Quote:
Originally Posted by AnemicOak
What I've seen in books I look at is indie books often coming in at a buck less than Big 5 published mass market prices. I haven't really noticed an huge increase in Big 5 pricing myself other than maybe a few more authors first being published in trade paperback where they used to be mass market meaning the initial release of their books digitally is higher. For the most part though it's the same as always. Hardcover releases often = $12.99-$16.99 for digital, Trade = $9.99-$12.99, Mass Market = $5.99-$8.99 (usually $6.99-$7.99). Many self pub authors I used to pay $3.99 for have gone to $4.99 or $5.99
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If we factor inflation (and one always must when dealing with long-term price comparison), the price of Big 5 titles probably have decreased. For example a $14.99 in 2009 should cost $16.77 today. But we're not seeing many fiction titles hit that price. On the other hand, indies, as you said, went from $2.99 up to $5.99 today, well above inflation rates.
Another thing to consider, the gov't tells us the economy and unemployment has improved considerably since 2009. Average wages (AWI according to the SSA) was $39,054.62 in 2009. In 2015 it was $46,119.78. It's even higher in 2017. Also, many states have increased minimum wages. Unemployment rate in the US hit 10% in Oct 2009 and today it's 4.8%.
It's possible people (USA) have more disposable income and are going back to their old familiar authors. Catching up with what they missed.