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I have not bought anything on Amazon in almost two years, and was searching for a used book today. I noticed with surprise that the price was about triple from what I expected. A brief look into about dozen other books showed that this has indeed happened across the board: all the used books I checked out were listed for twice to four times the price for which you could order them 2.5 years ago! This is quite unbelievable! While the fact that I have thousands of used books (mostly from $1 library sales, some for $4-$8 sourced from Amazon) could make me a real profiteer if I decide to sell my home library in 30 years (if I can't see enough to read any more), it is still a rather unpleasant surprise. I have so many books that I don't think I want too many more, but still. Are paper books suddenly becoming valuable antiques, or is this just a general effect of inflation?
My guess is that the rise in price is due to transportation costs skyrocketing (i.e. shipping to you), however Its just a guess.
Edit - I wonder if you would see the same increase shopping in person at a local book store?
Shipping has increased, but it is primarily the cost of books themselves. I was looking for a used paperback, not rare, not special, and expected to find it in "very good" condition for $2.50... the cheapest is in "acceptable" condition from Goodwill for $8.00 plus shipping. Other books I looked up (including some I bought just pre-pandemic) are likewise 2x to 4x what I expected, or paid for pre-pandemic.
Although I am normally an avid bookstore browser, I have not been inside a bookstore in two years either, so I don't know what the bookstore prices are now.
my unofficial observation is that new books that used to cost around $25 are selling for $30.
If you want a specific book you will have to pay more than before. Rather surprising with the popularity of e-readers.
Locally there's a thrift store that sells used books for $5/bag.
You might try the library. You don't have to own a book to read it.
Of course I use the libraries too. But I peruse about 30 books from my home library on an average day. I like browsing at home too :-). I do have to own a book for the purpose of it always being on hand. Books are my security blanket in life (and an excellent sound insulation when one lives in a condo :-).
As an AZ seller, I don't generally list a book for less than $8.00. Between shipping costs going up (and Amazon not raising what they charge the buyer) and fees, it's not worth it to sell for less. Sellers who sell a lot of books can get a pro account with smaller fees, that's not an option for me. Sellers who do Fulfillment by Amazon don't have to worry about shipping costs, so if you are looking for a heavy book at a low price, FBA sellers are your best bet. I still ship all my own books myself.
I'm keeping my own private library because I think that public libraries are eventually going to fall by the wayside thanks to ebooks and the digital age.
The problem is that the classics are being abridged. The works of great authors are being modified and dumbed down for today's readers. So, I hang onto my little library.
I'm keeping my own private library because I think that public libraries are eventually going to fall by the wayside thanks to ebooks and the digital age.
The problem is that the classics are being abridged. The works of great authors are being modified and dumbed down for today's readers. So, I hang onto my little library.
Yes, not only that, but I just bought a classic, Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell, that had a "warning" on the page prior to the start of the book that the novel presented racial stereotypes that might be offensive to some readers. I had enjoyed the television series with Judi Dench so I thought I would read the book, which I did, but I failed to see any racial stereotypes whatsoever. (As there were no characters in the novel that were not white Europeans, I thought it might have referred to the time the character's brother was in India, but nope, did not find anything offensive there.)
So maybe some publishers are publishing the warning "just in case"?
Last edited by katharsis; 03-02-2022 at 09:14 AM..
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