[jbcohen]

No, this is not another discussion about how electronic books are frequently priced higher then their printed cousins, what I want to discuss here is the rise in printed paperback prices. First let me set the stage for what I am talking about:

Many years ago I used to shop in Crown Books becuase they always discounted all books under the prices of the MSRP. Since the closing of Crown Books I then went to shop at the two newcommers in my neighborhoods - Barns and Nobels and Borders and I saw the introduction of premuim paperbacks. I never really saw any value that I obtained, as a customer, for the extra price of the premium paperbacks so I avoided all of them. Since I have seen paperbacks gone from $8 to a range of $10 to sometiems $13 and prices seem to be going to the point where paperbacks and hardbacks will cost the same thing.

This does not include the prices of electronic books, I am talking about strictly the prices of printed books. My question that I want to discuss here is: what is driving the increase in prices of paperbacks? Do you see anything value added to the content of paperbacks to compensate us the customers for the increased price of the paperbacks?

I generally find that its the bestsellers and the popular authors whose prices seem to be increasing, since I tend to read the less well known and under-appreciated authors I was avoiding these books, which only set the stage for a move to electronic books.