I like to get my hands on the cheapest edition I can in the best condition at that price. If the words in the book are the same as a more expensive one, I’m getting a better value, in my opinion. Then if it’s a story that becomes really important to me I might consider upgrading to a “nicer” or collectors version, and keep the old ones as lender books.
Up to $20 for a physical book if it doubles as a cool souvenir to bring home from an overseas trip (so it’s got a nice cover and is sturdy). For ebooks, about $12 if it’s a new release by an author I already really like, but preferably single digits, and low single digits if it’s a new to me author.
I don’t care at all about special editions or signed copies or whatever.
Also, I’m surprised that multiple people in this thread apparently think r/books subscribers have never heard of libraries.