BLS CPI data shows recreational books at -0.09%/yr since 1997; inflation-adjusted, To Kill a Mockingbird should cost $43 today but the 2023 hardcover lists at $27.99.
Key Takeaways
BLS CPI: recreational books cost $19.49 today vs $20 in 1997, while housing, healthcare, and entertainment all outpaced general inflation.
Publishing EBITDA sits at ~13.18%, below the market average (16.56%) and far below software (35.93%), pharma (33.59%), or semiconductors (36.77%).
Retailers capture ~50% of cover price; the bookstore returns system lets stores send unsold inventory back for full credit, zeroing publisher revenue on those units.
Cheaper books compress the entire supply chain: fewer advances for authors, fewer editors, lower bookseller margins, making the ecosystem less viable, not more accessible.
Hacker News Comment Review
Commenters immediately carved out textbook publishers (Pearson, Wiley, Cengage, McGraw) as a separate monopoly market with annual edition churn and one-time-use access codes; the article’s thesis does not apply there.
DRM pricing ebooks at or above paperback cost drives piracy even among buyers willing to pay; lack of true digital ownership undermines the per-dollar value argument the article makes.
Skeptics challenged the framing: demonstrating that prices are lower than inflation-adjusted 1960 baselines sidesteps affordability relative to stagnant wages or the sheer volume of free competing content available today.
Notable Comments
@dwg: argues value must be measured against today’s alternatives, not 1960 baselines; information scarcity has collapsed since Kennedy was president.
@rtpg: Japan and France’s standardized compact book formats achieve structurally lower retail prices; US and Australian oversized glossy paperback norms inflate unit costs independent of margins.
