How on earth can you compare digital vs hard copy books? Do they even have the same value?
I must admit that I took the inspiration for comparing NFT's and books from watching a TV series called "Flog It". Those of you based in the UK have surely seen it.
And I must admit that there were more parallels between NFTs and Books than I had realised.
Fiscal Values
NFT's : Beeple's 'The First 5,000 Days' sold for a record $69.3 million on March 11, 2021. It was the first piece of purely NFT artwork to be offered by a major auction house.
Books : 'The Codex Leicester', by Leonardo da Vinci is the most famous of da Vinci’s scientific journals. It contains the great thinker’s handwritten musings and theories on everything from fossils to the movement of water to what makes the moon glow. It was purchased in 1994 by Bill Gates for $30.8 million.
So, yes, they do both have massive fiscal value.
But what about other values that you can't put a price on.
These are the feelings, history, pride, beauty, comfort, the smell of the pages, the physical feel, of the books. Seeing the original artwork and not worrying about resolution, screen glare, or contrast settings.
The Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford is one of the oldest libraries in Europe with over 13 million printed items. You could put all of these onto a USB stick. But nothing beats the feeling of intimacy, peace, and quiet of being in a library. Selecting the books about the topics you are interested in researching or reading about. Touching them, feeling them, knowing they are hundreds of years old. You can't put a price on experiences like these.
Even owning a signed first edition from your favourite author. You know that the author has touched the book. Spoken to you and written your name in it. Given you a memory to cherish.
So, what now for NFTs?
Well, they can be prized and valued like books. They can have unique content that is available to only the owners, much like a signed first edition of a book. They can have a history to them. They can tell a tale.
I would suspect that the majority of NFT's will eventually be traded on an auction or exchange platform - similar to the way second hand mass published books are traded in bookshops. But rarer NFT's could be sold on auction sites or prestige sites - a bit like antique book dealers who are waiting for that "right" customer to come and purchase that rare first edition book.
However, just like with antiques, the selling price is only worth as much as the buyer is prepared to pay.
NFT's are still new. You could buy quite a lot of "first editions" and hope that they increase in value over the years. Or you could just find that the NFT's you have bought are not wanted or "trendy" in 10 years time and are worthless. It is still early days... but so was Bitcoin 10 years ago and look where it is now.
Note : All of my articles are my own and relate to my own personal experience. Investing is always at your own risk.
