View Full Version : What the Heck Is Going On with Paperback Books???
For roughly the third time in the past two months, paperback books I've wanted to buy have been priced at really outrageous prices while the hardback version is much cheaper. Right now I'm looking at an example on Amazon: V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton, one of the Kinsey Millhone detective series. The paperback is $47.75, while the hardback is $15.98. This has happened with two others authors of the same genre. One paperback by Elizabeth George was advertised for sale at a very high price and then suddenly became unavailable except for a few used copies.
Please note that I prefer paperbacks because of problems with hand pain, not because they are usually cheaper.
Anyone know what's going on here? Is this some sort of really whacko marketing technique?
ApatheticNoMore
6-26-12, 8:22pm
Possibly they are rare? Books fall out of publication and that's when you see the ridiculous costs I think.
The publishing industry is undergoing a huge turbulence largely due to the increase in ebooks. They are trying to recover their costs since the ebook prices are so low but so much of the administration is still required. One article that I read said that the publishing industry is going through the same shakeup as the music and movie industry have gone through.
Libraries are suddenly being required to pay up to 700% increase in cost of a new book, if they can access it at all, compared to last fall. Libraries now need to purchase a hard cover, a paperback, an audio book and an ebook of one new book but on the same budget as before. Lots of stress.
It looks like you can get it at Powell's for eight bucks:
http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9780425250563-0
I think the "mass market" descriptor refers to the paperback version.
The publishing industry is undergoing a huge turbulence largely due to the increase in ebooks. They are trying to recover their costs since the ebook prices are so low but so much of the administration is still required. One article that I read said that the publishing industry is going through the same shakeup as the music and movie industry have gone through.
Libraries are suddenly being required to pay up to 700% increase in cost of a new book, if they can access it at all, compared to last fall. Libraries now need to purchase a hard cover, a paperback, an audio book and an ebook of one new book but on the same budget as before. Lots of stress.
That was my first guess, too. Although I haven't read anything about this. I would think ebooks would be much cheaper because they are much cheaper. No printing costs.
Possibly they are rare? Books fall out of publication and that's when you see the ridiculous costs I think.
I understand that, but these are books by very popular authors that were published within the past six months. There should be thousands of them out there. It's really bizarre.
The publishing industry is undergoing a huge turbulence largely due to the increase in ebooks. They are trying to recover their costs since the ebook prices are so low but so much of the administration is still required. One article that I read said that the publishing industry is going through the same shakeup as the music and movie industry have gone through.
Libraries are suddenly being required to pay up to 700% increase in cost of a new book, if they can access it at all, compared to last fall. Libraries now need to purchase a hard cover, a paperback, an audio book and an ebook of one new book but on the same budget as before. Lots of stress.
Whoa. That explains why my library has very few ebooks. Some publishers are setting the ebook price at the same cost of the paperback, I've noticed.
It looks like you can get it at Powell's for eight bucks:
http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9780425250563-0
I think the "mass market" descriptor refers to the paperback version.
Ah. Thank you, Jane. It looks like I just have to wait a bit longer to get the paperback at a reasonable price.
ToomuchStuff
6-26-12, 9:43pm
When some of the hardbacks I have looked at, come back into print, the prices go down, while the older paperbacks (out of print) go up. There is one book that is supposed to be coming back out around November, but the current price is around $180 and I am NOT paying that.
I tend to go for used (whatever is cheaper) as I haven't switched to ebooks, since they actually cost more then used books and cost less to publish (not to get into other rights issues).
iris lily
6-27-12, 12:05am
That was my first guess, too. Although I haven't read anything about this. I would think ebooks would be much cheaper because they are much cheaper. No printing costs.
If only.
A typical print bestseller lists at $27.95.
A typical eboook costs $83.00 and this is for a copy that has a no-simultaneous-use restriction.
AmeliaJane
6-27-12, 9:19am
This particular price goofiness is probably caused by the automatic price adjusting programs that booksellers can use on Amazon--likely has nothing to do with the actual price of the book. There was a really funny story a couple of years back about some incredibly obscure academic text that was going for about $500 because two sellers had copies and they both had automatic price routines that adjusted up a few cents each day. I would be interested, though, to know how e-books have affect the sales of mass market paperbacks.
miradoblackwarrior
6-27-12, 11:29am
Hello, all--
As an actual working librarian, I'm here to tell you that libraries are, indeed, investing in e-books, usually together as part of their consortium. Real-live books, printed on paper, are slowly being shunted aside as budgets are stretched and re-thought. I buy both books and e-books for our community library. The demand for e-books is growing phenomenally. I have only so much money to spend, so I have had to shift where I put it. Whatever the cost of a book, it is not necessarily the price which dictates my choices. It is my patrons--do they prefer e-books or text-format. I buy ALL kinds of books, in multiple formats, depending on demand. If a writer's popularity is declining (as Sue Grafton is--sorry!), I will not spend quite as much on her, simply because the demand has shifted. By the way, I make my choices based on experience, statistical data, and 27 years of talking and working with my patrons.
I agree, spending $27.00 on a book is a shame, but your local library will still do it. Want cheaper books? Give it time, and visit your local Friends book sale. Grafton could cost you as little as a buck in about 6 months!
Do I like e-books? Nope! Gotta have paper.
Susan
I am sad to hear that people are shifting to e-books.
I am sad to hear that people are shifting to e-books.
Why? If they find ebook readers better for their own reading experience, how does that affect you?
I love E-books. I currently have almost 300 on my iPad, with another nearly 5000 sitting on my file server, awaiting their turn. I don't have enough shelf space for that many paper books.
Ah. Thank you, Jane. It looks like I just have to wait a bit longer to get the paperback at a reasonable price.
How weird is that? Checked AbeBooks and hardcover is selling for almost nothing and the paperback is starting at over $9.00. Maybe they are more "collectable"?
ApatheticNoMore
6-27-12, 7:23pm
As an actual working librarian, I'm here to tell you that libraries are, indeed, investing in e-books, usually together as part of their consortium.
How does this work, do you also rent out the devices for free? Otherwise it seems quite exclusionary (of low income people who can't afford all the electronics).
How does this work, do you also rent out the devices for free? Otherwise it seems quite exclusionary (of low income people who can't afford all the electronics).
Ebooks can be downloaded to a computer and read that way. Most libraries have computers that may be used by patrons at no charge.
The cheapest Kindle is $79 and they're small and rather fragile. Even if absolutely everyone was honest and returned the ebook readers in good condition, lending out these devices would be too expensive and impractical for public libraries. They also have to be charged after not very many hours of reading, and in my case at least, that requires a computer.
ApatheticNoMore
6-27-12, 8:55pm
Ebooks can be downloaded to a computer and read that way. Most libraries have computers that may be used by patrons at no charge.
So compared to a book where you could check it out and take it home and own nothing (the ONLY thing you need is literacy - no physical possessions), you have to use the library computer now or have the electronics (and an internet connection to download?). Seems a serious step down for how egalitarian libraries were always intended to be and poor people really are disadvantaged by this (even if they own electronics they may be old and slow).
Reading a big book at a computer is pretty rough anyway (yea it might work for Doctor Suess, but War and Peace not so much so), really you need an ebook reader to really do it comfortably. So no it makes no sense for libraries to go entirely digital. They certainly shouldn't for things they don't own hard copies of at any rate, first aquire the hard copy then the digital. It's a case where the basic costs of basic life (using the library!) just keep increasing.
So compared to a book where you could check it out and take it home and own nothing (the ONLY thing you need is literacy - no physical possessions), you have to use the library computer now or have the electronics (and an internet connection to download?). Seems a serious step down for how egalitarian libraries were always intended to be and poor people really are disadvantaged by this (even if they own electronics they may be old and slow). ...
Oh please, enough of the victim mode. Ebook circulation is 3 -6 % at most public libraries. The print form hasn't exactly disappeared.
Don't like it? Don't get an ebook reader. Chill.
I am sad to hear that people are shifting to e-books.
Ebook acceptance isn't exactly universal. The main motivation for me in buying a Kindle was being able to store books in no space at all, but I'm finding that electronic books aren't all that useful when it comes to reference, cookbooks, DIY, and other sorts of books that I might want to read and re-read. This is why I'm searching for a reasonably priced paperback copy of V Is For Vengeance. I've got all of the Kinsey Millhone books through U and want a complete paperback collection. I enjoy re-reading these books every few years.
I'm mostly putting escapist fiction on the Kindle - the sort of thing that would ordinarily end up at Paperback Trader or in the donation bin at the library - along with a lot of free stuff that I may or may not like. I'm much inclined to buy a hard copy when I come across a book that I really enjoy. If it's any comfort, I doubt that real books will be entirely supplanted by ebooks in our lifetimes or even beyond.
My library system offers e-book downloads in a wide variety of formats and also makes pre-loaded e-readers available for loan to anyone who needs one. I can't think of a better use of tax dollars than our highest-rated network of libraries. Yay us!
My library system offers e-book downloads in a wide variety of formats and also makes pre-loaded e-readers available for loan to anyone who needs one. I can't think of a better use of tax dollars than our highest-rated network of libraries. Yay us!
I am very much impressed! Probably won't happen here, but it's heartening to know that it's possible.
Oh please, enough of the victim mode. Ebook circulation is 3 -6 % at most public libraries. The print form hasn't exactly disappeared.
Don't like it? Don't get an ebook reader. Chill.
My library's CEO suggests that the ebook number is getting closer to 40%.
iris lily
6-28-12, 10:26am
My library's CEO suggests that the ebook number is getting closer to 40%.
Is he talking about ebook download & sales overall, or library circulation, or your local library's experience? If 40% of your library's circulation is for ebooks that's a lot and is well out of the norm, and I wonder how much of the book budget goes to ebook.
At Digitalpalooza , the library conference for Overdrive users, the number put out to conference goers was 5% of library circulation. My local library is lower because many people don't have hand held devices, there is a large population here of underclass. Circulation figures of ebooks this summer is as high as 12% in some unofficial measures.
But there is no question that ebook use is growing at leaps and bounds. This USA Today article which is the only one I could quickly Google about this issue says that "According to Library Journal, public libraries increased their offerings by 185% this year. E-books will account for 8% of their materials budget in five years [2016], it says. " But that is a while and it's a projection for ONLY 8% of book budget.
which actually seems a little low to me.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2011-11-13/elibrary-digital-book-lending/51201652/1
My overall point is to ANM that books in libraries have not gone away. My library has 2,000 ebooks and 1.4 million other items. For me personally, the selection is far too limited and there's nothing there that I want, and the lack of graphics on library ebooks is another thing that limits my interest in them (although that's changing quickly.)
ToomuchStuff
6-28-12, 1:15pm
Reading a big book at a computer is pretty rough anyway (yea it might work for Doctor Suess, but War and Peace not so much so), really you need an ebook reader to really do it comfortably.
It depends on your setup. Calibre is a free and open source ebook reader, that even the people I know with ebook readers like. This allows them to store their libraries on their computers while only taking what they need with them (leaves space on the ebook readers) and why I know more people using other stuff then Kindle (with its DRM that has already been shown to have issues).
Sit at a comfy desk or use it on a tablet pc. At the computer (I don't have an Ereader or tablet to test with), all one has to do is enlarge the print as needed (control + for most software I have dealt with). It auto bookmarks, so coming back to them is easy.
I hear you.
I bought a Stephen King paperback recently and it was $9.99! Absurd. I do try to borrow ebooks from the library if I can...the selection is pretty poor, IMHO.
The Storyteller
2-15-13, 1:50pm
Ebooks are a mixed bag for libraries. On the one hand, they are a great new way to get books into people's hands. On the other, they are very expensive, and the big six publishers aren't playing ball. There are only two of them that offer ebooks to libraries at all (which explains the lack of high demand items), and those two have weird pricing models. One charges 5 to 6 times as much as it costs for a hardback (compared to less than 10 bucks from Amazon), the other only licenses an item for 26 circulations. The average popular hard back can have 60 to 70 circs before it is worn out. Sure, you can get many titles from small publishers and independents, but those aren't the popular items everyone is looking for.
It is this lack of cooperation that makes me think publishers' true colors are finally showing. It is likely they have always resented libraries for loaning their products out for free, and they took it to court many years ago and lost. Now, rather than saying a library owns an item, they can say they are licensing that item to the library, which means they can put whatever restrictions on them they want. So, they are.
Then there are the platform fees. Libraries can't house these items on their own servers, so they must use jobbers to handle that. The big vendor is Overdrive, which charges astronomical platform fees, as much as $10,000+ per year for a small library, just to house their "purchases". So, the library purchases an item, but in order to make it accessible to the public, must pay usurious fees to Overdrive. So, say a library purchases 20,000 ebooks over time and maintains them on Overdrive. Should the library ever decide they want out of Overdrive, they essentially lose all of those ebooks.
Add to that the fact that this electronic resource can only "check out" to one patron at a time, which is absurd when you think about it. Sure, more than one person can't take a physical book home at a time, but there is nothing to stop 10 or 20 accessing a downloaded ebook except licensing and rules from the publisher.
So, neither libraries nor publishers are enamored of the most of the current ebook vendors out there, which is one reason why the publishers are resisting participation.
However, there is a new kid on the block. Called Freading. The library pays a fee for the year, but purchases no books. The library's customers have access to the entire collection carried by Freading over that period. The library never really owns an item, yet patrons have access to every item in Freading's inventory. And multiple users can access the same title at one time. The catch is, the library buys with their fee a number of tokens per week. Items are given token amounts based on their popularity. Once those tokens are used up by a patron, they are placed on a first come first serve basis reserve for their item. Once the week is up, the patron is notified and may download and read their item. The library may up the allotted tokens any time by simply paying more in fees for the remainder of the contracted period.
This basically makes this a per-use transaction. The vendor collects enough off the top to pay for servers and setup and maintenance, plus profit, and a fee goes to the publisher each time an item is checked out. So far, only one of the Big Six publishers have signed on to Freading, but this is likely the model that will meet their goal of making libraries pay for the amount of use their products get, so I think it is only a matter of time before they sign on.
Here is a great article on ebooks in libraries and the struggles they are having.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidvinjamuri/2012/12/11/the-wrong-war-over-ebooks-publishers-vs-libraries/
Regarding percentages of circ...
"Robin Nesbit, of the Columbus (OH) Metropolitan Library System told me that although her eBook circulation of 500,000 lends annually is only 3 percent of the system’s total, that number is growing by more than 200% a year. “Plus it’s at least 10% of our budget.” Between the cost of eBooks and a technology component, providing access to eBooks is three times as expensive for her as physical books."
The Storyteller
2-15-13, 2:01pm
To the OPs question, I highly recommend ebooks as an alternative. Buy a good ereader (Kindle or Nook) or tablet and add both Kindle and Nook reader apps. The cost of ebooks are always less than hard backs or trade paperbacks, and not much more than a mass market paperback. If you have difficulty holding a book, an ereader would be ideal. Small, lightweight, and no page turning. Kindle tends to be very propietary, forcing you to use only Amazon products. Nook is a bit more free, and allows you to download library books. If you want options, I would recommend an inexpensive tablet (not one from Amazon or Barnes and Noble), and just download the apps of the vendors you like.
BTW, I do most of my reading now days on my HTC smartphone, with my Kindle, Nook, and Freading apps.
The Storyteller
2-15-13, 2:04pm
On terminology...
A trade paperback is almost as large as a hardback, with similar print and a decent binding. A mass market paperback is small with small print and fits on a paperback spinner, and fits nicely in your hands. The paper of the trade paperback is higher quality and longer lasting than mass market, but slightly less (usually) than hardbacks.
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