[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

From my point of view it isn't the way that they do the pricing that is the problem; it is the way that they justify it. The argument starts with: we sell the books to the big retailers at half-price, and ends with: so you see, we barely make a profit.

The problem is, that statement is largely true. One of the pressures publishers are under is that many are units of larger outfits, with an expected contribution to the parent's revenue and profit. They are expected to make a 10% return on investment minimum. Good luck. Historically, publishing's returns have been maybe half that.

So then explain to me the price of a second edition of a public domain book. All they have to do is make a new cover and print it. So the prices will show what the publishers think that the buyers will pay, with no connection with the actual costs.

Correct. Value has nothing to do with cost. If the buyer buys a print edition of a PD work, it's worth it to them, or they wouldn't have bought it.

And we see that the hardcovers are more expensive than the paperbacks, because most buyers consider that the hardcovers are worth more, and are willing to pay more.

Hardcovers cost more to manufacture than paperbacks (and paperbacks exist to be a cheaper alternative). But in most cases, I think buyers buying hardcovers are paying the premium to read the book now instead of waiting for the PB edition. The fact that it's a hardcover is secondary.

So now we get to ebooks, and we can fit an entire library on a microSD card, and we know that at least the cost of printing and shipment has to go away, and there are lower risks for the publisher. But now we are told that it was all just a misunderstanding. Hardcovers don't cost that much more to make. It's just the privilege of getting the book faster. But then what is the point of printing hardcovers of public domain books?

Who told you hardcovers don't cost all that much more to make? "Trade paperbacks" exist to provide a cheaper edition than the hardcover, because there are costs in hardcover binding.

And the point of printing hardcover editions of PD titles? Easy enough: there are people who will buy them.

And this doesn't explain the price of textbooks.

I don't see why textbook costs are a particular surprise. First, they are likely to be hardbound, which is expensive to begin with. Then, they are textbooks, which means the content must be fact checked and peer reviewed, so you can feel confident that the textbook is accurate in presenting its subject. This adds costs not in other kinds of books. and last, they are niche market items. Depending upon the topic, the total market for a particular textbook may be a few tens of thousands, it that. There is simply no way a textbook can be produced as cheaply as a standard fiction of non-fiction title, and the price will reflect this.
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Dennis