It’s Time for A Digital Used Book Store on the iPad - Louis Gray
While I like the first part, and Apple’s DRM inside iBooks can make this a possibility, this seems like one of those ideas that sounds much better if you don’t think about it too long.
Let’s say you can give your book to another person by giving Apple their email address Apple ends up selling that book to your recipient for a reduced price, effectively stealing from their own potential profit (30% of the original price) from the sale of the exact same new book.
This scenario basically creates a new “black” market for these books, with people going on eBay to sell their “used” iBook recipient slots. Neither Apple nor the publishers would be pleased.
Lending your books to other people (similar to how the Nook does it) also seems to make sense on first glance, but again neither Barnes & Noble nor the publishers would jump at a widespread model like this (thus the limited lending options on the Nook).
The only redeeming difference I see that could convince publishers that this is a good idea is that there will be a limited amount of these “used” iBooks, so if there are no used copies available, you’ll be forced to buy a new one. But right now people are forced to buy a new iBook anyway, so unless Apple gains enough eBook market share to leverage such a feature for its users, I just don’t see it happening.
What do you guys think?
