Detroitboard.com: Books - Detroitboard.com

I have a question of opinion for you all.

There is a certain author I read that writes series' of books that are rather popular. During Christmas while shopping at the book store, I was looking to see what the new offerings were from him. There was a new hard cover he wrote about a year ago that I was looking for in paper back now that it's been a while. They had that book in pb, but instead of the standard pocket sized pb book, it was in a paper back about the size of a comic book.

I usually wait for the pb version because I think it's a waste of $$ to buy hard cover books. You pay about $7 tops for a pb version, vs $25+ for a hc. Well, this larger book was priced at $15. Which is less than the hc version, but still at least double the normal pocket version.

I looked it up on amazon as well to make sure it just wasn't that particular store, and sure enough that is the pb version of that book.

SO this is how I see it. The publisher is putting out the larger version to get more $$ from the consumer. Other than people who need larger print books, there is no one that really wants or needs the bigger version, which has the exact same content that a smaller pocket sized book would have. And although I'm sure there is more expense involved with printing the larger book, I don't believe it amounts to double, and I don't believe the publisher would put the book out in that size if it cost more.

IMO, the publisher is doing this because they know there will be a demand for the book, and it's a way to get more $$ for a book because they feel people will still buy it at the higher price. There is really no good reason. And I say that because of this, it's a scam.

I have people that disagree with me. Their point is, because you don't have to buy the book, you can choose to not buy it in that size, it's not a scam. Their point is, a scam implies trickery or deception of some sort, and because you have a choice to not buy the book there is no trickery.

I disagree. I don't think you have to buy the book for it to be a scam. I think their intentions to get more $$ for the book are disingenuous, and that makes it a scam. I also contend some people will buy the book still, and that they are being scammed out of money because the book would normally get much less if printed in the smaller size.

Now, I understand the book is worth what people will pay for it, I don't have to buy the book if I don't want to pay that, etc. But I also know that it's not a pure market situation. You cannot offer less for the book if you disagree with the price, you're stuck with the price the publisher is offering. Normally, a smaller pb version of the book would go for half that price. I say it's a scam to get more $$ out of the book, the publisher is controlling both supply and price by issuing the book this way, and abnormally inflating the price of a book that would go for less if they published it to industry standard sizes.

What do you think?

I think I just wasted 30 seconds of my life reading that.

I used to be a huge hardcover fan, but also switched to paperbacks. Personally, one of my fave things are the "omnibus" editions that come from the Sci-Fi Book Club, that are usually a hardcover, but they're usually comprised 2 to 8 paperbacks, or 2 to 3 hardcovers, and are usually significantly cheaper than even buying the paperbacks individually. Win/win.

This is why I get books at the library when they first come out and then way later I will buy the book if I really want to at a book sale down the line.

I hate spending on many things (truth is I HATE shopping), and books are one of them. However I love to read.

Anita, on Jan 5 2007, 10:43 AM, said:

I don't go to libraries unless I'm doing research. A normal pb book isn't that expensive, and I'd rather not share the germs of other cheap bastards.

Tom, on Jan 5 2007, 10:49 AM, said:

I have a Dad, thankyouverymuch

Hotrod - :spew:


I rarely buy hardcovers. I read on the couch or in bed a lot and balancing that big ole thing gets real old real quick.

I understand your disgust, Tom, but I don't think it's a scam. It's capitalism.

To add constructively to the conversation.....I prefer hardcovers. I'm geeky, and I'm building up a library of books - and I think they look really good in hardcover on a bookshelf.

I think that this arguement could not only be considered for books, but for everything else a consumer buys. Cars, boats, x-box gaming stuff etc...
just sayin' :whistling:

Weener Lobo, on Jan 5 2007, 11:24 AM, said:

Exactly. It's not exactly a scam in that it doesn't involve deception but, if nothing else, it IS capitalistic coercion. My only advice is that if you, and all the rest of his existing fan-base, refuse to accept this form of publication, then maybe they'll rethink their strategy. This may be a choice that involves waiting a long time for satisfaction but, really, what choice do you have?

Of course, I'm not really suggesting that you try and contact fans and start a petition of some kind. I'm merely suggesting that if a predominent number of fans share your disgust, then maybe the publishers will change their mind. It's kind of a balancing act between this disgust and the public's resolve in their stand against this coercion.

In other words, I got nothin'

What ticks me off is that eventually they'll start selling the normal sized paperback, after the comic book sized paperback has been out for awhile. So, usually I wait. I prefer paperbacks because I love to be able to bend the binding. That makes for good reading!

I usually wait for the E-Book version to come out. Too hell with paper.

John Quincy Adams, on Jan 6 2007, 06:01 PM, said:

They don't put out every book in e version. I wish they would, I'd buy that vesion fist.

Actually, they do. People scan them into PDF files. Thats what I heard at least. :whistling:

When I bought my pda I was all about e versions of books. If they are out there, they must be hiding, because I can't find them anywhere.

They are out there. You're not going to get a first printing, sometimes not even the first paperback series. You have to figure out how the publisher is distributing it. Some publishers do it directly with their own exclusive site, some use all available outlets like when they sell regular books. You have to do a little google research.

I just get them off the newsgroups.