Can you resell e-books?

[yvonne]

I assume you cannot, but, on the off chance...... Can you resell e-books, once you're done using them and will delete them from your computer?

I was looking at the downloadable Evan Moor books. They cost the same as the printed books, but I could definitely resell the printed book when we finished with it.

yvonne

[Kathleen in VA]

I belong to a self-publishing yahoo group and this question comes up often. It is wrong, unethical, to resell ebooks - even if you delete them from your computer.

[yvonne]

That's what I figured. It seems odd that, given that it is exactly the same product, the rules are different for an electronic format vs printed format.

Why would anyone buy a book in electronic format if they could purchase it in hard copy?

[Kathleen in VA]

1. The convenience of getting it right away without waiting for it to arrive by snail mail.

2. Not having to pay postage.

3. Being able to print out pages - all or just a few - as you need them. More copies if you have more children.

4. Some are internet linked and all you have to do is click on the link and not have to type the link into your web browser.

I find that *most* ebooks costs less than tree books; not sure why Evan Moor's cost the same.

[Jennay]

Teacher Created Resources ebooks are also the same price as their printed version. I bought a couple lit guides in ebook format because I procrastinated buying them in book format. What a mistake. I used them for a co-op class and probably won't ever use them again and can't sell them.

[Mamabegood]

Why is it wrong and unethical to resell ebooks that you delete from your computer? I don't sell treebooks OR ebooks myself, but I'm curious. :bigear:

[Renai]

1. I find that *most* ebooks costs less than tree books; not sure why Evan Moor's cost the same.

I never understood why EM's ebooks cost the same either; especially since the paper books have that nice full-color, double-sided poster in them, whereas the ebooks do not :confused:.

Renai

[laylamcb]

...I've seen Lively Latin for sale here before it was available on CD or in hard copy. In other words, LL had been downloaded and printed out and hole-punched or bound. Isn't that an ebook? So was that wrong and unethical to sell? I have to admit that it FELT wrong to me when I saw that it was being sold, but I really couldn't put my finger on WHY it was wrong. It had been purchased, after all, just as a treebook would have been....

Thank you!

Layla McB

[Sue G in PA]

I'm curious as to why it is wrong. If I have this on my computer, have NOT printed it out as a hard copy and DELETE it after selling...why is it prohibited...unless the book itself prohibits copying or selling (some are like that). Somebody on a Yahoo group I'm part of just gave away a bunch of e-books and then deleted them from her computer. She only gave away one copy of each. Is that wrong? Anyway, I'm not looking to sell e-books, I'd probably give them away, but I'm curious as to why it would be wrong.

[Kimber]

I assume that the publishers sell them at the same price as the tree books because they assume that ebooks are purchased so that they can be used for multiple children.

To sell one ebook for 2 children to use is not as profitable as 2 books for 2 children. The parents still come out ahead they don't have to purchase two books, and the publisher still has a chance to make profit for 2 books.

[Kimber]

I assume you can't. I don't know for sure. It just doesn't feel right.

Anyway, ebooks purchased at Currclick have watermarkings of the original purchaser on them. They can be traced back to the source of the copying. So if it's illegal it can be traced. But they are the only ones that I know that have the markings per book.

And btw I was just adding what little I know to the conversation. Please don't take it as a warning. You are obviously concerned about doing what's right. I just don't know what the answer is.