The Price of Books These Days...
I warned you...
Not long ago, I stopped at the local B&N with my Dad to check out the new books. Imagine my delight when I saw the new Charles DeLint collection, Tapping the Dream Tree. Imagine my dismay when I checked out the price: $26.95. Ouch.
For years now, I've refused to purchase a hardback book if it's over $20. I've stuck to that rule by picking up discounted copies, used copies, or finding them 30% off at Amazon or BNonline. I've broken that rule twice. Once for American Gods, which was $26.00 at the bookstore where Neil Gaiman was signing it, for that matter, and once for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which was $25.95. Ouch again.
Back before mass-market production and public libraries, books were only for the elite. The common man on the street probably saw books at church and maybe at school, if he went to school. Nowadays, with instant printing and the sheer volume of books published in the United States alone, you'd think they would be cheaper, not more expensive. But no. The price goes up every other year, it seems. Heck, even paperbacks--once fairly cheap at $4.99--now top $7.99 or more.
I can't afford to read anymore. Or, I'll amend that statement; I can't afford to buy new books by my favorite authors anymore. And, having lost the ability to support my favorite authors (although, in essence, I'm supporting the corporations more, since authors only get a pittance from every book sold), what can I do?
Well, I thought I could just buy ebooks. That way, I could buy the books when they first come out and not have to spend a lot of money, right? Well, Tapping the Dream Tree wasn't in ebook format at Amazon yet, so I tried one of the older books, The Onion Girl. At first, when I saw the price, I thought Amazon had made a mistake and given me the hardback, but no. The ebook of The Onion Girl is $27.95. Oh,and needless to say, that's the only one Amazon has available. So, not only can I not find the book I want for a price I can afford straight from the distributor, the ebook for a book I already own (B-day present) is just as expensive as the hardback!
This sucks.
If I didn't care about supporting my favorite authors, I would go to Half.com and buy it for $10.50 plus shipping. That's in my price range. And to tell you the truth, the noble desire to support my favorite authors is slowly doing a nosedive into utter disbelief. I mean, the last brand new* book I bought at a major bookstore was in 2001. But then again, the last piece of clothing I bought that wasn't discounted to death or at a thrift shop was almost a year ago.
I've always been a bargain shopper, so to speak, but up until recently, books were bargain enough for me not to bat an eye to pay full price.
I wonder how many readers my favorite authors are losing because of the price of their books. How many people glance at the price tag and move on to someone else? I probably shouldn't mention limited edition books, but most of my favorite authors have them as well. Me, on the bottom end of the book-buying rung, will probably never get to read these stories, because the books themselves are too expensive.
Now, I will admit that I asked for all these books for Christmas. Will I get them all? No, and that's okay. I think I had at least nine books on my list, after all, since I'm so behind. But I will say, and not for the first time, that something has to be done.
Libraries are one answer, but heck, even libraries can't cater to everyone's taste. If I want them to order a book that only I will read, the odds of them buying it are very slim. And what if I like the book so much I want to read it over and over again? Some books have to be bought, after all. And what about new authors? The last new author I read (new book, even) was Sarah Hoyt, and that book I borrowed from Vicki.
After thinking very carefully about all aspects of this dilemma, I've decided that the state of my pocketbook is more important than catering to the corporations that run modern-day publishing. I can't afford to support my favorite authors any longer. Until the people who hold the purse strings realize that making things more expensive doesn't bring in more readers, I will take my money elsewhere. Therefore, I will only purchase books on the discount racks, used, as book club editions (and even those are getting pricey) or have them given to me as gifts. And unless it's a reference book I can't live without or something extremely special, I won't pay more than $20 for a hardback. Period.
I've been a reader all my life. Until I met a couple of collectors, both online and off, I didn't really think about how authors were able to support themselves. I bought books at library booksales, at used bookstores, and haunted the local bookshops until the staff knew me by name.
But I can't do it anymore. I buy most of my clothes from clearance racks and thrift stores. I prefer to haunt auctions and fleamarkets for furniture and odds and ends. The first place I look for something is ebay, so I guess this is just another facet of cost-consciousness. I'm just sorry it had to be this way.
*brand new, meaning, not remaindered or on the discount shelf.
I warned you...
Not long ago, I stopped at the local B&N with my Dad to check out the new books. Imagine my delight when I saw the new Charles DeLint collection, Tapping the Dream Tree. Imagine my dismay when I checked out the price: $26.95. Ouch.
For years now, I've refused to purchase a hardback book if it's over $20. I've stuck to that rule by picking up discounted copies, used copies, or finding them 30% off at Amazon or BNonline. I've broken that rule twice. Once for American Gods, which was $26.00 at the bookstore where Neil Gaiman was signing it, for that matter, and once for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which was $25.95. Ouch again.
Back before mass-market production and public libraries, books were only for the elite. The common man on the street probably saw books at church and maybe at school, if he went to school. Nowadays, with instant printing and the sheer volume of books published in the United States alone, you'd think they would be cheaper, not more expensive. But no. The price goes up every other year, it seems. Heck, even paperbacks--once fairly cheap at $4.99--now top $7.99 or more.
I can't afford to read anymore. Or, I'll amend that statement; I can't afford to buy new books by my favorite authors anymore. And, having lost the ability to support my favorite authors (although, in essence, I'm supporting the corporations more, since authors only get a pittance from every book sold), what can I do?
Well, I thought I could just buy ebooks. That way, I could buy the books when they first come out and not have to spend a lot of money, right? Well, Tapping the Dream Tree wasn't in ebook format at Amazon yet, so I tried one of the older books, The Onion Girl. At first, when I saw the price, I thought Amazon had made a mistake and given me the hardback, but no. The ebook of The Onion Girl is $27.95. Oh,and needless to say, that's the only one Amazon has available. So, not only can I not find the book I want for a price I can afford straight from the distributor, the ebook for a book I already own (B-day present) is just as expensive as the hardback!
This sucks.
If I didn't care about supporting my favorite authors, I would go to Half.com and buy it for $10.50 plus shipping. That's in my price range. And to tell you the truth, the noble desire to support my favorite authors is slowly doing a nosedive into utter disbelief. I mean, the last brand new* book I bought at a major bookstore was in 2001. But then again, the last piece of clothing I bought that wasn't discounted to death or at a thrift shop was almost a year ago.
I've always been a bargain shopper, so to speak, but up until recently, books were bargain enough for me not to bat an eye to pay full price.
I wonder how many readers my favorite authors are losing because of the price of their books. How many people glance at the price tag and move on to someone else? I probably shouldn't mention limited edition books, but most of my favorite authors have them as well. Me, on the bottom end of the book-buying rung, will probably never get to read these stories, because the books themselves are too expensive.
Now, I will admit that I asked for all these books for Christmas. Will I get them all? No, and that's okay. I think I had at least nine books on my list, after all, since I'm so behind. But I will say, and not for the first time, that something has to be done.
Libraries are one answer, but heck, even libraries can't cater to everyone's taste. If I want them to order a book that only I will read, the odds of them buying it are very slim. And what if I like the book so much I want to read it over and over again? Some books have to be bought, after all. And what about new authors? The last new author I read (new book, even) was Sarah Hoyt, and that book I borrowed from Vicki.
After thinking very carefully about all aspects of this dilemma, I've decided that the state of my pocketbook is more important than catering to the corporations that run modern-day publishing. I can't afford to support my favorite authors any longer. Until the people who hold the purse strings realize that making things more expensive doesn't bring in more readers, I will take my money elsewhere. Therefore, I will only purchase books on the discount racks, used, as book club editions (and even those are getting pricey) or have them given to me as gifts. And unless it's a reference book I can't live without or something extremely special, I won't pay more than $20 for a hardback. Period.
I've been a reader all my life. Until I met a couple of collectors, both online and off, I didn't really think about how authors were able to support themselves. I bought books at library booksales, at used bookstores, and haunted the local bookshops until the staff knew me by name.
But I can't do it anymore. I buy most of my clothes from clearance racks and thrift stores. I prefer to haunt auctions and fleamarkets for furniture and odds and ends. The first place I look for something is ebay, so I guess this is just another facet of cost-consciousness. I'm just sorry it had to be this way.
*brand new, meaning, not remaindered or on the discount shelf.
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