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So, I was on my weekly ramble through Barnes and Noble with my brand new 15$ paycheck in my pocket (DJ's don't get real money... pity me when I realized just how hard it is to buy a book today. I've been dying to read Steven King's Wolves of Calla, but it's something like 40$. Who can honestly afford that for one book?
When I got back home, I noticed the back of my copy of "Persuasion" from 1985, 1.25$. How did book prices jump so much in a few years. I understand that authors need to make a living... but I don't think knowledge should cost so much. Someone please tell me what I missed out on in the world of books?
Posts: 9 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Your point is well-taken, but I assume your copy of Persuasion was a paperback, while Wolves of Calla was hardcover. As I recall, in the mid-eighties, paperbacks generally ran in the $3-$5 range, while hardbacks retailed in the lower $20s. At least, that's how I remember it.
That seems to be about a doubling in price from the mid-eighties to today, so the question is, is this consistent with inflation for that period, or has the price of books become artificially inflated?
::googles::
If this site is to be believed, a dollar in 2002 was worth 60¢ in 1985 money. Thus, $40 today is equivalent to $24 in 1985, which is, in fact, consistent with my memory of prices from back then.
You could make a pretty compelling argument, I think, that the price of books has gone down since the good old days, I think, in light of the fact that there are so many more alternatives today to paying retail. In the mid-eighties, I remember Waldenbooks having a Science Fiction Book Club, but I don't recall if a discount was attached or not. In any case, it would not have lowered the price of a "literature" book like Persuasion. These days, though, most bookstores have some sort of general club that will offer 10% or so off. Barnes & Noble also discounts all hardbacks below list price. In addition, web sites like Amazon typically provide lower prices. My Waldenbooks book club membership provides, in addition to the discount, quarterly $5 gift certificates. Honestly, I only pay retail on rare occasions, usually impulse buys where I have not brought my card to the store. (Or whe I buy books at Virgin Megastore.)
Posts: 1112 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
Actually, printing has become so much cheaper and more widely available that not only have book prices plummeted for large publishers (notice how much Barnes&Noble editions of classics go for), but the volume of books sold has increased exponentially. Where before books were a luxury item for a studious few, today they're marketed at a huge segment of the population. There are book megastores in any town of considerably size. Did all the people of these towns suddenly start reading a lot more? Not neccessarily, but for some reason they started buying more books.
It's a love/hate issue for me. I'm thrilled that books, one of my favorite things in the universe, have become so popular, but I'm sad for the small independent booksellers in my town who are struggling to stay in business because people are shocked that they'd sell something for $35 when Fox Books has it on mega discount for $11.95. I make a point to buy a book at full price from a small independent store rather than going for the 20% off and giving the other 80% to box store executives.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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quote:Actually, printing has become so much cheaper and more widely available that not only have book prices plummeted for large publishers (notice how much Barnes&Noble editions of classics go for), but the volume of books sold has increased exponentially. Where before books were a luxury item for a studious few, today they're marketed at a huge segment of the population.
Can you document this claim, or is it your impression? Because I have specifically read somewhere that book sales are, in fact, lower. I'll look for it if I need to. In any case (heck, I think even OSC talked about it in a column), I seem to have heard that the rise of the megastores was not indicative of the fact that people were reading more, but rather the Wal-Mart effect. There are not more bookstores than there used to be . . . as you noted, the megastores are wiping out smaller stores by the score. Where I used to live in Miami, Dadeland Mall used to have two bookstores. Barnes & Noble and Borders opened stores nearby, and both mall bookstores went out of business. And those bookstores make a lot of their money from non-book items, like Cafe Lattes for the twenty-something singles who use them as pick-up joints.
As far as paying more to support an independent bookdealer . . . I know that B&N and Borders hurt the chances of aspiring writers like me, but I don't have the money to pay three times as much, as in the example you mentioned. *shrug*
Posts: 1112 | Registered: Jan 2003
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Posting to a friend in another country overseas, we talked about the price of books.
Working at a bank here, I was able to compare the price of a book in our American dollars to the cost in his country's currency.
In the comparison about the price of books, it became apparent that a book here (for me) costs me about a hour's wage (or two hours, for hardback) at my current job.
In his country, the same book costs him nearly two full days wages.
It really made me appreciate books in this country.
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when I realized just how hard it is to buy a book today. I've been dying to read Steven King's Wolves of Calla, but it's something like 40$. Who can honestly afford that for one book? 
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