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PristineBookkeeper40 t1_j1beg6p wrote

Reply to comment by Upton_Sinclair_Lewis in Have books gotten more expensive? by syncomatic_columbia

I was trying to buy my daughter (4.5) some books for Christmas, and a couple of the hardcover ones are nearly $20 apiece! For a kid's book! I'm not saying the authors aren't deserving of the money for their work, but holy cow. (Sometimes I get hard cover books because they're easier for her to hold, whereas the paperback ones are super floppy.)

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Galaxy-Hitchhiker42 t1_j1e7rv5 wrote

You really ought to try searching for a used bookstore around you !

I live in a small college town and there is one used bookstore. The owner always complains about running out of space in the Children's book section because hardcover books take a lot of space. I don't think this bookstore even sells a book for more than $10.

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PristineBookkeeper40 t1_j1eds6p wrote

We have a used bookstore about a half hour away that I do really like, but we also get a lot of hand-me-downs from her older cousins and a really nice library. There's something special about college town bookstores tho...

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BookishBitching t1_j1ejwjw wrote

Generally, it's not the authors making bank on that. They get a paltry sum comparatively, so on a $20 book an author might make a couple of bucks if they're very lucky.

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dissidentpen t1_j1ezrwc wrote

This is misleading… authors very much rely on new book sales, especially in the first few months of release. It determines not just their revenue but their future opportunities and contracts.

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BookishBitching t1_j1hlwan wrote

I never said anything about that? I'm only commenting on the fact that authors don't make much per book, even if the price is higher. Yes, early sales are very important, I agree, which is why I never once even remotely implied the opposite.

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zedatkinszed t1_j1enwq0 wrote

Not the author. They might make $1-$1.50 on that. 50% of that cost is the retailer at 100% mark-up. 50% of the rest is publisher and the rest is print and logistics costs.

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dissidentpen t1_j1f086w wrote

FYI publishers have razor thin margins. Even the big ones. And “mark-up” is the necessary cost of distribution.

No one is getting rich in the book business, except probably the very top shareholders of corporate houses.

Books are more expensive because everything is more expensive. So I vary my buying habits with both used and new - keep some stuff in circulation and also sometimes support the people who make these things.

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