Talk:Strategy for Information Markets/Durable goods

discussion of computer game resale
here TDang (discuss • contribs) 22:38, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

TDang review April 2012
I'm reviewing this version. I'll likely be more critical than complimentary, because (a) that's the way I am and (b) that's what will help improve things. Please don't take the criticism-over-compliments to mean I have a wholly negative view.

Make sure to check the all-purpose review thoughts as well.

TDang (discuss • contribs) 18:54, 29 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Definition of "Durable Goods" and Durable vs. Non Durable--These are trying to get at the same thing. They should be merged, and the section title removed, which will make that section the "introduction" to this page.
 * Tone--There's no need to sell the advantages of durable goods. A sandwich is not a durable good, but I might still prefer one to a pen.
 * "They should be thought of in terms of the course of services provided over time by the good rather than the physical good itself"--This is important, and should continue to be highlighted, perhaps as its own section of the page.
 * "Due to the fact that time is one of the main concerns when dealing with durable goods it is important to use ceteris paribus (keep all other things held constant) when considering the subject matter."--"ceteris paribus" is used throughout economic analysis, so I'm not sure what you're aiming for with this, but maybe remove it from this section and put it back somewhere where it's more clearly being used?
 * Costs--Much of the second paragraph talks about the costs to make goods durable. This is part of the standard analysis of durable goods, but doesn't fit with our focus for information goods. My suggestion would be:
 * Makes "costs" its own section
 * Mention briefly that much durable goods analysis highlights the cost difference to make goods durable.
 * Then go on to point out that this isn't the case (at least not in the same way) for information goods.
 * "An example of a non durable good would be a water bottle."--I reuse water bottles. Perhaps go for something completely non-durable like a food item (also these examples fit better up in the introduction).
 * Current Role of Durable Goods in the Economy--There are two problems with this section:
 * It's very timely, which would be good in a lot of reports, but isn't appropriate for a textbook. We would hope someone could get just as much out of this if they read it 6 years from now.
 * It's not about information goods, but about other kinds of durable goods, so gets away from the focus of this book.
 * So, I expect this section should get pulled out. This does point out an interesting statistical thing, however, which is how "durable goods" are defined in government statistics. You'll need to find the references, but as I recall, most information goods are not formally classified as "durable goods", except for some things like business software. Talking about that would be a good addition.
 * "An even better example of an information durable good is an online website."--A web site is generally not a durable good. If I download it to my computer, it may be a durable good, but if it's on the web site, it's more of a service, the web site owner can remove it at any time.
 * "One important thing to note about durable information goods is that their value may deteriorate, but the information is still durable."--This is something that would be worth elaborating on. For instance, you could look at the depreciation rate for business software. It can technically last for decades, but the typical use is more like 2-5 years (before updating to a new version).
 * Damage of Piracy and Resale in the Video Game Market
 * I provided a link to a Slashdot article, but that's not a good enough reference in itself. It was just a place for inspiration. You need to find better references, which you might be able to get by following links in that Slashdot article (or maybe you'll have to search elsewhere).
 * Software piracy and resale are two different things, which should be treated separately. I'd probably leave piracy off this page entirely, since there's a separate page on piracy.
 * You should address the doctrine of first sale and how it fits with resale (and rental) of copyrighted material.
 * You could talk about DVD rental--because of the state of U.S. law it is note generally legal to rent music recordings but is generally legal to rent video recordings. Thus, the video rental business. When a business like NetFlix rents DVD's, they don't have to get permission from or pay the copyright holders. However, if they stream videos, they do need to negotiate deals with the copyright holders.
 * There are legal issues with whether someone "owns a copy" of a piece of software or merely is "licensed" a copy. Software companies argue that if they license a piece of software, the consumer is not allowed to resell it.
 * The textbook talks a lot about durable goods and resale, including formal models and pictures. While the cost part of the durable goods thing is not so useful to us, the models of resale are.
 * Mention (briefly, since there's another section on it) "software as a service" (SaaS) because that is taking something we're used to thinking of as a durable good which could be re-sold and turning it into a service (which is non-durable and can't be re-sold).
 * Importance of Durable Goods--This section is fuzzy right now, and should be merged into some stuff above.
 * References--The reference to businessweek would be good if the material were more appropriate to the article. The reference to Slashdot needs to be replaced with something better. Otherwise, this page is in desperate need of references.