[Current & Culture]Book Prices: The Real Reason Behind the Increase...

Free Shipping Disappears for Orders Under 15,000 Won
A Greater Factor Than Rising Paper and Labor Costs

The editor in charge at the publishing company contacted me. They said they would raise the book price from 15,000 won to 16,500 won. As an author, once I send the manuscript, the rest is the publisher’s role in making the book, so I just accept it, thinking maybe the price of paper has gone up. These days, with rising prices, nothing remains unaffected. Even when going out for a meal, it’s hard to find something under 10,000 won. Near my home, Kongguksu (cold soybean noodle soup) costs 10,000 won, Jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) is 10,000 won, and if you want a large portion, you have to pay an extra 1,000 won. In such circumstances, a 10% increase in book prices is nothing.

The price of my first book published in 2015 was 12,000 won, the book published in 2016 was 13,000 won, the one in 2018 was 15,000 won, and by 2023 it had reached 16,500 won. The number of pages in the books is generally similar, and there are no color pages, so the price of books has steadily increased as well.

I run a one-person publishing company and published two books this year. The prices of the two books were 15,500 won and 16,500 won.

However, if you are someone who often buys books, you might have noticed that the prices of newly released books have risen as if by collusion. No matter what book I publish now, I will not set the price below 16,700 won. As for whether paper costs or labor costs have increased that much, I don’t know from the perspective of running a small publishing company. But doing so allows you to buy books a little cheaper. It sounds like a play on words that book prices have to rise for you to buy books cheaply, but it’s true.

Books have generally been shipped for free regardless of where you buy them. Online bookstores like Kyobo Book Centre, Aladin, and Yes24 have provided free shipping even if you buy just one book, regardless of the price.

But recently, all bookstores have started charging about 2,500 won for shipping if the payment amount is below 15,000 won. So, a minimum purchase amount for free shipping has been established. You might think the book price should just be 15,000 won then, but online bookstores always offer a 10% discount on the list price. If you apply a 10% discount to 16,500 won, it becomes 14,850 won, and adding 2,500 won shipping means you have to pay 17,350 won for one book. You might want to pay 150 won more to buy it at 15,000 won and get free shipping, but since the price is fixed, you have no choice but to buy it.

I have already set the price of my next book at 16,700 won. If the book price is set at 16,700 won, the online bookstore’s selling price will be 15,030 won, so when buying one book, 16,700 won is the cheapest way to price the book. Since nearly 90% of sales happen through online bookstores, there is no way around it.

When ordering food through delivery apps, you first see the delivery fee and choose if the cost-effectiveness with the minimum order amount fits. Books are the same. If you have to pay a few hundred won in shipping for a 14,000 won book, some people might not buy it. With food, you can add side dishes to meet the minimum order, but you can’t do that at bookstores.

I believe delivery fees and shipping fees are necessary. The value and price of labor are not sacred only in writing and making books. I just wanted to explain the recent circumstances behind the rising book prices.

Kim Minseop, Social and Cultural Critic

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.