Why Are Tech Books So Expensive?

Hellboy0101 asks: "Once again, I found myself sifting through my local Barnes and Noble for technical books. I don't do this very often, and apparently just enough time passes for me forget how expensive these books are. I can't help but think it's the fleecing of technology workers and enthusiasts, much like OEMs clearly take advantage of gamers with their unreasonably high prices. There certainly are some glaring and welcome exceptions to this rule. But my question is this: Why do they charge this much for books, and are we actually part of the problem by continuing to pay it?"

Why do they charge this much for books?

[Anne_Nonymous]

Information wants to be $54.95 plus sales tax.

Re:Some Classic Examples

[Goo.cc]

"A friend who worked at B&N"

I work part time at a B&N (to fund my computer habit) and it does indeed happen a lot with computer books. My returns are frequently MSCE, C#, and Java books.

On the flip side, it is nice to help and talk to people who are looking for information on Linux and Mac OS X. Sadly, they are outnumbered 1000 to 1 by the Oprah zombies.

Re:K&R

[Richard Steiner]

I found a copy for US$2 at a user book store. :-)