Wow, so this is new. Recently, I’ve been confronted with the option to pay between $2 and $5 less for actual physical books than their ebook versions. And it’s not just books, either. It’s true of CDs as well. And, wow, I’m surprised at how hard the choice is.
Not for CDs. That’s easy. I get the option of ripping the mp3s and having a hard copy with pretty pictures. I’ll take the CD, thanks.
But the book! Oh, man, I feel like such an anti-hipster asshole saying this. But, here we go. I really love reading on my e-readers at night for one ridiculously lazy reason. I don’t have to get out of bed to turn out the lights. I know right? Yeah. I know.
But it’s true.
So, here I am trying to decide–do I buy this lovely hardback book for $5 less than the e-book? Or do I get the e-book because I’m more likely to actually read it due to the fact that I do 99% of my reading in bed before going to sleep and…I don’t have to get out of bed and turn out the light? Or roll over to the other side of the bed, reach really far, and turn off the bedside lamp?
Holy crap! I’m lazy!
So, I guess I’ll get the hardcover. But, wow, I actually had to think about it.
What do you all think is behind this new movement of pricing the physical objects (CDs, books) lower than the e-book? Do you choose the physical or e-book version when presented with this choice?
