On the list of illegally downloaded e-books, that is.
Here’s the Washington Post with the story, and here’s the N.Y. Times.
The underlying study claims that more than 9 million copies of books were illegally downloaded last year.
Freakonomics a Chart-Topper
and 
. You can also watch it on 
You probably feel ripped off, but look at it from the consumers perspective:
- Many people may not be willing or able to buy the book at your publishers price point.
- The cost to create a digital copy is nearly zero, yet your publisher & the distributor charge a hefty fee for the ebook format. The price for legal downloads of other digital content is closer to 1 dollar.
- Ebooks are encumbered with drm which limits how the buyer can view the content, what devices it can be loaded onto and whether it can be shared or backed up. An illegally download ebook can be viewed/read on nearly any digital device and can be copied when a user upgrades their hardware.
Perhaps you could convert some of those illegal downloads into electronic sales if you lowered your price and opened up the format. This strategy seems to be working well for apple.
I’m surprised you give top billing to the post, given that you work for the times. Conservative bias much?
I agree with Mike B. I would appreciate some good analysis on the topic. For example: of those 9 million people who downloaded the book, how many would pay for it, if it wasn’t available for free downloading?
If I already own a physical copy of a book, and want an electronic copy for my reader, as a convenience, I certainly don’t want to buy the book a second time.
Congratulations, Freakonomics just learned that Price = Marginal Cost.
What does the author make from the sale of a hardcover book? I’ve seen estimates in the range of $2.00
Sounds like there is some room in the market for $3.00 or $4.00 downloads.
$10.00 doesn’t strike people as an attractive price when the hardcover can be found for $2.00-$3.00 more. The hardcover is transferable and available for resale. Just giving the once read hardcover to a colleague would generate $2-$3 of goodwill.
I make use of my public library. I didn’t pay to read Freakonomics, and I won’t pay to read Super Freakonmics. It’s not that I’m opposed to paying for good books; it’s that I’m opposed to paying for something I can get for free.
Actually, if the economic reality of my life were different, I’d have a hardbound copy to keep on my shelf.
If you have ever been to Barnes & Noble .. they let you stay there and read for as along as you want.
I actually read Freakonomics on my my lunch break in 4 days. Is that Pirating ?
That lead me to buy the Book & Audiobook of Freak. The Book & Audiobook of Superfreak.. It also got me into Malcolm Gladwell books
I Guess my Piracy has really Cost me a Lot of Money
Based on the numbers in the study, Freakonomics is certainly not a chart-topper. Also, I am not sure about the US, but my country generates no illegal downloads at all, because downloading audiovisual files (music, movies, books…) is 100% legal. Atl least the study specifically says that projected total retail value is not equal to total financial loss.