Fate of Books

Printed Books vs E-Books

This poster from Newsweek summarizes the printed book versus the e-book debate. There are some really interesting stats in the graphic like:
1. Book authors, on an average, get $3.90 per sale of every printed book while the author royalty amount is $2.12 in the case of e-book downloads.
2. Average production cost for a $26 printed hardcover is $4.05 while the average cost for $9.99 e-book is around 50¢.
3. When people buy an e-reader like the Kindle or the Nooks, only 15% of them will actually stop purchasing printed books.

Source: http://www.labnol.org/home/ebooks-vs-print-books/14344/

REACTION

Let's see the hands of those who have personal computers, laptops, iPad, iPad2, iPhone, iPod touch, Kindle, or Nook. I expect most of us have raised our hands because these gadgets are not new to us. It's actually in mainstream since these gadgets are really helpful in our daily living. Another thing which link these gadgets with each other is E-book or the Electronic book that can be read digitally on computers, laptops, or other devices called ebook readers. 

E-books are now popular because of many reasons. One of these reasons is because the cost per download is lesser compared to the cost when one buys a printed book. There is lesser cost in production in e-book since it is all digital unlike when you produce printed books wherein there are costs for printing and other materials needed. Another reason is e-books are more portable compared to regular books. One can store 20 or more e-books in an ebook reader depending on the memory storage. Now that can't be compared with printed books. It will be a burden to carry around many printed books, right? Furthermore, e-books are more readily available than printed books. One can download any e-book available if there is an internet connection. One is not needed to go to a bookstore to buy a book. 

In another perspective, I think printed books are also good since the average royalty an author gets per book is $3.90 compared to $2.12 per download. I think the author who put his mind, time, effort, and passion just to give us-consumers/readers- the leisure and knowledge deserves to have a higher royalty. Another thing is the Publisher Sales Total is higher in printed books than that of the electronic books. Moreover, it is said that only 15% of consumers stop purchasing print books once they own ebook readers. Thus, it does not guarantee that when one buys an ebook reader he will only access to e-books and stop purchasing printed books.

We may consider e-book and printed books as substitute goods since the increase in demand of one good leads to the decrease in demand of the second good. But for the case of e-book and printed books, it is part of a bigger economy, thus I can say that it will be a lot harder for me to predict how the market will change. So, what then is the verdict? What's better? Printed books or E-books? I think the decision lies on the consumer/reader if what he thinks is more convenient for him. It all depends on the behavior of the consumer. It depends on his income, how much money he is willing to spend for a book, and his preferences.