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Trying to make sense of it all...
Feb. 16th, 2014 10:07 pmSo I go on Amazon to see if my nearly mint copy of the first (and as far as I can tell, only) edition of Database Security and Integrity is worth anything. I suspect it's not, of course, so the many copies available at $0.01 plus $3.99 shipping do not surprise me at all. What does surprise me is the availability of three new copies starting at $80.44 plus the same shipping charge. The other two new copies are being offered at $85.00 and $167.78 (!).
I do not really understand either model.
I imagine you can make a good living selling books at premium prices, but given that there are so many copies available for essentially $4.00, and that the lion's share of that goes to Amazon and the Post Office, I can't imagine realistically being able to make a living selling books online. But I am beginning to repeat myself.
* * * Xfinity (Comcast) has this ad running on Hulu+ where a smiling customer recalled the bad old days, when one spent $300 per year to watch a very limited selection of movies on cable, whereas now, he's watching something like 50 movies per month for only $99 per month!
I find it interesting that the figures the ad chooses to juxtapose are $300 and $99 (instead of $300 and $1188, if apples are to be compared to apples).
I also find it interesting that the fella pitching the service (a) can find 50 movies per month to watch—I don't think I could maintain that kind of pace, frankly—not to mention that (b) he spends 2-1/2 hours daily watching said movies (averaged over 30 days, assuming the typical movie is 90 minutes long).
* * * Apropos of Comcast, I don't have a link handy, but an article I read today suggests that if the Comcast acquisition of Time-Warner goes through, then revenue lost due to increasing numbers of folks abandoning traditional cable/dish products may just be made up by charging more for Internet services. This position is probably worth a bit more research, if you ask me.
Cheers...
UPDATE: Watching the Xfinity ad one more time, I am now of the opinion that the spokescritter was referring to the days where customers paid an extra $300 per year to watch a handful of movies, on top of whatever they might have been paying for basic service. This really doesn't change much of what I said; if anything, it serves to underscore how confusing the message is, should you actually be paying attention to what is being said.
I do not really understand either model.
I imagine you can make a good living selling books at premium prices, but given that there are so many copies available for essentially $4.00, and that the lion's share of that goes to Amazon and the Post Office, I can't imagine realistically being able to make a living selling books online. But I am beginning to repeat myself.
I find it interesting that the figures the ad chooses to juxtapose are $300 and $99 (instead of $300 and $1188, if apples are to be compared to apples).
I also find it interesting that the fella pitching the service (a) can find 50 movies per month to watch—I don't think I could maintain that kind of pace, frankly—not to mention that (b) he spends 2-1/2 hours daily watching said movies (averaged over 30 days, assuming the typical movie is 90 minutes long).
Cheers...
UPDATE: Watching the Xfinity ad one more time, I am now of the opinion that the spokescritter was referring to the days where customers paid an extra $300 per year to watch a handful of movies, on top of whatever they might have been paying for basic service. This really doesn't change much of what I said; if anything, it serves to underscore how confusing the message is, should you actually be paying attention to what is being said.
