All of the novels for Discovery are listed at $18.96 on amazon.ca. Almost twice the price of regular Star Trek novels. Does anyone know why? Is it just a cash grab or is there some legitimate reason?
Why are Discovery novels $20
- Thread starter chrinFinity
- Start date
That's weird, the German copy costs 15€ which is pretty standard for German Trek novels. I believe the higher price has something to do with the novels being a trade paperback and the other Trek novels mass market paper backs. Here's a picture:
Oh yuck. Who the hell wants to read Star Trek in Trade Paperback. And pay double for the privilege!
Okay that's fair. But it sounds like where you're at, they aren't double the price.
They're new books based on the most current iteration of the brand, and thus priced accordingly.
Actually, they're probably trade paperbacks because Discovery is in comparatively limited distribution: you need a broadband connection AND a subscription to a paid service in order to see it, as opposed to it showing up on commercial television, or even in theatrical release. The manufacturing cost of a hardcover is too high, and the sales volume needed to break even on a mass-market paperback is likewise too high. Let us simply be thankful they exist at all, and that they exist as physical printed books, rather than (as in the SCE novellas, a couple of DTI novellas, and the latest SNW anthology) only as e-books (and I hope I haven't given Pocket the wrong idea!)
And how nice to see that I'm now no longer the only one here to have made a typo in the word "Discovery," dropping a letter in the thread title. Maybe the same Mod who fixed my own goof in the Jeopardy thread will fix this one?
And how nice to see that I'm now no longer the only one here to have made a typo in the word "Discovery," dropping a letter in the thread title. Maybe the same Mod who fixed my own goof in the Jeopardy thread will fix this one?
Trades seem to be very popular here, most hardbacks that are released in other territories are released as Trades here.
As for the price point, it probably has to do with exchange rates, from what I understand, the Canadian Dollar has never been particularly strong and the price here reflects that.
That's probably the reason in a nutshell. Trade paperbacks always cost more money in the United States and S&S probably feels since it's a new, currently running show that people will buy the Trades even though they cost more.
On occasion previous trade paperbacks were released later as MMP. They did that with the first Romulan War novel. And with the ongoing, um, hiatus I guess we can call it, on novels, it's possible Pocketbooks may do the same with some Discovery novels down the road to try to milk it some more. After all, at this point it may not be until 2020 before we see the next novels (hopefully that's not an optimistic prediction
)
Sure, but in the mean time we have a new TV show in production, five more in development, and two movies being developed. There's plenty of Trek to go around.
I don't think that's really part of the reason, as Enterprise even had it's first novel, Broken Bow and the Season 1 finale/Season 2 opener Shockwave released in dust-jacketed hardcover, and the Season 2 closer/Season 3 opener The Expanse released as a Trade Paperback (downgraded from it's original Hardcover release before its release). Plus back in 2009 we saw Enterprise: The Romulan War: Beneath The Raptor's Wing and the Star Trek novelization released in Trade Paperback. And then we also saw the Starfleet Academy (based on the 2009 movie) series released in both Hardcover and Trade Paperback. And going even further back, we saw Voyager's Endgame finale novelization released as a Trade Paperback, which was only 1 of 4 Voyager books released in either Hardcover or Trade Paperback, with the none of the other novelizations being released either format, including Caretaker. And when we go back into the 90's, don't forget how many TOS & TNG hardcovers were released.
In a way, I think the current Trade Paperbacks are a continuation of the old "Giant Novels"-Hardcover lines.
That goes without saying.
Like I said, it's a prestige thing, Discovery is the big high profile show and Trades are seen as a bigger deal than just regular Mass Market Paperbacks. If they were concerned with the profitablitity of it, they would have just released them as regular MMPB or even e-books. If anything, the fact that it was released as a TPB, probably means they are more confident in how well they'll sell.
Doesn't mean they'll be made.
I imagine at most we'll get two over the short-term. CBS will want to test the waters on how much Star Trek people want.
In all likelihood, it's a combination of all these things. With three prerequisites to even being able to watch
DSC (enough bandwidth, enough iron, and a paid subscription), the market is probably smaller than for TOS, TAS, TNG, DS9, VOY or ENT, but more well-heeled (and therefore better able to pay extra for a TPB).
DSC (enough bandwidth, enough iron, and a paid subscription), the market is probably smaller than for TOS, TAS, TNG, DS9, VOY or ENT, but more well-heeled (and therefore better able to pay extra for a TPB).
