25 May
2005
25 May
'05
3:36 p.m.
From: <shoppa_classiccmp at trailing-edge.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 5:08 PM
I'm sure Herb Johnson will pipe in and possibly agree with part of what I
say:
Many collectors want original manuals and will pay big $ for some, while
this doesn't apply to the guy selling a photo copy it still drives up prices
in general.
Many people want printouts that they can hold in their hands and don't have
a cheap way of getting decent printouts, inkjet printing is both expensive
and is not as durable as laser/photo copies.
Many people are unaware of the PDF's.
Many people still use dial-up accounts and would rather pay someone to snail
mail them docs.
Many PDF's are harder to read than photo-copies (I always try to proof mine
after scanning).
Many purchases are spur of the moment without even loopking for free copies.
Randy
www.s100-manuals.com
> its really
driving up the price of stuff unnecessarily.
Al replied:
This (dkdkk, ed sharpe, sassyscottie, et al.) has
started to
scan. [...] It makes me fee really great to be giving this stuff
away too, after having paid through the nose for it.
Well, I can testify that I appreciate it being available for free.
I have to wonder: is the availability for so much old documentation for
free:
1. Driving down E-bay prices for documentation because so many similar
things are available for free?
2. Driving up E-bay prices for documentation because so many are
"hooked" into the hobby by the bitsavers archive?
3. Driving up E-bay prices for physical items because appropriate
documentation is available for free at bitsavers?
It's one thing to be a small player in the market, it's another to
try to figure out what your big moves do to the market!
Tim.