I don't think I should have to pay for my e-Books

[Randeep]

I love books. Physical books! When I go to someone's house for a party or dinner I'll instantly gravitate towards the bookshelf to see what they have in their collection. Sometimes I'll see a book I have read in the past and conversation soon follows. Othertimes I will see a book I've been wanting to read and I'll get to borrow it from them and maybe even return the favor by lending one of my own. Or I'll discover a whole new world of books I never knew I wanted to read.

And I love eBooks. The lightness and the convenience is remarkable. I can read while eating, read while walking, save a lot of weight while traveling, and so forth.

I resent the fact, then, that if I want to buy an "analog" book, I would have to also purchase the digital copy separately. Many publishers are charging almost as much (or more!) money for the eBooks as their paper counterparts despite the high cost of inventory management, shipping and forestry associated with physical copies. If I buy a CD, however, I am within my rights to digitize my music on my computer, store it on an MP3 player, etc.

So I don't feel like I should be obligated to buy a separate eBook after having purchased the real deal. I could take Stephen Hawking's Grand Design and scan it in page by page, but what a giant pain that would be. How about trying to digitize Martin's Song of Ice and Fire to stick on an eReader? Forget about it! And yet this would be legal as long as I didn't distribute it to the masses.

I think there could be some alternatives that bookstores might be comfortable with, like selling both as a package deal, an RFID chip in the spine of a regular book to give access to the digital one, etc. Of course as long as people continue to buy copies of both formats this will probably never happen.

I could also download illegal copies of eBooks after purchasing the physical ones, but piracy isn't my thing (even though I don't think this would qualify as piracy from an ethics POV) and I'm not really into it.

Am I alone on this? What are your thoughts?

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Randeep

I think there could be some alternatives that bookstores might be comfortable with, like selling both as a package deal, an RFID chip in the spine of a regular book to give access to the digital one, etc. Of course as long as people continue to buy copies of both formats this will probably never happen.

There are countless alternatives, I'm sure. I'm sure, as well, that most, if not all, of the various online bookstores would be willing to experiment with many of those alternatives in order to maximize consumer interest. Unfortunately, there's a third party involved whose permission the bookstores would have to get before they could even attempt one of these alternatives. Can you guess who that third party is and what their answer will ultimately be?

Not that I disagree with you completely, but following the same logic... do you believe that when you buy the hardcover, you should be entitled to the paperback for next to nothing when it's released?

Value's a funny thing when it comes to digital vs physical books. I tend to place almost all the value in the words they contain, myself. But to each their own.

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by Randeep

If I buy a CD, however, I am within my rights to digitize my music on my computer, store it on an MP3 player, etc.

So I don't feel like I should be obligated to buy a separate eBook after having purchased the real deal. I could take Stephen Hawking's Grand Design and scan it in page by page, but what a giant pain that would be.

These two points here are an excellent example of fair use. You buy a CD, and you need to rip it to MP3 to use on a different device. You buy a book, you need to scan it to use it on a different device. Just because one is easier than the other, it doesn't mean you should get the different format for free because it would take longer. You want it digitized? You do the work.

[odiakkoh]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

These two points here are an excellent example of fair use. You buy a CD, and you need to rip it to MP3 to use on a different device. You buy a book, you need to scan it to use it on a different device. Just because one is easier than the other, it doesn't mean you should get the different format for free because it would take longer. You want it digitized? You do the work.

Bah cant karma you on my phone. I will later

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Randeep

If I buy a CD, however, I am within my rights to digitize my music on my computer, store it on an MP3 player, etc.

So I don't feel like I should be obligated to buy a separate eBook after having purchased the real deal.

You're not--you are free to scan it, just like you're free to rip your CDs. Nobody's obligated to provide you a digital version and do that work for you. Owning a CD doesn't give you a free download of that album from iTunes.

How about trying to digitize Martin's Song of Ice and Fire to stick on an eReader? Forget about it! And yet this would be legal as long as I didn't distribute it to the masses.

I scanned, proofread & formatted Wilson's The Occult so I could read it on my ereader. It's 800 pages. I've scanned several shorter books.

The initial learning curve is steep, as are the setup costs, but once those are past, scanning books for personal use isn't too much effort. It's frustrating that the effort's only for one person; it feels horribly selfish to spend all that time on a project that only benefits me. But plenty of people spend more effort on personal projects.

I think there could be some alternatives that bookstores might be comfortable with, like selling both as a package deal, an RFID chip in the spine of a regular book to give access to the digital one, etc.

Bookstores would be thrilled to do this; it's publishers who are dragging their feet. A few have experimented with releasing the digital version along with the physical--Baen's CDs are the most well-known example--but most publishers are holding very solidly to the notion that every format should be purchased new separately.

[susan_cassidy]

I think many people are like me, and want the ebook instead of the paper book. I sometimes go through 7 or 8 books a week.

[Freeshadow]

+1 on pidgeon92s last 2 sentences.

[Dulin's Books]

interesting development in the movie world that is a similar concept. 20th century fox film just announced they will be selling their bluray movies with a code that will let you download a digital version to your android device.

the idea might drive more people to the book stores and help keep them open. or it could flop because the digital folks dont want the paper copy anymore

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

...

Not that I disagree with you completely, but following the same logic... do you believe that when you buy the hardcover, you should be entitled to the paperback for next to nothing when it's released?
....

and if you buy the audio MP3 album do you think you are entitled to a physical CD for free?

[HansTWN]

Elfwreck has the right idea. Just scan your pbooks.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by kennyc

and if you buy the audio MP3 album do you think you are entitled to a physical CD for free?

But you can Burn (convert) an Audio CD from the MP3 using Audacity (free)

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by theducks

But you can Burn (convert) an Audio CD from the MP3 using Audacity (free)

True, but that wasn't the question, was it?

[odiakkoh]

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

interesting development in the movie world that is a similar concept. 20th century fox film just announced they will be selling their bluray movies with a code that will let you download a digital version to your android device.

the idea might drive more people to the book stores and help keep them open. or it could flop because the digital folks dont want the paper copy anymore

Is it downloaded or streamed? Disney does something similar but it's live streaming only.

[Dulin's Books]

download. and it seems you can not download directly. i re-read the story and it says download to your pc and sideload to your android device

[ucfgrad93]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

These two points here are an excellent example of fair use. You buy a CD, and you need to rip it to MP3 to use on a different device. You buy a book, you need to scan it to use it on a different device. Just because one is easier than the other, it doesn't mean you should get the different format for free because it would take longer. You want it digitized? You do the work.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

I think many people are like me, and want the ebook instead of the paper book.

I don't want to buy physical books, I want them on my Kindle.