It’s always tempting to download a free PDF version of a book, especially when you are not quite sure if you will be committed to finishing it. Here are some of the reasons why NOT to do so.
Books are an extraordinary resource for inspiration, learning, imagination, and so much more. It doesn’t matter whether you’re looking for a business, science-fiction, or romance book; just make sure you PAY for it.
The (Non) Zero Price Effect
The zero price effect is a well-known phenomenon in behavioral economics whereby the demand for a good, service, or commodity is significantly greater at a price of exactly zero compared to a price even slightly greater than zero.
Dan Ariely, a behavioral economics professor, demonstrates this phenomenon in his book “Predictably Irrational” with an experiment named The Hershey’s Kiss experiment. He sold students one of two chocolates at a very low-price, a Lindt Truffle (high-quality chocolate) and a Hershey’s Kiss (standard chocolate) — where each student chose the best offer for them:
“We offered students a Lindt Truffle for 26 cents and a Hershey’s Kiss for 1 cent and observed the buying behavior: 40 percent went with the truffle and 40 percent with the Kiss. When we dropped the price of both chocolates by just 1 cent, we observed that suddenly 90 percent of participants opted for the free Kiss, even though the relative price between the two was the same. We concluded that FREE! is indeed a very powerful force.”
The Zero Price Effect drives us to consume things we don’t necessarily need. It makes our decisions easy to make as we wonder “why not? It’s not as if I can lose anything”. That’s exactly the problem of the zero price effect — We are not looking for real value; thus, we are biased and prioritizing based on non-relevant factors. Think about the apps on your phone, how many of them are free? And for how many did you pay for? Now, think about how many of them are valuable to you today (free apps vs. paid apps)?
When you have to pay for something, even 0.99$, the decision becomes much harder, but if you still choose to get it — odds are you really need it and that would give you actual value. Moreover, once you paid for something, you become much more committed to it. It’s a bit like writing down your goals, or telling someone that you’re planning to do something; These actions make us committed to the thing we want to do and increase the odds that we will achieve it.
In conclusion, if we take advantage of the non-zero price effect, we will choose better books for us, and we will be more committed to them.
It Feels Better
Let’s admit it — books are stunning. They’re pretty, colorful, and interesting objects that are always lovely to hold and look at.
When you read a physical book, you get a higher sense of progress. You can see and feel your reading progress in contrast to PDFs which only show you the page number, but you can’t precisely see and feel where you are in the book, how many pages you’ve already read, and how many are left.
This sense of progress makes you mentally invested in that book. Anytime you continue reading, you can feel your progress and by doing so it keeps you motivated to read more. That way, you enhance your reading performance. Also, when you physically have a book, you can put it in a visible place in your room, which will remind you to keep reading it.
When having physical books you are getting some other benefits such as building a nice collection of them, writing stuff in them and taking notes (especially if you’re reading a self-help or business book), and you can borrow or give them as a gift to a friend.
In conclusion, physical books are not only pretty but can also improve your reading performance and encourage you to read more often.
Support The Author
When you buy a book, you show support and appreciation for its author and his (or her) work. Without book sales, authors don’t earn money and run the risk of not being able to continue writing, particularly if they don’t have another source of income. Also, selling books enables authors to write more of them, which results in more books for you to read. It’s a cycle that benefits everyone.
It Is Inexpensive
Books can be a highly powerful tool to learn from and get inspired by. However, the average book will cost you no more than 10–13$, especially if you care about the environment and buy a used one.
To sum things up, when you pay for a book, you will earn a better reading experience, more motivation, and more “you have to read it” conversations. And if it isn’t enough, you will do something good and support your favorite authors and all of this for 9.99$.