Does anyone have Alain's marketing CD that they no longer want and are willing to part with? I would like to read up on some of his ideas for marketing your work.
How ethical is that? If ethical, would it then be ok for me to make 50 copies, and sell them at $50 each? How about if I buy one of your photos, copy it and then sell it 50 times for half what I paid?
If the info's worth having, it's worth paying him what he asks. I will tell you for free that one of the things he stresses is to never reduce the value of your work by selling it for less, just to make a sale.
Why don't you rethink this a little, it's not the same as buying a used book.
Sorry, William. It's exactly like buying a used book. If someone owns a single personal copy, and then wants to sell it, that's about as correct as it gets. Doing the 50 copies thing is wrong.
My son sells gameboy software on Ebay after he no longer wants to play the game anymore. Is that wrong. I can sell an old version of photoshop if I want, or a copy of my old photographers market.
No offense, but I wouldn't want to pay some of Alain's prices, and I'd sure as heck look to buy a secondhand copy myself. If some people want to pay full price for his work, great for him; same goes for me. Not everyone will afford my consulting or workshops either, and that doesn't mean I'm going to lower my prices either. If someone wants one of my books, they can either go buy brand new from me at full price, or they can go on amazon and buy a used copy cheaper. Why should Alain or I lose an instant of sleep over that? It's part of the free market. It's 100% ethical. And frankly, if I owned a copy I was no longer using or had read through several times over, I'd have no qualms about selling my copy. Really, are you saying someone couldn't or shouldn't sell that same CD at a garage sale for $1.00 if someone so chooses? Do you think it would be ethical of me to tell someone that paid full price for one of my prints or murals couldn't sell it for $2.50 at that same garage sale, if that's what they choose to do?
There's a HUGE difference between selling a single personal copy that you bought of something (legal) and making copies of someone else's creative work soley so you can profit off their copyrighted material. (Illegal) I'm actually somewhat surprised you'd compare the two as being equally unethical. The former stands on firm legal ethical ground, while the latter has you already sliding 50 feet down that slippery slope tumbling end over end.
I haven't run into this situation before but my feeling is that photographers who purchase my tutorial CDs want to hold on to them. These tutorials represent an investment and I don't think you will find many photographers, if any, willing to sell them for less than they paid for them.
Furthermore, as William mentioned, selling them for a lower price goes against the marketing approach that I recommend.
I also plan to offer an upgrade path for the original CD owners when I release the next marketing CD (which will be a DVD in fact). Another reason to hold on to them :-)
If this helps I am just about to announce a special offer on my tutorial CD's as part of my "Ten Years in Business" celebration. It should be available this weekend.
Relax William, I never asked for a copy or burned edition, I am willing to pay as long as someone is willing to part with what they previously purchased.
Like all wise shoppers I am shopping around for the best possible price. If it is used and no longer wanted where is the fault in purchasing? Perhaps you have sold used equipment before?
I would agree that there is value in his marketing ideas, that is why I am looking for one, I am not attempting to undermine the system, just being a wise and ethical consumer.
Actually; just to go on record here: I took a look at the CD price Alain has on his site, and in reality, the Marketing CD is pretty fairly priced. Maybe $69.95 might be a better price point, but that's neither here nor there. Personally, I'd still look to see if I could find a used copy in the $45.00 range first. Again, that's what good consumers do. Failing to find a used copy, the ethical option would be to purchase the retail copy or go without. I'm sure no one here would ever consider asking anyone to burn an illegal copy.
Discussion
7 repliesIf the info's worth having, it's worth paying him what he asks. I will tell you for free that one of the things he stresses is to never reduce the value of your work by selling it for less, just to make a sale.
Why don't you rethink this a little, it's not the same as buying a used book.
My son sells gameboy software on Ebay after he no longer wants to play the game anymore. Is that wrong. I can sell an old version of photoshop if I want, or a copy of my old photographers market.
No offense, but I wouldn't want to pay some of Alain's prices, and I'd sure as heck look to buy a secondhand copy myself. If some people want to pay full price for his work, great for him; same goes for me. Not everyone will afford my consulting or workshops either, and that doesn't mean I'm going to lower my prices either. If someone wants one of my books, they can either go buy brand new from me at full price, or they can go on amazon and buy a used copy cheaper. Why should Alain or I lose an instant of sleep over that? It's part of the free market. It's 100% ethical. And frankly, if I owned a copy I was no longer using or had read through several times over, I'd have no qualms about selling my copy. Really, are you saying someone couldn't or shouldn't sell that same CD at a garage sale for $1.00 if someone so chooses? Do you think it would be ethical of me to tell someone that paid full price for one of my prints or murals couldn't sell it for $2.50 at that same garage sale, if that's what they choose to do?
There's a HUGE difference between selling a single personal copy that you bought of something (legal) and making copies of someone else's creative work soley so you can profit off their copyrighted material. (Illegal) I'm actually somewhat surprised you'd compare the two as being equally unethical. The former stands on firm legal ethical ground, while the latter has you already sliding 50 feet down that slippery slope tumbling end over end.
So sorry, but, "Sheesh!"
Furthermore, as William mentioned, selling them for a lower price goes against the marketing approach that I recommend.
I also plan to offer an upgrade path for the original CD owners when I release the next marketing CD (which will be a DVD in fact). Another reason to hold on to them :-)
If this helps I am just about to announce a special offer on my tutorial CD's as part of my "Ten Years in Business" celebration. It should be available this weekend.
Like all wise shoppers I am shopping around for the best possible price. If it is used and no longer wanted where is the fault in purchasing? Perhaps you have sold used equipment before?
I would agree that there is value in his marketing ideas, that is why I am looking for one, I am not attempting to undermine the system, just being a wise and ethical consumer.
Daniel
I'm planning to sell may photography-related books I no longer use too.
http://beautiful-landscape.com/Thoughts61.html
The essay is titled "Marketing Photographs: The importance of Marketing your work."