From: "Ted White" <twhite8 at cox.net>
To: "WSFA members" <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: New mass market pb format
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 00:20:19 -0500
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

----- Original Message -----
From: "Keith F. Lynch" <kfl at KeithLynch.net>
To: "WSFA members" <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2004 10:42 PM
Subject: [WSFA] Re: New mass market pb format

> Steve Smith <sgs at aginc.net> wrote:
> > Sigh.  The market is "soft", so they come up with another way of
> > charging more for books.
>
> And of making them so they weigh more, take up more space, and don't
> fit on one's bookshelves.
>
> These must be the same geniuses of marketing who decided that people
> love to listen to fragments of tinny music on the phone whenever
> they're on hold.  Especially if the music begins in the middle and
> is randonly interrupted by an automated claim that your call is very
> important to them.  And who decided that everyone wants to receive
> HTML email, seeing how it's more than twice as long, and almost
> indistinguishable from spam.  Or that people want to see Christmas
> decorations and hear Christmas music in November, to ensure that
> we're all thoroughly bored with it by Thanksgiving.
>
> > Maybe they should work on a way of selling books for less?
>
> Only if they want me to go back to occasionally buying books by
> someone other than my favorite few authors.  Or to buying most of
> my books new, instead of used.
>
> I'm willing to buy about a hundred books a year at $5 each, or about
> a dozen at $8 each, or one or two at $10 each.  It's their choice.

I'm confused, Keith.   I'm confused that you can't tell HTML email from
spam.  Surely the content is different.

And I'm really confused by your math.   You're willing to spend $500 a year
on books -- but only if they are priced at (or below?) $5.00 each.   But if
their price rises to $8.00 each, you're only willing to spend less than
one-fifth that, $96, a year for books.  And should, ghod forbid, the prices
rise to $10.00 each, $20 is your annual maximum for books.   Well,
considering the current $8.00 standard pricetag on mass-market paperbacks,
I guess you're saving over $400 a year, and soon -- maybe in a couple of
years -- you'll be able to save even more!

--Ted White