Then perhaps if the bread manufacturers were to adopt that pricing tactic, based on the supposed “infinite” number of slices, more people would eat more rice.  (Believe, me!  As the daughter of a grocery retailer, I know that people quit buying pretty basic items, at least initially, when the price jumps too high too suddenly. Some keep buying, but they complain loudly.)

I don’t buy that “potentially infinite” argument, unless the publishers can convincingly demonstrate that the number of users has a direct and significant affect on the cost of production.

The rice growers in Southeast Texas and Southwestern Louisiana would be smiling and sitting pretty for a while in that scenario.

I wonder if there is a publishing equivalent to rice.

Sarah Tusa, Associate Professor

Coordinator of Collection Development & Acquisitions

Mary & John Gray Library, Lamar University

PO Box 10021

Beaumont, TX  77710-0021

Ph:   409/880-8125

Fax: 409/880-8225

From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum [mailto:SERIALST@list.uvm.edu] On Behalf Of Rick Anderson
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 10:51 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Just a thought . . .

>  This thought just occurred to me:  It’s a good thing that bread
>  manufacturers don’t charge by the number of full-time-equivalent
>  members of a household, or by the number of “potential users.”

They would charge that way if selling a loaf of bread actually meant giving out a potentially infinite number of slices to everyone in the bread-buyer’s household, as well as every guest.

--
Rick Anderson
Assoc. Dir. for Scholarly Resources & Collections
Marriott Library
Univ. of Utah
rick.anderson@utah.edu
(801) 721-1687