Photography book prices rising beyond the grasp of real enthusiasts.

[bdial]

Not some roll, it is *the* roll.

I've been to universities in three countries including a US university. Those prices are not justified in any way. They are not really printed in such limited numbers. And if they are it is artificially so by having a 'new edition' every year or two. The major change is in the the page numbers. That way they prevent the used book market from disrupting their business model.

US universities teach undergrad courses (and many grad courses) like a school class, requiring every student to have exactly the same book. That is the enabler of this scandal. And publishers lobby professors to use their books with various enticements. Same corruption as in politics. There simply is no market, only oligopolies. Text books in other countries, including the UK, are much cheaper. And arguably better, the US editions are often like child books.

The profits posted by those publishers in such a small 'market' speak the truth.

The numbers are minuscule compared to mass market books.
Additionally, they cost much more to produce because of the content, especially if there are illustrations.

 

[Arklatexian]

(a bit of a rant here, but I do have a point)
I have a constantly growing library, like many of you, of photography books...books by many of
the photographers work I enjoy. They are well read, and a constant reference for me to gain
insight and inspiration. Notice I referred to it as a "library". Libraries get used. The online
marketplace has given us all, good and bad, a general reference point of an items worth, and
quite quickly when doing ones research on a future purchase or something they plan to sell, they
consult the mecca of ebay. Even at a flea market, you'll hear the seller quote "what it's going for on Ebay".
Going for and actually selling at are different things. I often begrudgingly purchase books on ebay, as so many of the old bookstores I visited are gone due to rising rent and neighborhood gentrification, now occupied by hipster coffee joints. (the sarcasm is pretty thick here)

Photo book prices being established by the online sellers are more than skewed for the most part, especially
with books that had thousands of copies produced. Unless we are talking first editions of low run numbers, most of the books are overpriced, and although I am a proponent of the open market, many of these books are getting to be so expensive, they are no longer available to those who truly love the work of the artist they present. Just because the photographer is now gone, doesn't justify these overinflated prices. Recently,
I saw several of the same book on ebay in identical condition listed for different prices that ranged in the hundreds of dollars, and in this instance, I know that over 3000 copies of that book were published. Look at any of the listings for Robert Franks The Americans, and it's comical. Unless they are first editions, and most aren't, their actual collectors value is nil. Sure, a seller wants to make money, but $200 for a tattered yellowed edged book from a secondary or tertiary print run numbering in the thousands....come on.

Just very frustrated. I feel an artists work should be viewable to the masses, and I don't mean on a monitor, but in a book in your hand...and before you say "go to a library then"...go to one and see the lack of
representation I refer to on books on the subject, other than "Nikon's guide to digital.

I am a little puzzled by the use of the words "over priced". Are these books selling at these prices? If they are, evidently they are not over-priced. If they aren't, then one reason may be their price. Maybe they just aren't worth what is being asked for them. Prices of all sorts are normally not aimed at whether a buyer is an enthusiast or not. Prices are based on cost plus a profit. If the "old bookstores" had made enough profit, you would not be able to drink coffee where they once were. Now if the problem is that the books I want are selling for more than I can afford, then that is my problem, not the world's........Regard!

 

[Ai Print]

So far the one book I want that has escaped me is James Nachtwey's "Inferno,"

My only photo indulgence that is not a tax deduction are photo books.

When I was at the very first Look3 some ten years ago, Nachtwey had a bunch of first editions of Inferno at his table, they were $100. I hesitated because it was a sizable book to be packing in my luggage but I went for it anyway. Now among other *very* expensive photo books, over 100 also signed, it sits amid them. I hung out and had a beer with him later that night, asked him if he would ever venture off into another genre if this one got to be too much for him.

He said "Nah, all I will ever be is a war photographer."

Photo books are expensive and life is short so you make your choices and live that life.

 

[Sirius Glass]

My only photo indulgence that is not a tax deduction are photo books.

All my photography is my non tax deductible photography, equipment, supplies, books, ...

 

[Moopheus]

Unlike most photobooks, the (often multiple) authors of such textbooks expect to get paid fairly for their work. Many times the new editions are caused by changes in laws/ regulations/ new science etc, etc.

A few years back I spent 14 months working as a copyeditor on a high school biology textbook. Along with a staff of six or seven editors. The total production budget for this book was on the order of $10 million. But it was more or less guaranteed to be profitable for the publisher. Yes, science and law texts need to be kept up to date, but there are also accountants looking at spreadsheets showing how long it's going to take them to recoup the investment on a new edition, state buying cycles, projected lifespan of the products, and so on and so forth. Literally like a depreciation schedule. At that level, decisions are driven more by profit than topical needs.

 

[darkroommike]

Best examples of 'overpriced'...text books in college bookstores. Photography books are bargains by comparison!

I just went to the online bookstore for UC Berkeley, and a freshman 2nd semester biology book is $109.
A book for Chemistry 105 is $440/

The new textbook we are adopting for B&W film photography is Bruce Warren's Photography: The Concise Guide (with Resource Center Printed Access Card) 2nd Edition it's $130 for a book most of these student's will not want to keep, I tried to argue for something cheaper or one of the two older books he had written with almost identical content but we need something the bookstore can stock so that students can use their loan money to purchase the book. It's a damn shame, it's not worth that kind of money.

 

[skorpiius]

That situation is very close to criminally wrong!

The best is when your textbook is only available in hardcover, and costs $100, oh and written by your prof. Then you go to class and he has an obviously cheaper but not available softcover version.

 

[Arklatexian]

The best is when your textbook is only available in hardcover, and costs $100, oh and written by your prof. Then you go to class and he has an obviously cheaper but not available softcover version.

This happens because he can't afford a hardback version of his own book. He is still trying to pay off his student loan/loans. Some people are never able to pay them off.........Regards!

 

[CMoore]

This happens because he can't afford a hardback version of his own book. He is still trying to pay off his student loan/loans. Some people are never able to pay them off.........Regards!

Yeah, i remember when Obama, with just a year or two left in his Presidency, said something like.....He and his wife had Just Paid Off Their Student Loans, right before occupying The Whitehouse for the first time.
I did not go to school, but i have sympathy for "regular people" that endure that scenario.

 

[larfe]

Masahisa Fukase's 2017 reprint of Ravens, priced at £75/$85.

This is a small book with 80 plates in it. How come is it so expensive?