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Do you like physical or digital products?

by Desmond Ong
14 replies
Hi guys,

I am about to release a couple of new products but I am having a dilemma that has been giving me nothing but worries.

So I'm just wondering would you prefer a physical book (maybe a report-like book) or an eBook?

Let's say the physical book is 80-page long and will cost you $147 inclusive of shipping and handling while the eBook (also 80-page long) will cost you $47.

Also, would prefer to listen to audios and videos on CDs & DVDs OR would you prefer to listen and watch directly in your computer through streaming (or you can download it) ? Let's say the CDs & DVDs will cost you $97 while the audio and video on the internet will cost you $67.

Which type of contents would you prefer?
#digital #physical #products
  • Profile picture of the author Adrian Cooper
    It would need to be some powerful book for $147. I don't see that working.

    I speak from experience publishing both in eBook and paperback formats. Actually people will pay much more for digital products than paper products, because paper products have always been cheap.

    Videos are different. Generally speaking you will make more selling DVD's or CD's than access to videos, but again, the product still needs to be high quality.
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  • Profile picture of the author megaforcetkd
    Personally, I find it easier to purchase and read an eBook simply because of convenience. If need be, these can also be printed.
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  • Profile picture of the author stevenh512
    If there are audios or videos, I'd rather have them on physical media like CDs or DVDs or have the ability to download them. Not everyone has high speed internet, so streaming audio or video isn't always an option for everyone.

    As far as physical books vs. ebooks, why not offer both options? Let the buyer choose whether they want to pay one price for an instant download PDF version of the book, a higher price for a physical copy mailed to them, or perhaps even a slightly higher price than that for the option of doing both. Even if I'm buying something that I know is a physical book, if I have the option to download it and start reading it immediately, I might be willing to pay the extra price so I don't have to wait for it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Desmond Ong
    Hmm....great opinions there guys.

    I was thinking that paperback book will reduce the chances that my contents flying around from people to people for free. I know there are some places like torrents sites where people can download your products which is scary.

    Pricing is just an example because I've not finished develop the products yet.
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  • Profile picture of the author stevenh512
    A physical book might stop some casual copying, but even that won't stop someone who is determined to "share" your product. I've seen many examples over the years of physical books where someone had cut the pages out of their binding, scanned them, and offered the PDF file for download. There's a lot of work involved, so I'm sure depending on your product people might be less likely to pirate it that way, but it can and does happen.
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    • Profile picture of the author Desmond Ong
      Originally Posted by stevenh512 View Post

      A physical book might stop some casual copying, but even that won't stop someone who is determined to "share" your product. I've seen many examples over the years of physical books where someone had cut the pages out of their binding, scanned them, and offered the PDF file for download. There's a lot of work involved, so I'm sure depending on your product people might be less likely to pirate it that way, but it can and does happen.
      True. There are some people who are very "determine" to share stuff for free.

      I also want to know if people love to read paperback books or eBooks. For me, I like reading paperback books because I can read it anywhere, anytime as I don't have a smartphone that can read PDFs yet. (Still waiting for next gen iPhone)
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  • Profile picture of the author Mr McDonald
    I like digital simply for the ease of getting the product delivered quickly.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jackbgd
    digital info product!
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  • Profile picture of the author Anthony Tilley
    I am in the process of doing some direct mailing here in the UK and the option I have chosen is to offer the product at one price for a paper back copy of the book + P&P and a lower price for digital. I think most people will appreciate a product can be produced at a much lower price in digital format and if they are the sort who prefer physical products they will be prepared to pay the extra. However $100 dollar difference as you say at the top might be a bit too much of a difference.

    If you offer both choices you are offering the best possible service to your customers, better to let them make the choice rather than making it for them and in turn excluding a certain % of your potential market.

    Good Luck
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  • Profile picture of the author Desmond Ong
    I was thinking of offering the paperback book upfront and offer the eBook as one of the bonuses. LOL.
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  • Profile picture of the author morry
    I own hundreds of "real" books but the most expensive one I have cost around $100 from memory. And I only bought it (Breakthrough Advertising by Gene Schwarz) because he is a legend and it's out of print.

    I probably wouldn't pay $147 unless I had already bought your stuff or thought you were also a bit of a legend.

    I've sold digital stuff for up to $247, but that involved ebooks, audiobooks, tons of software and reports etc and this wasn't in the make money niche.

    My advice would be to add some extra stuff in there to increase the perceived value, then you'll get more people willing to part with $147.

    Sean
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  • Profile picture of the author Anonymous Affiliate
    Digital, with an upsell for the DVD + audio/video transcripts. But certainly digital as the front-end product. You want the entry product to be as accessible (cheaper price + instant download) as possible in order to get as many customer into your sales funnel as you can.
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    • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
      Let's say the physical book is 80-page long and will cost you $147 inclusive of shipping and handling while the eBook (also 80-page long) will cost you $47.
      That's a ridiculous spread.

      The difference between the physical product and the digital product should normally be $20 or less, unless there are multiple volumes involved.

      Marcia Yudkin
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      Check out Marcia Yudkin's No-Hype Marketing Academy for courses on copywriting, publicity, infomarketing, marketing plans, naming, and branding - not to mention the popular "Marketing for Introverts" course.
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