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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
It seems the number of price/buy decision policies is equal to the number of active Kindle users, give or take 7 maybe. My personal decisions are constrained by a set reading allowance I self impose to avoid spending excessively. I know some have no such constraint due to a lifetime of fiscal responsibility and perhaps less familial obligations while others have no such constraint due to a lifetime of slavery to debt.

I don't buy hardback books as new releases. There is no author so great that I can't wait on the paperback to read their work. I rarely buy new paperbacks although in a few cases I will make that splurge. There are far too many good authors who have left a lifetime of work to us through the last two centuries. I can wait a few more weeks or months and buy a used paperback of a fairly current work. In the meantime I can read used paperbacks of prior works and never lack for things to read.

It generally works out to about a 1/3.5/7 ratio with new hardbacks at $27.95, new paperbacks at $7.99 and used paperbacks at $4. Of course a lot of used paperbacks are less since it's only recently that new has risen to $7.99. With careful shopping that one new hardback book is worth 10 used paperbacks to me.

All that said, that leads to my Kindle buying which somewhat mirrors paper. If a Kindle book is no more than a used paperback at $3.99 or less, and the sample appeals, I'll buy it. If it is $4 to $7.99 with a very appealing sample and not something I'd likely find in a used paperback shop I'll buy it. If it's $8 or more there has to be a significant reason to buy it to spend that much. The WW2 reading challenge, with so many books at $9.xx, comes to mind as an exception creator. Well, enough on pricing and back to reading.
 

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I've mentioned this elsewhere, but I feel it begs repeating. Since I have a pretty good job and a pretty good amount of money, I don't judge the worth of anything in monetary values.

I paid a total of $37.00 for my copies of Scott Sigler's Contagious. 27ish for the signed hardcover, 9.99 for the Kindle version. I enjoy it, and I enjoy the memory of meeting the author and having him sign the book, so was having two copies of the same book for nearly 40 dollars worth it to me? Definitely!

I'm reminded of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the book by Roald Daul. There's a quote by Grandpa Joe, and I'm paraphrasing here "Money is nothing special, they print more of it every day.".
 

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Discussion Starter · #3 ·
Certainly a special situation of meeting an author etc. would affect ones decision differently than other circumstances. Also, you sound like you fall into the fiscally responsible and able category which also allows such choices. We're dealing with around $65k of hurricane damage with agonizingly slow insurance disbursements so my prior circumstances similar to yours are somewhat askew for a while. Even when order is returned I won't change my general system I don't think but it's only definitely correct for me.
 

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One's situation certainly does change one's perspective of how valuable money is. And you're right, I am somewhat fiscally responsible, I always pay my bills and I'm paying off old credit card debt, so all of those factors do play in when I think about buying new books. Generally though, I'm more likely to put off a purchase until later when I have the money, rather than waiting for the price to drop or whatnot. Granted I've only bought 3 or 4 books for the Kindle for the price of 9.99, and none for more than that. So I suppose I'm speaking theoretically anyway.

I'm sorry to hear about your circumstances, I can't imagine how tough that must be.
 

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I'm in the situation where I'll pay what I want for a book I really want.  Some of my books I purchase are technical and they cost $50 and up in the DTB version so I'm not adverse to paying more then $9.99 for a book if I need it or want it. That said I purchase a gift certificate once a month and that is my book money for the month.  If I buy a lot of expensive books then I don't get as many in a month.  When the gift certificate is gone then so is my book buying.  The only exception to that is if I get certificates as gifts, then I'll have more money to spend in a month or I can carry it over.  So the long answer is I buy what I want, the short answer is it has to hit in my budget or I'll have to wait until the next month.  I really love the samples, since that lets me see if a book is worth buying.  If i'm out of money and I find a good book I want then I keep the sample on my Kindle until I do have money again.

I understand your situation and living where I do I hope I never had to deal with the pain and lose you are going through.
 

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Discussion Starter · #6 ·
It could be a lot worse. Nobody was injured and none of our pictures were damaged and everything else is just bricks, sticks and stuff. The house is 15 years old so it was due for a refreshing. I get a new 30 yr roof and my wife gets all the hardwood floors she was wanting. It's just briefly tough because the insurance pays the depreciated amount up front and reimburses the balance of cost new after paid invoices are submitted so between that and helping daughters some it's eaten up most of my book money. We're far more fortunate than many. It happens about once every 25 years or so where we live so odds are I'll only face it once more and by then be old enough to really not care.
 

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I know when I first got my Kindle I kind of went on a buying spree because it was so easy to get new books. Since then I have gotten gift certificates/coupons that I have used. When it's gone I don't buy anything else until I get another. I have started using my amazon visa more for my usual purchases (gas groceries etc- and pay the bill every month) so I can get more certificates that way. I have not yet bought a book over $10 at this point but I would if it was something I really wanted to read. There are so many free books out there I have not read that it won't be much of a hardship to wait until it's in my budget to get another gift card for myself.

LDB- Thankfully no one was injured- like you said bricks are just bricks. I was lucky and moved here to central florida just after the hurricanes of '04. I know I didn't really realize how bad it can be until you see the damage hurricanes can cause.

Lynn L
 

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I've never been a hardbound book buyer for fiction. I bought a couple last year, and I have no idea why I did that. I've always been perfectly happy to buy a paperback. The words are the same, it just doesn't look as impressive on my bookshelf. Even when I did buy the hardbounds, I didn't enjoy having heavy, hard books to read (I usually read in bed, and I couldn't read one-handed with a hardbound). The exception is books that only come in hardbound, usually things related to my hobbies.

So, for me, the Kindle probably isn't a big saving for books I buy, but it does work out well for classics and freebies. :)
 

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I have a great book buying situation...

The company my husband works for offers a gift bonus program.  They give him points for every hour he works.  He can cash them in on the gift of his choice. I was thrilled when they started offering Amazon gift cards. A $50 Amazon gift card ends up costing him around $10 in taxes but takes about 4-6 weeks to receive.  So I have to plan accordingly.  His points average out to almost a card and a half a month.  Even though I don't have to be concerned with breaking the budget, I still tend to be pretty selective. I've only drained our balance once and it was the very first month we own our Kindles. 



 

 
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