rfg@hound.UUCP (R.GRANTGES) (09/15/85)
Am I the only one who has noticed the recent 18.6% price increase in many (most) of the paperback SF books in the stores? Seems the publishers just all of a sudden got (independently, of course) the idea it was time to raise the price from $2.95 to $3.50 I can't imagine any reason for that but greed. (flames explaining how all their costs have edged upward for years will be routed to the bit bucket.) As a collector this bugs me and I feel like sticking my head out the window and shouting the well known litany (from Network). But that would only rile the neighbors, who would call the cops and I'm sure the cops wouldn't give a damn. So, a better strategy is to point out the increase to the sales clerks, suggesting they tell the boss that you have noticed it and will not pay it. Better yet tell the boss herself. Yes, they will look at you as one of the following: a nut. something that just crawled out of a crack in the floor. a comedian. etc. But it shouldn't matter. As long as there are books available at $2.95 we have a chance of nipping this one in the bud. Not much of a chance, but a chance. The new SSR book is $2.95. There are a lot I wont read for $3.50. Tough. Time for Stainless Steel readers. -- "It's the thought, if any, that counts!" Dick Grantges hound!rfg
tom@utcsri.UUCP (Tom Nadas) (09/16/85)
If you're really serious about complaining about rising book prices, a letter to the publisher is probably more effective than complaining to the befuddled sales clerk at your local B. Dalton. rjs
wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (09/19/85)
Of course, there are some of us around that bought books in the 50's or so that believe that 35 cents is an elegant sufficiency for a paperback book price... I seem to find plenty to read at the library, by buying books for a few cents each at yard sales and book fairs & trading those in at used book stores to get specific items I want, and by getting stuff from the paperback-exchange rack here at work. (Every workplace ought to have one of those latter -- even if your organization's library isn't interested, or you work at a place with no library, you can start one yourself. Just bring in a dozen books and stack them somewhere with a sign saying "Take some -- leave some" or the like. There are actually some fools out there that *throw away* books after reading them! If it is easy enough, those people will participate too, and bring in stock for exchange.) Anyway, if more people were like me, and didn't pay the insane prices that are asked these days for paperbacks, the price levels would stay down, and the publishers would be forced to cut costs to keep them there. Anybody who pays list price for books is part of the problem, not part of the solution... Will
horton@fortune.UUCP (Randy Horton) (09/23/85)
In article <1613@brl-tgr.ARPA> wmartin@brl-bmd.UUCP writes: >Of course, there are some of us around that bought books in the 50's or >so that believe that 35 cents is an elegant sufficiency for a paperback >book price... > > >Anyway, if more people were like me, and didn't pay the insane prices >that are asked these days for paperbacks, the price levels would stay >down, and the publishers would be forced to cut costs to keep them >there. Anybody who pays list price for books is part of the problem, not >part of the solution... > >Will I second this thought. I almost never purchase books at list price. I usually patronize a local chain called Crown Books. Their motto is *If you paid full price, you didn't buy it at Crown Books*. I am not entirely sure that buying books only at discount prices has any effect on publishers, but I save money, and I support a business whose pricing policy I agree with. -- +---------------------------------------------+ | allegra\ Randy Horton @ Fortune Systems | | cbosgd \ | | dual >!fortune!ranhome!randy | | ihnp4 / | | nsc / Clever disclaimer goes here | +---------------------------------------------+
tom@utcsri.UUCP (Tom Nadas) (09/23/85)
Sorry, I can't buy that "anybody who pays list price for books is part of the problems, not part of the solution." What about the authors fair due -- his or her royalty. Typically, the author of a $3.50 paperback is entitled to 21 cents and the man or woman whose name appears on the dustjacket of a $20 hardcover should get two bucks. Fortunately, many countries (including Canada) seem to be slowly moving towards the European standard of Public Lending Rights, wherein authors receive a royalty on library copies for each time they're checked out. As for paperback exchanges, all I can ask is this: if you had created the original work (be it a book, record, computer program, or whatever), would you be happy if after one person paid for it an unlimited number of people got to use it? Or would you be inclined, no matter how good the critical notices your work got, to consider some of these freeloaders to be parasites? RJS
rfg@hound.UUCP (R.GRANTGES) (09/23/85)
[] Gee I'm glad to see that there are at least a few people on the net who aren't so yuppily affluent that they can ignore an 18% price increase in a period of disinflation. Yes, I think that the most effective tactic is to 1) not buy at the higher rate and 2) be sure that the retailers notice the fact. I'm pretty sure that the retailers will keep the publishers informed. Now, if the publishers don't give a damn, then we re all in even worse trouble than I think we are... Used book stores seem to be dying out in this area, but they still exist and it seems to me that sf is their second biggest commodity, after romances (of course). Why "of course," Grantges? Well, if you don't know by now, Richard, I"m afraid you'll never learn, but, just as a hint, hard core stuff is mostly illegal 'round here. -- "It's the thought, if any, that counts!" Dick Grantges hound!rfg