Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Simply maddening

I don't like Harry Potter. Its not my thing. The names, the magic, the kids, the hype...all of it. People are free to do and read what they want and thats fine. But there is one thing about the Harry Potter book series that is just simple maddening. The price. When the final installment hit store shelves in July the book sold for between twenty and thirty dollars (if anyone knows an exact figure let me know, but I could swear I saw it for thirty five somewhere). So, lets say $25. Now, lets consider how much effort, time, and money went into creating this little thing. Money...zero dollars. Time...about two years working off and on whenever the author felt like writing. Effort...one person, typing at a computer, whenever she felt like it. Now, lets compare that to the film industry. To purchase a film, it is approximately $20. Thats less than the suggested retail price of Harry Potter. Lets consider how much effort, time, and money went into creating any average film. Time...upwards of three years working to meet strict deadlines. Money...millions and millions of dollars. Effort...hundreds of people working in sync for months at a time and often times in grueling climates and conditions. All that time, effort, and money to produce a product that sells for less than something any monkey can do. Doesnt quite seem fair... I'm not trying to say that movies should cost more. No, Harry Potter costs too fucking much.

5 comments:

J - Beezie said...

suggested retail for harry potter = 18.99 or 19.99 for hardcover which is about average for new hardcover books. it was the asshole retailers who jacked up the price to over 40 dollars at times. fools. supply and demand couldn't even account for that price since the supply really wasn't that limited in the first place.
i don't like harry potter, but you can't pick on it in this case. books are books. you should mention fucking text books being hundreds of dollars. now that's bullshit. book stores are cartels.

Xtian said...

Yeah text books are a little much, but maybe its cuz they reflect how much work went into them. Having to verify every single fact and cite every source. As well as having to layout every page with diagrams or problems that look professional. Literature, on the other hand, takes little to no effort from just one person. ALL LITERATURE SHOULD BE SOLD FOR NO MORE THAN FIVE DOLLARS.

J - Beezie said...

80 dollar physics workbook. half of it's blank WTF!!!!
and if writing a book is takes no effort than i challenge you to write one (several hundred pages) within the next two years and then agree to only sell it for 5 bux.

Go!

J - Beezie said...

and as far as movies go. people sell scripts for millions of dollars. writing a book and writing a script are both similar forms of story telling. on top of that, shitty scripts are sold for much more than great books. Take the script to norbit. I am betting that it sold for much more than 20 dollars. But great/classic novels by historical figures that will always be remembered and studied never sold for that much, unless, of course, if they were turned into a movie ;)

Anonymous said...

words of wisdom from jimmy...we must all take heed and listen when he speaketh. (not sarcastic, just deliberately overly emphatic)