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Comment by svec | Hacker News Reader

I love Sandi's writing - and how they're giving it away for people who can't afford it:

"Of course we want you to buy it. It's been years of our lives in the making, and we have bills too. However, if you absolutely cannot afford it, we'll make you a deal. Snail-mail us a postcard, and we'll email you a free copy.

A proper postcard, mind you, with a vacation-like scene, and an actual postcard stamp. Hand-drawn postcards are both acceptable and encouraged. The more effort you expend, the better we'll feel about our end of this bargain."

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I love the idea of asking people to show effort (rather than .edu mail address, etc) to get a free copy.

Like another commenter I think $49 is a bit high for a digital book. However, now that I know that they are giving it away for people who can't afford it I don't mind as much. I can afford $49 for this book even if I think it's a little high.

I guess this begs the question: if they dropped the price to $25 would more people be able to afford it and then they wouldn't have to give any away? I wonder what the "correct" balance is there.

$49 for a lifetime software engineering wisdom? You refactor a single class that you never have to revisit again and you've easily paid for this.

I will never understand programmer's cost/benefit analysis..

I have to say it largely depends on the location. I have moved progressively to more and more affluent countries (now in my fourth, the US), and it had radically changed how I view "value", especially money. A good book (and I like Sandy's work) will easily pay for itself now that I can actually afford to buy it and 50 dollars is not such an immediate hit on my bank. Before, 50 dollars is a blood rush. :D

That's assuming that what's in this book is exceptional (which you can't tell without a preview). I didn't think that Practical Object-Oriented Ruby was incredible, though it is a well-written tutorial of basic OO techniques. You could spend less than $49 on a couple good used copies of OO classics, or many more if you visit the right used bookstore. And it's not even a hard copy so it is competing with the wealth of good free information online about OOP. I might pay $99 for a hard copy of this, but no way I'd pay $49 for a PDF.

> I might pay $99 for a hard copy of this, but no way I'd pay $49 for a PDF.

Generally, I like physical books more than electronic ones, and I'd be willing to pay a premium for it. From what you're saying, a PDF of the book would provide you < $49 of benefit, while a hard copy would provide you > $99. In your opinion, what is the difference in value between those? What I mean is, what specifically about the hard copy provides enough benefit that you'd pay over twice as much for it?

IMO, the greatest proportion of value for a book I'd actually buy is in the information it contains and the presentation of that information, rather than the form it's published in. It's not like I don't have several devices that I could use as portable readers, after all.

I don't have a problem with the price dude. Calm down. The main reason why I said that I think it is a little high is that I've already paid for POODR and have listened to countless talks from Sandi.

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