How book prices have changed

[crich70]

I've been thinking of how much things have changed as far as books in 100 yrs. The Vanished Messenger By E. Phillips Oppenheim was published by Little, Brown & Co. for $1.30 in 1914 and at the time that must have been a very expensive book as many could be bought for 5-10 cents via catalog. Now days a book that cost that little (in paper) wouldn't even pay back its cost of printing I bet. In fact the only place you find books for that low now is in ebook format books.

[corroonb]

Inflation, a mass market and updated technology have made books cheaper than ever. Even hard-backs are cheaper than they've ever been. You could argue that materials are cheaper and of lower quality and you'd probably be right.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by corroonb

Inflation, a mass market and updated technology have made books cheaper than ever. Even hard-backs are cheaper than they've ever been. You could argue that materials are cheaper and of lower quality and you'd probably be right.

True, but $1.30 must have been a fortune to spend on a book back in 1914. To get in a movie house back then was probably still 5 cents at most. Of course people made a lot less money at their jobs back then too. A sandwich in a restaurant from around that time was either 5-10 cents. Of course I wonder how many books from around 1914 are still in good shape too. They didn't use acid free paper back then I'm thinking either.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by crich70

True, but $1.30 must have been a fortune to spend on a book back in 1914. To get in a movie house back then was probably still 5 cents at most. Of course people made a lot less money at their jobs back then too. A sandwich in a restaurant from around that time was either 5-10 cents. Of course I wonder how many books from around 1914 are still in good shape too. They didn't use acid free paper back then I'm thinking either.

I have a number of paperback books that I bought in the early to mid 70's that cost well under a dollar, brand new. There has been quite a bit of inflation in the past forty years with a lot of things, not just books.

[DrNefario]

Apparently $1.30 in 1914 would now be worth $30.93, which is not all that bad a price for a nice edition of a book, I don't think.

Edit: I should probably credit http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ as my source for that figure.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

Apparently $1.30 in 1914 would now be worth $30.93, which is not all that bad a price for a nice edition of a book, I don't think.

Edit: I should probably credit http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ as my source for that figure.

Interesting link.
I ran a spot check on paperbacks and SFBC editions from the pre-corporate era and they correlate nicely with today's ebook average prices. It also shows agency priced ebooks to be overpriced by 50-100%. Which we knew, right?

[theducks]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

Apparently $1.30 in 1914 would now be worth $30.93, which is not all that bad a price for a nice edition of a book, I don't think.

Edit: I should probably credit http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ as my source for that figure.

I was just there for other reasons.

The calculator does not take Technology advances into the mix.
I remember the first RCA color TV's (Round picture tube) in the 1950's. $600-900. Almost the price of a Automobile.
Today you can get a HDTV with a similar picture area for under $100 (and you can carry it with 1 hand )

in 1914, many books were probably set in Hot and Cold type with photo engraving used for illustrations.

Offset lithography might have been an option when many illustrations were needed, but setting an entire book that way would have been very expensive in labor.

[Kumabjorn]

Food for thought.

Changes in textbook prices.

Question is if it is related to e-book penetration? Textbooks is one are where alternatives are limited and if the Publisher doesn't offer an e-book version a student really don't have many options outside a second hand edition.

[Apache]

The prices of all things change.
Cold was $18.99 a Troy Ounce in 1914. Right now it is $1277.50 a Troy Ounce.
Apache

[QuantumIguana]

My parents bought a VCR in 1980 for $600. They purchased one movie, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, for $80.

[crich70]

In 1914
The average house cost $6,156
Equivalent today: $134,695

The average car cost $550
Equivalent today: $12,034

The average wage was $577
Equivalent today: $12,625

According to this pageclick $1.00 = $21.88 in 1914. So that would make $1.30 = $28.44 in today's funds. So very close to DrNefario's figure of $30.93.
Henry Ford apparently paid his workers $5.00 a day but that was about twice the average person's wages per day back then so $1.30 was quite an investment for a book at that time.