Why don't YOU buy more eBooks?

[davidspalding]

Here, read this first. Then take the poll, please.
____________

I take offense, personally, that the presumed reason that eBooks aren't selling like hot cakes is that a) people prefer paper books, or b) it's a "geek thing." Balderdash. I can make notes in my eBook without changing the file. I can bookmark specific passages. I can take several books to read on a vacation without taking up any room in my luggage except for a PDA and a charger.

On Amazon and other major book sites, an eBook costs the same as the trade paperback copy. (I've found SimonSays.com selling an eBook for the same price as a hardcover edition, even years after publication, with a cheaper softcover edition available!) But you can't donate an eBook to the library, share it with a friend (if it's in a secure, DRM format), can't sell it to your favorite used bookstore, etc. I think that's a serious flaw in publishers' thinking: that the ebook is of equal value and permanence than a real book, and can only be sold separately at the same cost. (I see no reason why they don't give me the ebook when I buy the physical book, or sell it to me for $2 more.)

Any thoughts?

[davidspalding]

Here, read this first. Then take the poll, please.
____________

I take offense, personally, that the presumed reason that eBooks aren't selling like hot cakes is that a) people prefer paper books, or b) it's a "geek thing." Balderdash. I can make notes in my eBook without changing the file. I can bookmark specific passages. I can take several books to read on a vacation without taking up any room in my luggage except for a PDA and a charger.

On Amazon and other major book sites, an eBook costs the same as the trade paperback copy. (I've found SimonSays.com selling an eBook for the same price as a hardcover edition, even years after publication, with a cheaper softcover edition available!) But you can't donate an eBook to the library, share it with a friend (if it's in a secure, DRM format), can't sell it to your favorite used bookstore, etc. I think that's a serious flaw in publishers' thinking: that the ebook is of equal value and permanence than a real book, and can only be sold separately at the same cost. (I see no reason why they don't give me the ebook when I buy the physical book, or sell it to me for $2 more.)

Any thoughts?

[MLO]

I'm sorry you take offense, but I really do prefer paper books. I like the smell of the paper and ink, the feel of the pages, the heft of the book.

I'll purchase some titles in eBook format (the Bible being one of them) but for books that I really want to read, I'm still going with paper.

Plus, I get too much enjoyment out of browsing Borders on a weekend.

MLO

[Crystal Eitle]

I am so with davidspalding on this one. I was against eBooks until I tried them. Now it is my preferred way to read books.

I am tired of all this bad press portraying eBooks as a "geek thing" or saying that the experience of reading an eBook isn't the same as curling up on a couch with a paperback. I have to disagree. Curling up on a couch, or in bed (or even in the bathtub!) with my Pocket PC is one of the most enjoyable things in the world.

And reading on a Pocket PC is extremely comfortable. The "screen flicker" mentioned in this article is unnoticable (or nonexistent?) on a Pocket PC.

I would hate to see printed books disappear entirely, but I do think that eBooks are a viable alternative. But for eBooks to take off, a few things need to happen:

1) You buy it, you own it. Period. That means you should be able to keep it forever and read it on however many devices you choose. Companies need to learn (in the immortal words of Steve Jobs), to "stop treating consumers like thieves".

2) Better publicity. Cory Doctorow's free eBook was a great example of this - put free samples out there to generate word-of-mouth. Get handheld devices out there in front of people's faces so they can see how enjoyable the experience of reading eBooks really is.

3) Reasonable prices. An eBook should cost slightly less than the printed version. People have the perception that eBooks cost less to produce. Therefore, companies have to cater to that perception with reduced prices, otherwise eBooks won't sell.

4) Selection. The eBook market right now is dominated with Sci-Fi, Suspense, Mystery, Thriller, Romance, and Business titles. I'd like to see more literary fiction, current events, history and popular science titles (but maybe that's just me ).

[rhmorrison]

Originally Posted by davidspalding

...I take offense, personally, that the reason eBooks aren't selling like hot cakes is that a) people prefer paper books, or b) it's a "geek thing."

And I take offense at paying more for an ebook than I would pay for a paperback. I have read quite a few ebooks (all FREE), but I balk at paying more for an electonic version than I do for a paperback that has real production costs. If they offered ebook versions of the books that I wanted to buy for say $2 a piece then I would buy a bunch of them but they often want $6 or $7 dollers which is MORE than I generally have to pay for the paperback which is absolutely ridiculous!

I also believe that once we have better readers such as the Toshiba prototype device or future visions von E-Ink that there will be a larger market for ebooks, emagazines, and enewspapers.

[Jacob]

I personally like reading real books because I don't need to be staring at a screen for that much longer in the day.

By the way.. I like the option "I feel uncomfortable paying for anything that's only digital" - if so, why would you pay for software?

[rhmorrison]

Originally Posted by Jacob

- if so, why would you pay for software?

Unfortunately, MANY PEOPLE DON'T!

[Janak Parekh]

Originally Posted by Crystal Eitle

And reading on a Pocket PC is extremely comfortable. The "screen flicker" mentioned in this article is unnoticable (or nonexistent?) on a Pocket PC.

This is a key aspect I don't think the market picks up on. I suspect most of the market thinks of reading ebooks at your desk. Yuck! With ClearType, etc., it's very easy to read an ebook, and my eyes don't hurt, and I carry my Pocket PC everywhere, unlike a book that may add weight to my bag.

--janak

[M@]

Well how much do you think an eBook costs to make?

There is the cost of:
- Software to make it (Probably insigificant if you're talking about big business)
- Running of the website (Very little, perhaps a few pence out of each eBook goes towards that.
- Employees/Bank Charges to vet each order, check the legality. Possibly the second largest expense
- Royalties.- Perhaps the largest cost. It would be ideal if there were a website for writers/books, similar to MP3.com except for books.

Still, the charges some companies demand are just ludicrous.

I personally think that to begin with; like MP3s and even Computers themselves, eBooks will start off un-popular whilst people try to argue their way out of allowing them: causing illegal eBooks becoming avaliable on the internet for free (*cough* Napster *cough*).

And eventually people will accept them, companies will sue, and everyone will be happy with their eBooks.

No More Death of Trees

But, much worse than death of trees, more sweatshops in places so far away, it barely matters to the consumer anymore.

[Xianfox]

For me, it's mostly about DRM and proprietary formats. I've got 24 years of computer experience, and to this day, I can still access most of my data from all of those 24 years because I've primarily used open formats (ASCII, RTF, etc.).

I don't necessarily want to buy into Microsoft's or Palm's "vision" of how I should "experience" ebooks. They want my money with no restrictions on how they spend it, I want their product with no restrictions on how I use it. I understand the fear that it may be pirated, but start prosecuting the pirates, not the law-abiding.

I'll probably offend some here for saying this, but DRM is just like gun control. Gun control works, ask the experts: Hitler, Stalin, Castro, etc. Let's learn a lesson from this, shall we?

As for me, I'll stay far away from DRM.

[Kati Compton]

I have 2 reasons. I prefer paper. In fact, I prefer hardbacks. In my new house I'm getting this autumn, I plan to have a room as a library for all my books.... I really love books. To look at as well to read.

I stare at a screen for some ridiculous hours in a day, so sometimes it's nice to do something different and non-techie. Even with my LCD monitor and PPC, I find it much easier to read off of paper for long periods of time. Yes, I know that it's easier to take eBooks with you wherever you go so you can read in a spare moment, but that's not how I read. I read a book this weekend for the first time in a long while - I sat down around 5 or 6pm, read, broke for dinner, read, went to bed at 1 or 2 after finishing the book. This is how I read. I can't do the intermittent thing.

I *might* be willing to give up paper at least once in a while if it made financial sense... But the current eBook prices just don't convince me. In order to switch from something I like to something I like less, I need something to make up for that tradeoff - like cheaper prices.