The E-Book Boom and the Increased Value of the Printed Word

We all know that slowly but surely the way entertainment as a whole is changing to adapt to the information/technology age.

While specialty stores such as Sam Goody and Borders are closing their doors, things like the Kindle and IPads are dominating the market.

The accessibility, wide range of abilities and pure convenience of these devices has made them sought after commodities. While DVDs and CDs wont be going away, their sales have fallen drastically. More recently this has been taking its toll on books and the printed word in general with the emergence of E-Readers.
In a struggling economy, adaptability for these specialty stores is a necessity. Barnes & Noble developed the Nook in at attempt to save what was a dying company by adapting to the demands of the public. Sure the demand for physical books are always going to be there but with that number lower than ever publishers are producing less copies of the books and making them available for download. It’s simply supply and demand. This is a trend that has been adopted by the comic book industry as well. Which might end up being a mixed bag for us collectors.

More and more I have been seeing advertising for E-comics. The big providers like Marvel and Dynamic Comics (DC) are making their comics available for download as well as still being able to purchase the comic itself. This, of course, means less physical printed pieces since the demand has shifted to the digital realm. While this means less copies in circulation for collectors, it also means the value will rise due to their increasingly rare nature. While they may not be worth more now, they will become increasingly coveted and therefore more valuable. Its that way with any first edition of comics/books in general and with fewer and fewer first editions being printed as the technology age booms, collectors should keep their fingers to the pulse of this situation and invest accordingly