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David As a longtime writer, who has written in a variety of formats, I thought I would express some observations on the irrational habits of readers. This issue was sort of brought up by the earlier mentioned discrepancy in a ’02 Absolute Hank Greenberg autograph versus a normal Greenberg signed index card or even photo— where an incredible premium was placed on an the item because it was ‘officially’ issued.
Human beings live in an environment much of which is beyond their comprehension. They use conceits to interpret and give apparent order the environment. A conceit is a metaphor, figurative statement, or contrived set of rules used to try to explain the way things are or the way things are supposed to be to be. Conceits vary from profound to simple. Examples include:
You shouldn’t drink wine out of a coffee cup
Boys should wear blue, girls wear blue
A reproduction is inherently worth less than the original
When a man greats another man, they should shake hands
A trading card should be worth more than an otherwise identical booklet
A gothic novel or movie should include a gloomy mansion or castle and stormy weather.
A painting should be framed and hung from a wall
One only has to go out to a busy street and watch all the conceits of fashion, including how you react to someone based on his or her haircut or shoes (‘Damn hippie,’ ‘Must be a Republican,’ ‘Honey, hide your purse’).
I have found similar conceits in peoples buying habits of information (Don’t try and tell me people don’t judge a book by its cover). As you may or may not have known, I issued an free email newsletter for over two years, covering a variety of subjects. It had always been a struggle to get any support for it, whether financial or written donation. In the end, I had a survey and readers voted that should discontinue the newsletter (which is not a sore spot, as the newsletter had been running on gas and I was tired of writing it).
Interestingly, I had slated for the newsletter an extended article called ‘News Service Photographs,’ which would have accounted the ins and outs of the subject. As the newsletter was discontinued and I didn’t have any other way to distribute the information, I printed it up as a little booklet, with pictures but little production value. I put a few up on eBay and offered it for sale in other avenues. To make the story short, in about a week I made more money on this booklet, than I had made in 2-1/2 years of trying to get donations newsletter (which ‘News Service Photographs’ would have been a free part of!).
As with most people, I would rather have a book version than a website, a pretty cover design than plain— but I found it interesting that, in this case, people would rather pay for information than receive it for free-- just because of their preconceived notions concerning how information should be presented.
I have long been aware of the not always rational conceits of the reading public, but thought that some on the board would find this case interesting.