

If Used Software Can Be Sold, Why Not Used eBooks? - mikecane
http://mikecanex.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/if-used-software-can-be-sold-why-not-used-ebooks/

======
dglassan
You're missing the most important point...you're not selling the used
software...you're selling the used license, or the unique license key.

If I uninstall adobe photoshop and sell you my license key, you can install
the same version and activate it using the key that I sold you. Now I cannot
re-activate my copy of photoshop because my key no longer works, it's already
being used by you. There's one copy of the key...it cannot be reproduced.

eBooks do not require license keys to read the book. You can essentially make
a copy of the ebook and send it to me and we can both read the ebook (DRM
issues can be a whole 'nother post here). The only way selling an ebook would
work is if they required license keys that can be transfered around but not
reproduced, and that would prevent me from reading my book after I've sold my
license, my rights to read the book.

------
astrodust
A digital copy of a movie or a book has zero resale value and doesn't cost a
dime to manufacture, but most publishers insist on setting the price of this
to nearly equivalent to the physical version. It's infuriating.

If I buy a Blu-Ray disc for $10, I'm reasonably assured I can unload it used
for $2 to $5 later on. I can also lend it to people. The digital HD copy I
bought for the same price that's typically locked to an individual device has
zero resale value.

You can't purchase digital goods these days. At best you get a long-term
rental agreement.

~~~
travisp
I challenge your assertion that it "doesn't cost a dime to manufacture" an
ebook unless you're trying to be overly literal and ignore all of the non
"manufacturing" costs that go into ebooks.

"To produce a quality eBook takes just as long and costs just as much as
producing a quality paper book. Yes, you save some money on paper, printing,
and binding. And you save some money on warehousing and shipping. But you
incur other costs."

[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-zack/making-ebooks-
is-h...](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-zack/making-ebooks-is-harder-
t_b_1610953.html)

In fact the difference in price between many ebooks and the the print copies
is often _more_ than the cost of the physical book (which is usually less than
a dollar).

~~~
wlesieutre
He's not saying it doesn't cost anything to produce, just that the incremental
cost of "manufacturing" one digital copy of it is next to nothing. Sure,
there's a fraction of a cent of bandwidth involved, but they could make a
billion copies of an ebook for more or less the same cost as making the first
one.

This doesn't hold true for an optical disc, where the disc has to be
physically manufactured, have its contents written, be put in a case, and then
shipped (probably across an ocean) to be sold.

One would like to think that since they're spending less to produce it, some
of the savings would be passed on to the consumer. But I guess people are
largely willing to pay the same price, so it just ends up being extra profits.
The customer can't do much about the fact that a huge chunk of the price goes
to inflated "delivery fees."

~~~
travisp
I think you're missing my point and the point discussed in the article I
linked to. Sure, the incremental cost is less (not 0, since places like Amazon
may charge an electronic delivery fee), but the total cost still ends up being
very similar for the digital version, even accounting for the lower
incremental cost. The incremental cost of a paper book is also almost nothing,
so I'm not sure where you expect these savings to come from. Overall, ebooks
are in fact often discounted more than the cost of printing the paper book.

------
larrik
I'm sorry, but how on earth is a document (DRM-ed or not) the same thing as an
app? An eBook is content in a certain format. An app is a program that does
stuff with input.

They are not the same. They aren't written the same, they aren't used the same
(usually), and they aren't sold the same (usually).

This is like saying that gun control laws should apply to lighters. I mean,
they both are made of metal, they are both manufactured by humans, and they
both make fire right? Same thing!

~~~
Splines
It's not so simple. I have several "interactive book" applications on my
iPhone. These have book-like elements (there is a story that can be read), but
there are many other application-like elements to it also (you can touch
things to hear noises, there are supplementary puzzles and coloring pages, the
book can read to you, and I bought it on the app store). Where do these fall?

Clearly my application is not just a collection of html and js. But at what
point do you stop calling something an application and call it an ebook? Is a
binary wrapper around the ebook enough to make it an application?

~~~
larrik
I'd call that an app that is ebook-like in some ways. Maybe if they made it a
platform that third parties can make content for that drops into the app
_without further programming_ , then those files may possibly be considered
ebooks. Probably still not, though.

------
jknupp
Because "everything digital" != "everything else digital". That argument is a
very slippery slope, considering it can be applied both beneficially and
harmfully (for whatever your definitions of "beneficial" and "harmful" are).

~~~
kevhsu
slippery slope arguments are a fallacy :)

------
ommunist
What's more interesting - can I legit share my private collection of ebooks I
paid for? If physical libraries can - why cannot I run a small digital one.
With no ads served.

~~~
travisp
Libraries do not pay the same prices as individuals. In fact, they pay higher
prices for ebooks for the license to lend them out. If you wish to enter into
such an agreement with publishers as well there's nothing stopping you.

~~~
ommunist
This one is wicked. Lincolnshire public library lends self-destroying books.
[http://www.guardian.co.uk/government-computing-
network/2011/...](http://www.guardian.co.uk/government-computing-
network/2011/apr/14/public-library-ebook-service-grows-cilip-lincolnshire)

------
bitwize
Used software cannot be sold in the Banana Republic of the USA.

------
jbert
Or, if used physical books can be sold, why not used eBooks?

~~~
incongruity
Well, the obvious answer to that is the DRM and license attached to the ebook
– which is exactly what makes the ruling in Germany so interesting, of course.

~~~
holri
It is a European courts ruling not a German one.

~~~
incongruity
Thanks for the correction – I had thought the geographical location of the
court was Germany, hence my phrasing, but in going to double check it, it was
a Germany company but the court was in Luxembourg... and yes, it was a EU
court, I'm sorry if my statement seemed misleading/confused.

------
Kilimanjaro
If it benefits BigCorps and BigWigs then that's the right answer.

If it benefits the people, then that's the true answer.

