12-20-2015, 02:18 PM | #1 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
Blast from the past: Alistair Cooke on publishing in 1980
From the BBC archives:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/arti...lling-business Lots of things have changed since 1980. But not the in the realm of corporate publishers. Quote:
|
|
01-03-2016, 09:24 PM | #2 |
Montreal wins Grey Cup!
Posts: 7,583
Karma: 31484197
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Raleigh, NC
Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite
|
I wonder why the cost of making a book tripled between 1965 and 1980.
Was it really just the price of paper? |
Advert | |
|
01-03-2016, 09:57 PM | #3 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,502
Karma: 28893796
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Perth Western Australia
Device: kindle
|
That was the period of big inflation, if I remember. Everything trebled.
|
01-04-2016, 10:45 AM | #4 |
Well trained by Cats
Posts: 29,800
Karma: 54830978
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: The Central Coast of California
Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A
|
Ink
Environmental laws required major formulation changes (and press adjustments) and greed Any time there is a real excuse to blame for a rise, they slide in a little extra (roundup the cents). |
01-05-2016, 12:10 PM | #5 |
Just a Yellow Smiley.
Posts: 19,161
Karma: 83862859
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Texas
Device: K4, K5, fire, kobo, galaxy
|
The oil crisis.
|
Advert | |
|
01-06-2016, 06:25 PM | #6 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
The oil crisis and the attendant inflation started around 1974.
Paperback prices had already doubled/trebled from $0.35/0.50 to $1.25/1.75 by the early 70's. I have a bunch of used paperbacks dating all the way back to the 50's. I could go digging through them to document pricing up to the 90's, when I started transitioning to ebooks. Once paperback prices hit $6 I cut back drastically on new purchases. (Plus, the TBR closet was overflowing.) Or, I can go see what Google/Bing cough up to back my recollections. Edit: fbone already did the honors in 2010. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=102755 Last edited by fjtorres; 01-06-2016 at 06:55 PM. |
01-06-2016, 07:08 PM | #7 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
Also in 2010 Salon took a look at hardcover prices:
http://www.salon.com/2002/12/03/prices/ Of note, they point out that the cost of paper/printing/etc is at most 20%. As documented all over, publisher overhead is the single biggest item in the hardcover cost structure. |
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Literary 1961-1980 Vote • May 2015 | sun surfer | Book Clubs | 10 | 05-10-2015 11:11 AM |
Oh blast | ShortNCuddlyAm | Reading Recommendations | 18 | 01-03-2009 10:27 PM |
A blast from the past | cbarnett | Introduce Yourself | 7 | 08-29-2007 11:11 AM |