Anyone else noticed price of books on Amazon now?

[tessiegirl]

There used to be so many books for less than £5 on there. It's not my imagination that this has changed is it?
Corona I'm guessing...

No change that I've noticed. Other stuff has gone up though.

Kindle books have dropped massively. They have introduced the removing of VAT early, so they now come out as waay before the price of paper books, and most were already cheaper...

I have so many books that are £7.99 or £8.99 in my basket and I keep checking to see if they have been lowered
They used to do loads for £4.50 ish

Yes. I used to buy used books to take on holiday for 1p plus postage which was around the £2 mark. I looked the other day and the used books were now over £2 plus postage had gone up so they were nearly £5. I'm not paying that. Can get them brand new for a couple of pound more.
The sellers know libraries are shut and people are at home reading more so bump up the prices. I know it's supply and demand but to me it's also profiteering and I refuse to line someone's pockets so I'm re reading books of the bookshelf.

There don't seem to be as many discounts on print books but a lot more on e-books. As Amazon is cutting down warehouse space given to non-essentials, I think that they are including a number of books in the non-essential category, in addition they are strongly pushing Kindle titles as these also take pressure off deliveries. I've noticed that when searching for a physical book the recommendations given below on the site are almost always for Kindle titles at the moment, rather than other print books

I found it really difficult to find paperback books that I though my DM would actually like for her birthday. Hadn't really made the connection to Covid-19.

Far be it from me to suspect Amazon of being anything other than public spirited, but their 'de-prioritising' of books in favour of ebooks (and hair dye and dog beds and yoga mats and phone chargers and fleecy blankets and any of the other random stuff ordered by this house in the last seven weeks) certainly can't have harmed their longterm aim of getting everyone onto Kindle Unlimited.

But most books have a jacket price, so cost the same in every shop - Amazon or not?

Oakmaiden the jacket price is just the recommended retail price, it’s up to the shop how much it’s sold for. Books are often much cheaper in supermarkets than in your local independent bookshop, because they can afford to discount more.

Amazon and supermarkets negotiate steep discounts from the publishers in return for larger orders, which is why smaller independent shops struggle so much in the current climate - they're usually the only outlets charging the full cover price.

I am noticing I am paying near double the price for my books from Amazon these days. I used to buy both from Amazon and Waterstones. I don’t get on with kindles so I am bankrupting myself on books now.

Postage has gone up for Sending 2nd hand books. It used to be £2-3 depending on the size of the book. I posted an average sized book the other day and it was £3.10 now, 2nd class. So that’s probably increased Some of the prices. A lot of charity shops sell their books this way so to make a profit of some kind have to charge a £1 or so on to of p&p prices.

Well, the authors need to get paid! Average earnings for a UK writer are something like £11k.

Great opportunity to switch your book buying to Waterstones, Blackwells and independent bookshops. Many indies are open for online and telephone sales, and they really need people’s support to survive. It may cost a couple of quid more than Amazon but you’d be supporting your local high street businesses.

yes, this ^^ if you've got a local bookshop now really is the time to buy at least one book there for lockdown reading. I live near two really good independents and they've been amazingly proactive during the lock down, recommending books, delivering to doorsteps, pushing social media reading activity - there's a real chance high street bookselling could vanish in the next few years.

Tell me your nearest town and I’ll find you an independent bookshop that’s delivering

I have a lot of books in my wishlist which I check regularly. I've noticed some have up by £3.99, others £0.30p whilst others have dropped as much as £2.35.

I know! All the books on my wishlist are still around the 7.99 mark...😣

Captive market at the moment, innit? People are stuck at home so there’s not as much competition, so people will pay more per book.

Kindle Unlimited is a bit crap - I would love for them to offer the book equivalent of Spotify or Apple Music.

My big tescos always sells latest new books for £3.50 paperback or 2 for £6 so I check my tescos when I can

One of the things that sticks in my craw during this pandemic is Jeff Bezos making even more money than he already did. Please use independents now and when this is over, and please don't use online booking agents whether it's booking.com, Uber, just eats etc. Book direct and give the businesses the money.

If anyone's interested, it's worth checking with your local library - ours is giving free access to an online book repository. No sign up fee, you can renew the online book as many times as you want - also audio books are currently free.

Huckmuck, my Bolinda digital subscription is getting a real workout via my local library - audio books and ebooks. It's wonderful.

Abe books is brilliant if you don't mind buying second hand. Obviously, not for the brand new titles but I've had loads from there the last couple of months..

My big tescos always sells latest new books for £3.50 paperback or 2 for £6 so I check my tescos when I can

At that price, the author is almost certainly working for less than NMW.