Are books too expensive?

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Nappuccino said:
Some of them mark it up to 36. I'm looking at you, stephen king('s publisher).
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That's insane. The only hardcovers I tend to get new are Jack Reacher novels. The rest I usually get are from the bargain-priced section in B&N. $5-$7 hardcovers and I usually tend to find something I had heard of and wanted to read
 
If you buy the deluxe hardcover version every time, then yeah. Trade paperbacks are pretty moderately priced, I got the first Game of Thrones book a few days ago for $10.
 
John Kowalski said:
A bit, yeah.

That said the whole industry it not exactly a cheap one.
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Wait, what are you talking about? Books are probably one of the cheaper hobbies you can invest in.

E-books are like bomba-level discounts, and if you don't waltz into the local big-chain bookstore (if those even exist anymore), you can buy books online or used at your local mommer-and-poppers.
 
They're pretty appropriately priced. Buying books is for library building. For just reading public libraries exist. Both are great and wonderful.
 
I had buy a $200 book on C++ programming for school. The book was littered with compiler errors in the example code. This is far worse than a typo or math solution error. The book creators didn't even bother to check if the example codes compiled since those errors would have cropped up in the process.
 
I have a Half Price Books outlet store near me where paperbacks are $2 and hardcovers are $3. Cheap movies too. They are actually having a sale today where everything in the store is $1 lol.
 
Two Words said:
I had buy a $200 book on C++ programming for school. The book was littered with compiler errors in the example code. This is far worse than a typo or math solution error. The book creators didn't even bother to check if the example codes compiled since those errors would have cropped up in the process.
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I despise C++ and C. Whoever came up with pointers needs to be forced to watch paint dry for 10 hours.
 
I love Barnes & Noble, but I only buy books from them when I have coupons or there's some kind of good deal going on. Used bookstores or discount book stores (if you can find one) are your best friends.

Used bookstores are a lot more fun anyway since you can find fascinating older books that you'd otherwise never come across. Picked up a book from the 1940's last time I went to one, and it was practically in mint condition.
 
Kieli said:
Wait, what are you talking about? Books are probably one of the cheaper hobbies you can invest in.

E-books are like bomba-level discounts, and if you don't waltz into the local big-chain bookstore (if those even exist anymore), you can buy books online or used at your local mommer-and-poppers.
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Not photobooks and premium comics >_>
 
I have a Kindle and, outside of rare exceptions, only buy eBooks. Lately, I've been using a service called BookBub to see items on sale and I haven't spent more than 2.99 on an eBook in a while.
 
Books should use the same value proposition as video games. War and Peace! 500 hours of reading for 16.99! That's, like, a lot less than a dollar per hour. Compare that to movies!
 
well most books are half a dozen hours of material for ~$10 so it's not expensive at all especially when you look into libraries and used bookstores
 
Kieli said:
If you bought them from the brick-and-mortar, then yes, it will be expensive.

Maybe the horror that is college textbook prices has desensitized me to the cost of even hardcover fiction (which charges a less horrifying, but still hefty, premium).

I'll have no problems dropping $30 - 40 bucks for a 1000 page behemoth because if I can justify $20 for a 2-hour movie night-out, why can't I justify it for the pinnacle of human creative expression?
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Seriously. After having to buy college textbooks, any other book seems so cheap in comparison. I remember the worst one was my instrumental analysis book, which was like $300. I ended up finding a used India version for like $60 though.
 
I buy used or use the library for physical, I am poor and usually get rid of them after for space issues and I read pretty fast.

However as hardcore horror junkie if I had space and money I would actually expect to pay more because some of the small press limited runs of genre work are impressive and worth every penny.
 
Books like anything else can be really cheap or really expensive. If you are a smart shopper you can possibly buy several used books for $10 or you can buy deluxe limited editions from Folio Society for an arm and a leg. I think that if you're frugal they offer the some of the most "bang for your buck" of all the forms of media.

And ebooks can be really inexpensive too. Especially if they're on sale!
 
As others have pointed out, no way. Regular books are comparatively cheap to other forms of entertainment and most importantly it's good to support writers/books you like.

Now college textbooks on the other hand? Significantly over priced.
 
I find the art and photography books to be really expensive. Those books can easily be $100 plus dollars even if they are used. I suppose the justification being that they're glossy prints with beautiful photos
 
Famassu said:
No, they are not. Only selfish assholes who have no appreciation of other people's work think so. New, hardcover or specialty books can be too expensive for poorer people (and for poor people, I can understand not wanting to splurge 20-29$ for a new book), but if we are talking about people who have disposable income, no they are not too expensive.
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This

I have a lot of favorite authors I will buy day 1 no matter the cost
 
I don't think so, at least in Germany. Sure, if you buy a hardcover from a popular author on release, 20€+ is expected. But there are tons of books for 10 to 15€. And classics are dirt cheap.

Edit: Textbooks on the other hand...
 
Were they both hardcovers? Book publishers nowadays release the hardcover version of a book first and then the paperback version months later. It's a scummy way of getting more money for them.

I'd recommend waiting for paperback, buying used, or buying digitally on Amazon. All three can save you a lot of money.
 
Saucycarpdog said:
Were they both hardcovers? Book publishers nowadays release the hardcover version of a book first and then the paperback version months later. It's a scummy way of getting more money for them.
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Uhhh....that's how print has always worked. Besides paperback is usually published under different contracts and rights, usually by a different label if not a completely different house all together.

Traditionally hardcovers were first print for Library's, collectors, avid fans and readers, people who want day one copy's.

Paperback is different market and a lot of hardcovers never get a paperback release, conversely a lot of mass market genre and "summer read" type books only come out in paperback.
 
If anything they're too inexpensive. Considering the amount of time that can go into one... I'd say they should be more! Brought to you by a wistful writer.
 
Books are cheap. Especially once they reach paperback.

Textbooks are highway robbery if you buy them brand new.
 
I always go to a local mom and pop bookstore. They buy back books too so lots of people can purchase new or used books then return them and buy something else. Their pricing is far better than going to barnes and noble or any other big store also.
 
Honestly, books make so little profit, it's a shame. Some small press contracts don't even pay the author until they pay for the printing, which can be 5,000-10,000 bucks, minimum. After that, authors can get anywhere from 15-25 percent of each sale. You gotta sell a lotta books to even start seeing some semblance of a reasonable profit, which is why so many of us try to win publishing contests where they at least pay something upfront.
 
nabe_shogun said:
Seriously. After having to buy college textbooks, any other book seems so cheap in comparison. I remember the worst one was my instrumental analysis book, which was like $300. I ended up finding a used India version for like $60 though.
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I'm so glad Indian editions exist. I saved so much money buying those instead of the normal $150+ versions.
 
orthodoxy1095 said:
No, people just value them too little.

The only thing that's really overpriced is textbooks.
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Even textbooks, though, consider the wordcount, diagrams, and overall complexity of the material compared to a novel or pop entertainment book. Not saying $120 is okay but I can see why textbooks cost ~5-10x what standard novels cost.
 
Textbooks are. Correct me if I'm wrong, the real sad thing is that they are not tax exempt (judging from my Amazon purchases). That's nanny state shit gone wrong. In other countries books are sales and import tax-free
 
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