Are book prices fair where you are?

I was thinking of buying those three Tales books, Mos Eisley, Bounty Hunters and Jabba's Palace.

Even though they're getting old, here in Aust they're still priced at $18. My Dymocks is requesting a $5 deposit per book, to obtain them from their USA supplier. That makes their combined total a whopping $70.

Ordered over Amazon, halfway across the world, I could ship them in for $42.

So I wonder, what do you think of your area's prices? $2 was added to AOTC paperback here, but other SW books are regular priced. Perhaps it's just Aust. In your country, what are your prices generally like, be the book old or recent release?

 

I got the Mos Eisley one for $4 Canadian. And every other Star Wars book I get is only $10 at my book store. So for me the book are a fair price.

 

Paperbacks are $7, hardcovers are 22? or thereabouts at barnes & nobles once they're bestsellers. Luckily there's a B&N right next to where I work

 

The Star Wars paperbacks here used to be $6 but witin the last two years have steadily increased to around $8, especially with the NJO books.

 

Fair to whom? They're expensive, sure. But most writers, on a good week, are *maybe* making minimum wage.

 

"Fair to whom? They're expensive, sure. But most writers, on a good week, are *maybe* making minimum wage. "

That's an unfortunate part of the entertainment industry in general, given that an author recieves *maybe* 3% of the $7 you pay for your paperback, while most of it goes to the publishing company. Same thing with the music industry, it's rare that a record producer won't make many times what his artists make.

Either way, I (being an American) shell out about $7 or $8 before taxes for a new paperback, and around $22 for a new hardcover.

If I were allowed, I'd sooner buy the books/records at a used store for $4 and mail a personal check for the remainder to the authors/musicians I felt deserved it.

 

But if you buy the books used, the publisher won't know the demand for the author's books, and the author might not be able to sell another book.

 

Therein lies the problem.

Then again, if the author (you know, the one actually spending his time writing the book, and doing all the work) were given the lion's share of the profits from it, I'd be complaining about buying them used.

Excellence, I also just looked up the current exchange rate for Australian dollars to US dollars, and I find your book prices to be absolutely ridiculous by US standards.

Then again, you probably knew that all too well.

 

Nothing is fair where I am...

Just kidding! I usually buy from Wal*Mart or Hastings as their prices are always below cover.

 

?9 paperback and ?26 for a hardcover in my local comic shop here in Munich, Germany...
thx to the weak $

 

Does Australia have some sort of equivalent to the British VAT that's driving the prices up?

 

I don't think they're too bad here in the States. I was really upset when the prices were raised (again) but I just hope that they did it so the author is getting more money. I promised myself one things years and years ago, that no matter how much they cost or how much money I had, I would always buy books. It's gotten a little rough sometimes, but generally well worth it.

 

Paperbacks here are about $7, hardcover $25. Yeah, it's fair. That's accually gone from 5.99 to 6.99 or 7.99 here.