanigans, then somebody has to drive for miles to get to you - sure the person posting it has some non-monetary satisfaction about keeping something out of the landfill, but the person getting it? They are coming because it is free. If you offer one item on Freecycle for free and one on Craigslist for a cent, I bet you will have better uptake with Freecycle, even though 99% the hassle of the transaction is unrelated to paying. That said... I agree that in the case of online news content in particular, the payment hassle is a factor, because it is a barrier to people (like me) who are not averse to paying. For example I would be perfectly willing to throw $100 in a yearly pot (or whatever a subscription to one newspaper would really cost), spend a year reading whatever I wanted hassle-free and upvoting (karma-style) the stuff I liked, and then at the end of the year have that $100 get distributed in the same way I distributed my karma. It could work, but the infrastructure and co-ordination is beyond what is plausible, I suppose.
- ShabbyDoo 17y ago
  I gave away a bunch of old carpet on Freecycle. It was easier than cutting it up into little pieces so the trashman would take it.

by nimbix 17y ago

robryan 17y ago

I was wondering the same thing about the book price, it goes against what he is saying because the book is in his idea/ information type category. I think if more of the net unified with a single payments company which was accepted just about everywhere, had low fees and as many ways to transfer money into and out of as possible.

diN0bot 17y ago
do you envision a better paypal or something different?
- robryan 17y ago
  A paypal that is even more widely accepted, on such a large scale that it can offer smaller fees and a more wide range of ways to transfer money in and out.
  - diN0bot 17y ago
    hmmm. so more like credit in the sense of credit cards. i wonder what the fee comparison is between paypal (3% ?) and accepting credit cards (certainly seems more of a hassle for developers).

sonofjanoh 17y ago

If the publisher gets the $26.99 that makes the book free from the author's point of view although I really doubt that Chris Anderson is not getting his share.

tetha 17y ago

The book is about things being free in the digital domain, so in the internet. Thus, a physical copy of the book is still allowed to cost some money, as the paper just does cost money. However, a good question would be: where is the free ebook?

mcantor 17y ago
I think you missed Mr. Gladwell's point... if we extend his reasoning, books do not cost money because they require paper (fuel). Books cost money because of the complex infrastructure required to find, edit, print, assemble and distribute them!
jcl 17y ago
He should have taken a cue from Abbie Hoffman and titled it "Download This Book". :)

davetufts 17y ago

I agree about the hassle factor vs. cost. In Dan Ariely's pricing experiment, if he gave a US audience the choice: 1 Candian penny for the Lindt truffles or a US dime for the Hershey Kisses, I'm sure 70+ percent would pay the dime because it's more convenient. It wouldn't prove that people want to pay more for a (seemingly) inferior product.

rgrieselhuber 17y ago

Good point about hassle. I think it's one of the reasons why smart card based payment systems have so much potential (for offline).

look_lookatme 17y ago

http://daringfireball.net/linked/2009/06/29/free-free http://daringfireball.net/linked/2009/06/29/free-free It will be free.

frossie 17y ago

Also, I believe that the power of FREE is not about money. It's about avoiding the hassle of paying. I think the power of free is mostly about money. Look at Freecycle(.org) - the hassle in offering something that you give away for free, sifting through all the responses, going through the whole arrange time/place shennanigans, then somebody has to drive for miles to get to you - sure the person posting it has some non-monetary satisfaction about keeping something out of the landfill, but the person getting it? They are coming because it is free. If you offer one item on Freecycle for free and one on Craigslist for a cent, I bet you will have better uptake with Freecycle, even though 99% the hassle of the transaction is unrelated to paying. That said... I agree that in the case of online news content in particular, the payment hassle is a factor, because it is a barrier to people (like me) who are not averse to paying. For example I would be perfectly willing to throw $100 in a yearly pot (or whatever a subscription to one newspaper would really cost), spend a year reading whatever I wanted hassle-free and upvoting (karma-style) the stuff I liked, and then at the end of the year have that $100 get distributed in the same way I distributed my karma. It could work, but the infrastructure and co-ordination is beyond what is plausible, I suppose.

ShabbyDoo 17y ago
I gave away a bunch of old carpet on Freecycle. It was easier than cutting it up into little pieces so the trashman would take it.