The cost of paperbacks

[Mr. Domino]

I got to thinking today - I remember buying books in the 90s, and it seemed like every year or so, the price was creeping up by a little bit. I lost track of treklit for quite a while then, and have been rapidly filling in the gaps lately, but I noticed something curious when doing some cataloguing this morning - this is a list of all the price increases pocket made for the Trek line specifically, at least the ones represented in my collection. I've still got plenty of holes, but these dates should be at least semi-accurate (note also that these are based on US prices, because hey! I'm American!):

$2.50 - Dec. 1979
$3.50 - May. 1982 - 2 years, 6 months
$3.95 - Oct. 1987 - 5 years, 5 months
$4.50 - Oct. 1989 - 2 years
$4.95 - Feb. 1991 - 1 year, 4 months
$4.99 - Oct. 1991 - 7 months
$5.50 - Apr. 1993 - 1 year, 6 months
$5.99 - July 1995 - 2 years, 3 months
$6.50 - Mar. 1998 - 2 years, 7 months
$6.99 - Feb. 2001 - 2 years, 11 months
$7.99 - Mar. 2005 - 4 years, 1 month
Mar. 2005 - now - 7 years, 3 months - and counting!

Now, logic would seem to dictate that as we move to an increasingly digital society, and the print runs on paperback books get smaller and smaller, the price would continue to increase steadily - but this hasn't happened. There are several possible explanations, the most obvious one being that until they can get it worked out to where they can charge less for ePub releases, they want to keep the cost of the physical editions down, but I'm wondering if anyone here has a more concrete answer?

I love that the price has remained constant for so long, as $7.99 feels about right for a novel, and I'm dreading the time when the hobby starts to get more and more expensive again (although it would seem to be inevitable).

 

[Christopher]

The competition from other media is probably why book publishers have striven to keep the price from going up -- because if it did, then sales might go down. However, the trade-off is that publishers are getting stricter about page count, which is why a number of "big" Trek novels lately have had really small font sizes. (For what it's worth, those price increases from the '80s to the '00s were accompanied by a gradual increase in average book length. I'm not sure how much of a correlation there is between those, though, or in which direction.)

 

[Sho]

Just as a general statement, I often find the price-bickering and stingyness going on in similar discussions a bit distasteful. Obviously I'm all for doing right by the customer, and there is no harm in being observant and inquisitive about the realities of pricing, but ultimately don't we want the selling and more importantly the writing of Star Trek novels to be a lucrative enterprise, so that we get more and of great quality?

 

[Mr. Domino]

Absolutely, and if I implied that I would do anything other than continue to buy them with a smile on my face once the price goes up, then I erred (admittedly, would I rather the price stay where it is? Of course - I'm an altruist, not an idiot. But I'd much rather have, as you said, continued quality and financially-secure authors).

This thread wasn't intended as "gee, I sure hope the price doesn't go up again, because that would SUCK", but more as "gee, the price hasn't gone up in a long time, even though based on the previous data, it should have. I wonder why that is?"

 

[Sho]

^ Nono, I detected no hint of that in your post, sorry if it came across that way .

 

[Sci]

I got to thinking today - I remember buying books in the 90s, and it seemed like every year or so, the price was creeping up by a little bit. I lost track of treklit for quite a while then, and have been rapidly filling in the gaps lately, but I noticed something curious when doing some cataloguing this morning - this is a list of all the price increases pocket made for the Trek line specifically, at least the ones represented in my collection. I've still got plenty of holes, but these dates should be at least semi-accurate (note also that these are based on US prices, because hey! I'm American!):

$2.50 - Dec. 1979
$3.50 - May. 1982 - 2 years, 6 months
$3.95 - Oct. 1987 - 5 years, 5 months
$4.50 - Oct. 1989 - 2 years
$4.95 - Feb. 1991 - 1 year, 4 months
$4.99 - Oct. 1991 - 7 months
$5.50 - Apr. 1993 - 1 year, 6 months
$5.99 - July 1995 - 2 years, 3 months
$6.50 - Mar. 1998 - 2 years, 7 months
$6.99 - Feb. 2001 - 2 years, 11 months
$7.99 - Mar. 2005 - 4 years, 1 month
Mar. 2005 - now - 7 years, 3 months - and counting!

Are these prices adjusted for inflation? I don't know how meaningful this information is without that adjustment.

 

[Shon T'Hara]

The competition from other media is probably why book publishers have striven to keep the price from going up -- because if it did, then sales might go down. However, the trade-off is that publishers are getting stricter about page count, which is why a number of "big" Trek novels lately have had really small font sizes. (For what it's worth, those price increases from the '80s to the '00s were accompanied by a gradual increase in average book length. I'm not sure how much of a correlation there is between those, though, or in which direction.)

My understanding is that it's bookstores that got annoyed about giant doorstopper novels taking up too much shelf space and told publishers to reign it in.

 

[Christopher]

$2.50 - Dec. 1979
$3.50 - May. 1982 - 2 years, 6 months
$3.95 - Oct. 1987 - 5 years, 5 months
$4.50 - Oct. 1989 - 2 years
$4.95 - Feb. 1991 - 1 year, 4 months
$4.99 - Oct. 1991 - 7 months
$5.50 - Apr. 1993 - 1 year, 6 months
$5.99 - July 1995 - 2 years, 3 months
$6.50 - Mar. 1998 - 2 years, 7 months
$6.99 - Feb. 2001 - 2 years, 11 months
$7.99 - Mar. 2005 - 4 years, 1 month
Mar. 2005 - now - 7 years, 3 months - and counting!

Are these prices adjusted for inflation? I don't know how meaningful this information is without that adjustment.

Well, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics's inflation calculator:

$2.50 (1979) = $7.91 (2012)
$3.50 (1982) = $8.34 (2012)
$3.95 (1987) = $7.99 (2012)
$4.50 (1989) = $8.34 (2012)
$4.95 (1991) = $8.35 (2012)
$4.99 (1991) = $8.42 (2012)
$5.50 (1993) = $8.75 (2012)
$5.99 (1995) = $9.03 (2012)
$6.50 (1998) = $9.16 (2012)
$6.99 (2001) = $9.07 (2012)
$7.99 (2005) = $9.40 (2012)

So what we're paying for the novels now is just about as low as their cost relative to inflation has ever been -- even though, when the $7.99 price was first set, it represented the highest relative cost the books had ever had.

My understanding is that it's bookstores that got annoyed about giant doorstopper novels taking up too much shelf space and told publishers to reign it in.

All I know is, I remember Marco Palmieri explaining that the reason Mission Gamma Vols. 1 & 2 and Crucible: McCoy had such teeny-tiny print was because they'd have to raise the price on them if they had any more pages. Although I suppose that could be that the higher price would be needed to persuade book vendors to carry them, so it could be that we're saying the same thing in two different ways.

 

[JWolf]

A lot of pBooks have gone up in price. Instead of being printed as a MMPB, they get printing in this really silly does not feel good in the hands format that doesn't fit well in the bookcase. Even if the font isn't going to be too small, they still get printed this way. A lot of reprints these days are printed that way.

Sure, MMPB may not be going up in price, but the life of the MMPB may not be long for this world so the publishers can raise prices.

 

[BritishSeaPower]

I've noticed many publishers are pushing for the trade paperback format over the MMP since the rise of digital. If I take a quick glance at my bookshelves, there are very few TPBs that predate 2004, but a whole bunch that I've bought within the past five years. (Including 6 of the PKD reprints Mariner is putting out, whose cover treatments I really like.)

 

[Timewalker]

I've drastically cut down on my book collecting over the years because they're just getting way too expensive.

Here in Canada, that $7.99 novel (I notice that's what your novel Forgotten History costs in US currency, Christopher) costs $9.99 plus tax.

Be honored, Christopher. I don't fork over that kind of money for just anybody, these days!

There are very few authors whose books I will buy brand-new anymore, and as a result, I'm many years behind on my Star Trek reading. Sorry, but I can't buy all you authors' books brand new, so I've got to choose very carefully.

 

[Relayer1]

Trek novels (and MMPB's generally) are the equivalent of $11 to $12.50 in the UK !

 

[Csalem]

In Ireland are books seem to be charged at either the € to $ or € to £ rate. I'm not sure which but a few years ago prices were over €10 per book but now it is on average €8.50.

When we had Irish Pounds for a while the books were being charged as Irish £1 to British £1 which was a very good exchange rate!

 

[Therin of Andor]

My understanding is that it's bookstores that got annoyed about giant doorstopper novels taking up too much shelf space and told publishers to reign it in.

Re "Star Trek"? Not the MMPBs, as far as I know.

But supposedly the book shops were complaining about chunky paperback trade-sized books, such as the "ST Encyclopedia" and "DS9 Companion", because they are tricky to shelve. They topple over when customers are browsing, increasing the chances of dogeared covers, which then means people won't buy them.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I've noticed many publishers are pushing for the trade paperback format over the MMP since the rise of digital.

That's because trades are priced very differently. The print run can be much shorter, and the cover price is higher to compensate. Also, they can be published as "print on demand"; none have to be warehoused for extended periods. Shops probably can't return any trade "print on demand" fiction stock, whereas MMPBs are sometimes/traditionally marketed as "sale or return" (with only the stripped covers needing to be returned).

 

[BritishSeaPower]

I've noticed many publishers are pushing for the trade paperback format over the MMP since the rise of digital.

That's because trades are priced very differently. The print run can be much shorter, and the cover price is higher to compensate. Also, they can be published as "print on demand"; none have to be warehoused for extended periods. Shops probably can't return any trade "print on demand" fiction stock, whereas MMPBs are sometimes/traditionally marketed as "sale or return" (with only the stripped covers needing to be returned).

Yes, that was my point. I felt like stating, "They're priced differently" wasn't needed as that's fairly obvious. Like I said, there are way more TPBs for sale in general, and in my collection then I've ever had before. It's very clearly a reaction to digital sales/amazon pricing/etc. And for the reasons you've stated.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I felt like stating, "They're priced differently" wasn't needed as that's fairly obvious.

Around here, the moment you self-edit yourself because a statement seems "fairly obvious", someone else comes along seeking clarification or challenging your comment.

 

[Relayer1]

I felt like stating, "They're priced differently" wasn't needed as that's fairly obvious.

Around here, the moment you self-edit yourself because a statement seems "fairly obvious", someone else comes along seeking clarification or challenging your comment.

No they don't !

 

[garoo1980]

I agree its a tough balancing act. I love ST books, I read them all the time. I buy a ton of them but I also borrow lots from the library. I buy them if I know the author and like their previous work but if they're a new author (which doesn't seem to happen anymore) I wait till it hits the library.

I have a Kobo too so its pretty handy being able to get the first chapter before I buy. That's often enough. Other than that its bargain shops for the series I've never read like New Frontier or whatever.

I definitely don't buy them all new and its simply because of price. Having said that there's no way I would want the quality of the books to suffer just to cut the price down a little. Its a great product and I happily support it

 

[Ktrek]

It has been a long stretch since a price increase and I'm kind of surprised we have not seen one as the cost of most everything else has gone up. If Pocket was to raise the price to $8.99 I would likely continue to collect them. Mainly because I derive a lot of enjoyment from them and I still think it would be a good value for the dollars spent. What irks me is the ebook pricing being the same as the paper. And actually I saw on Barnes and Noble the pre-order ebook price of Raise The Dawn was $13.99! (they fixed it after it was released btw) Yea...like I'm going to pay $6.00 more for it to be in electronic format. NOT!

Anyway, I have been very pleased with most of the work committed to print and I hope that the quality remains consistent.

Kevin