Why are academic books so expensive?

[Rival]

I understand some of the reasons, but not all.

For example, I buy used or reprinted academic books, such as the set I've been buying: 'Library of Christian Classics'. It's from the 1950s and they haven't even been updated, just reprinted and not even in hardbacks, just in flimsy, often lightweight editions clearly very cheaply. Yet despite this some sellers still want nearly £30 for them. They are flimsy paperbacks that usually go for around £10; not only that, but some are used copies.

What is going on?

 

[Eddi]

When I was at uni on a couple of occasions I asked the library to order a book

They did, and I didn't have to pay for them

Perhaps that might be an alternative?

 

[libre]

Books that are meant to be bought by libraries and students are priced inflexibly.
The publisher 'needs' to make as much money as possible on a limited run, so if it's a book with a small print run and the people who will buy it 'need' to buy it, they will charge an arm and a leg, and make a fortune.

 

[Rival]

When I was at uni on a couple of occasions I asked the library to order a book

They did, and I didn't have to pay for them

Perhaps that might be an alternative?

I like to mark my books though and more importantly they're not just for university. They're primarily for leisure. I hope to have them to reference throughout my life.

 

[libre]

I like to mark my books though and more importantly they're not just for university. They're primarily for leisure. I hope to have them to reference throughout my life.

I feel that.
There are many Routledge textbooks I'd like to read but even now with a 20% January sale most all of them are still $150+.

One lifehack a student colleague told me when I was in Uni, a lot of the time if you email an author who was published they would often send you digital copies for free. This is because the status-quo in academia is that oftentimes the author loses money when they choose to publish, as they need to pay all sorts of fees to the publishers.

 

[Rival]

I feel that.
There are many Routledge textbooks I'd like to read but even now with a 20% January sale most all of them are still $150+.

One lifehack a student colleague told me when I was in Uni, a lot of the time if you email an author who was published they would often send you digital copies for free. This is because the status-quo in academia is that oftentimes the author loses money when they choose to publish, as they need to pay all sorts of fees to the publishers.

This is a really horrible system. It's unfair for everyone.

 

[Eddi]

I like to mark my books

me too, I still have most of the books I used at uni around 20 years ago

vast swathes of them have been covered in highlighter pen

 

[Rival]

me too, I still have most of the books I used at uni around 20 years ago

vast swathes of them have been covered in highlighter pen

It's funny when you read a terrible book and you can write in sarcy comments. Lol.

 

[Revoltingest]

I was lucky. We had a book store that sold
a wide variety of used textbooks. I'd buy
old ones to supplement the required ones.
Sometimes the explanations were better.
They were cheap. Just a few bucks each.
I even bought used (antique even) drafting
tools there.
That store & those days are long gone.
I wonder if Amazon could serve that function?
But nuthin beats being able to pick up &
peruse a book before buying it.

 

[Rival]

I was lucky. We had a book store that sold
a wide variety of used textbooks. I'd buy
old ones to supplement the required ones.
Sometimes the explanations were better.
They were cheap. Just a few bucks each.
I even bought used (antique even) drafting
tools there.
That store & those days are long gone.
I wonder if Amazon could serve that function?
But nuthin beats being able to pick up &
peruse a book before buying it.

There are 2 shops here that sell used academic books at really good prices, but obviously you can't rely on them to have what you want. I have picked up some gems from there (just today, actually, a book Amazon wants about £40 for that's from 1995!). So I go to those ones often.

 

[libre]

I was lucky. We had a book store that sold
a wide variety of used textbooks. I'd buy
old ones to supplement the required ones.
Sometimes the explanations were better.
They were cheap. Just a few bucks each.
I even bought used (antique even) drafting
tools there.
That store & those days are long gone.
I wonder if Amazon could serve that function?
But nuthin beats being able to pick up &
peruse a book before buying it.

If you can get a used one marked up by a good student it was indispensable.
I have received a few signed books by ordering lower quality books on Amazon, that I assume the seller or warehouser didn't take too close a look at.

 

[Revoltingest]

If you can get a used one marked up by a good student it was indispensable.
I have received a few signed books by ordering lower quality books on Amazon, that I assume the seller or warehouser didn't take too close a look at.

I liked unmarked books, & kept them that way.
Later on I found with non-technical books
that notes & highlighting are useful.
So I became a book molester.

 

[Quintessence]

I dunno about the specific situation you're talking about, but in many cases scholarly books for niche academic audiences are printed by universities directly or small publishers upon order. It's like ordering a custom print book just for you, personally. That's why, for example, it was very expensive for me to get a bound book version of my thesis.

 

[Rival]

I dunno about the specific situation you're talking about, but in many cases scholarly books for niche academic audiences are printed by universities directly or small publishers upon order. It's like ordering a custom print book just for you, personally. That's why, for example, it was very expensive for me to get a bound book version of my thesis.

These are actually from the 1950s themselves, mostly, whereas the reprints are from the 2000s-2010s. Half have clearly been kept in storage at universities almost completely untouched

 

[Quintessence]

These are actually from the 1950s themselves, mostly, whereas the reprints are form the 2000s-2010s. Half have clearly been kept in storage at universities almost completely untouched

Yes, it is a bit strange. In many cases the reprints don't even happen, so there are just plain few copies circulating around. There were some really important reference books I used in my research that were more or less impossible to find on the used market for such reasons, and if you could they were hundreds of dollars and often in poor condition. I think if students knew how incredibly valuable some of the books in our herbarium were they would steal them and put them up on the market.

 

[Rival]

Yes, it is a bit strange. In many cases the reprints don't even happen, so there are just plain few copies circulating around. There were some really important reference books I used in my research that were more or less impossible to find on the used market for such reasons, and if you could they were hundreds of dollars and often in poor condition. I think if students knew how incredibly valuable some of the books in our herbarium were they would steal them and put them up on the market.

It might be possible some of them have unknown copyright owners and can't be reprinted.

 

[Father Heathen]

It's a price gouging racket.

 

[Left Coast]

I understand some of the reasons, but not all.

For example, I buy used or reprinted academic books, such as the set I've been buying: 'Library of Christian Classics'. It's from the 1950s and they haven't even been updated, just reprinted and not even in hardbacks, just in flimsy, often lightweight editions clearly very cheaply. Yet despite this some sellers still want nearly £30 for them. They are flimsy paperbacks that usually go for around £10; not only that, but some are used copies.

What is going on?

£30? Psssh, that's nothing. I've paid over $100 for a single textbook, and that was over 10 years ago.

 

[Rival]

£30? Psssh, that's nothing. I've paid over $100 for a single textbook, and that was over 10 years ago.

It's a lot of money for what the gov gives us and even supplemented with work it's not easy. I don't have that kind of money.

 

[Left Coast]

It's a lot of money for what the gov gives us and even supplemented with work it's not easy. I don't have that kind of money.

Understandable. It's a ridiculous racket. I was only able to pay my way through undergrad because I lived at home and worked full time as well.