Oh, this is hardly headline news, it’s not like he stares in wonder at the printed word. He's purchased books before. In fact, we've bought so many books over the years that we've adopted a rule: to keep one, you have to toss one. It’s my rule, too. There’s just no room in the house, otherwise.
Which is one reason I love e-books. I have over a hundred of them in my happy little Kindle and it’s far from filled. Electronic paragraphs take up so little room, it’s just wonderful.
So when Glynn wanted to buy a new chunk of non-fiction – it’s Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment, and it’s written by Anita Elberse – I really hoped he’d download the thing. He kind of shrugged in a sheepish fashion and told me, not this time. “The Kindle version is $14.99,” he said.
“So you really must want it.” Maybe we’re cheap, or maybe we’re simply not-rich, but I rarely spend more than $5.99 on a download. Glynn usually tops out at about the same price. It's one reason we like self-published books. They usually top out at about that price, too.
“I really do want it,” he admitted. “Which is why I bought the thirty dollar hardcover, instead.” Before I could say anything, he added, “For less than seven dollars.”
At that price, it was a great deal. Still, I reminded him, “Once you add in shipping –“
“The seven dollar price includes shipping.”
I believe my mate thought he was telling the truth but I was positive he was somehow mistaken. He wasn’t. So then I decided that the seller functioned out of some Bizarro Universe where “new” meant “terribly worn and awful” and, maybe, “smells of animal droppings” so I fell quiet. And waited for the other shoe to drop.
When Glynn received the volume yesterday, the pages had a little black stab of color at the bottom, indicating this was a remaindered book. Otherwise, Blockbusters looked as if he’d just picked it up at the local bookstore.
This is bad news for the local bookstore. It is bad news for the Anne Glynn team, as well, as our stories were already competing against free e-books, cheap e-books, Kindle Unlimited e-books, and e-books written by people more famous than we are. (At present, almost everyone is more famous than we are. Including you.) I had no idea we were battling the forces of discounted physical copies, too.
The good news? Glynn is enjoying the book so much, he's planning to replace one of his old favorites. Well done, Anita Elberse.
Which is one reason I love e-books. I have over a hundred of them in my happy little Kindle and it’s far from filled. Electronic paragraphs take up so little room, it’s just wonderful.
So when Glynn wanted to buy a new chunk of non-fiction – it’s Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment, and it’s written by Anita Elberse – I really hoped he’d download the thing. He kind of shrugged in a sheepish fashion and told me, not this time. “The Kindle version is $14.99,” he said.
“So you really must want it.” Maybe we’re cheap, or maybe we’re simply not-rich, but I rarely spend more than $5.99 on a download. Glynn usually tops out at about the same price. It's one reason we like self-published books. They usually top out at about that price, too.
“I really do want it,” he admitted. “Which is why I bought the thirty dollar hardcover, instead.” Before I could say anything, he added, “For less than seven dollars.”
At that price, it was a great deal. Still, I reminded him, “Once you add in shipping –“
“The seven dollar price includes shipping.”
I believe my mate thought he was telling the truth but I was positive he was somehow mistaken. He wasn’t. So then I decided that the seller functioned out of some Bizarro Universe where “new” meant “terribly worn and awful” and, maybe, “smells of animal droppings” so I fell quiet. And waited for the other shoe to drop.
When Glynn received the volume yesterday, the pages had a little black stab of color at the bottom, indicating this was a remaindered book. Otherwise, Blockbusters looked as if he’d just picked it up at the local bookstore.
This is bad news for the local bookstore. It is bad news for the Anne Glynn team, as well, as our stories were already competing against free e-books, cheap e-books, Kindle Unlimited e-books, and e-books written by people more famous than we are. (At present, almost everyone is more famous than we are. Including you.) I had no idea we were battling the forces of discounted physical copies, too.
The good news? Glynn is enjoying the book so much, he's planning to replace one of his old favorites. Well done, Anita Elberse.
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