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AUGUST 21, 2003 at 12:49 AM
Posted by JAMES
Source: Hull Daily Mail via Wizard News
Reported popular opinion
among the visually impaired fans of Potter heralds the news that prices for the audio versions of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix reach an estimated £75 for the CD package, and £65 for the cassettes.
Joanne McDonald, 40, of Hessle, is an avid fan of the young wizard and has been eagerly awaiting the talking book's September release date.
But she says prices have shot up by £15 to £75 for a CD version, and £65 for a tape.
She said: "My sister bought the printed version for under £10. It is making money off the disabled.
"It is terrible. I read all the other books before I went blind in February."
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Witch
Points: 750
siriusgurl says:
um I'd get it more if the prices weren't in pounds. But thats not fair really.
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 12:55 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2391
HPN4eveRon says:
Aw...THat is not fair. I feel really sorry for the person that went blind before they could read the 5th. I would sit and read it to that person if i had to. Or any other blinde person for that matter.
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 1:06 AM EST
Professor
Points: 1092
Lord Grindelwald says:
I can't believe it that is so unfair.
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 1:12 AM EST
Witch
Points: 975
Lilune says:
They should at least have them the same/around the same price as a regular CD. How many pounds is a CD in the UK? Or maybe just the same price as the written book. That way it's more fair and people can just take their pick.
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 2:52 AM EST
Points: 383
electra says:
Very unfair. I wanted to buy the CDs for PoA, but they're too expensive for me.*sobs*
My heartfelt sentiments to the lady mentioned above. Tragic.
My suggestion : let somebody read them alound for you ?
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 3:35 PM EST
Auror
Points: 2773
Alessandra says:
Sorry, but having an audio version of the book priced differently does not equal making money from the disabled. That's just utter poo-poo. It's very fair.
This quote in particular really teed me off: "There are an awful lot of blind children whose parents cannot afford the prices. It is a big jump in price when the book isn't that much longer than the last one." Perhaps if those parents READ to their children it wouldn't matter how much the audio book cost?
Audio books cost more because the performer must be paid in addition to the author. There are also studio and production costs that just aren't there for a print version.
As far as pricing them the same as a regular CD? Well, here a single CD of music costs about $16. There are over 20 CDs in Phoenix. By that pricing, Lilume, Phoenix would cost over $320.
In the US, the National Braille Press is offering the book in braille for $30 - but since they are non-profit they can take such a loss. Phoenix takes 13 braille volumes which have to be cut and bound by hand. There's a neat article here - pardon me for being too lazy to remember how to link:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0701/p12s01-lecl.html
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 3:40 PM EST
Auror
Points: 4247
gryfgirl says:
I agree that does sound unfair at first impression but with consideration, it seems more that the writer of this article put a spin on it for whatever reason (probably hoping to generate interest by hopping on the HP-controversy bandwagon).
Of course the audiobook prices have jumped up from the first to the fifth — you are talking about a difference between 7 CDs vs. 23 of them! That's more than tripled. If the price remained the same, I'd think somebody at the publisher's needed a head check. CDs in themselves are fairly cheap to physically manufacture but they have to have placed content on them, and that means performers have to be paid, along with the studio crew producing the work, and those people are doing triple the work from before. Add in additional packaging for an expanded product, and that shipping is going to cost more on the same grounds, etc. Looking at it realistically I think it's easy to see why #5 is more expensive to buy than #1.
Incidentally, and simply out of my own curiosity more than anything else, I just checked out prices for Braille versions of all the HP books at Amazon.com and they aren't unreasonably priced. The first three installments all list at US$20, and only at GOF does it step up slightly to $25 - again, you'd naturally expect this since GOF was another drastic increase in length. (OOTP on Braille is still pending release). Granted these are slightly more expensive than standard print paperbacks, but it's again a question of covering costs for the materials used - i.e. more paper & shipping a heavier product.
A blind friend of mine uses Braille to read with her fingers, and it's as natural to her as reading with eyes would be to most people. Having somebody else read aloud to you (that's what audiobooks are, after all) is like a luxury, whether you happen you to be sighted or blind. Yes the story is the same, but somebody else has taken time out to perform it... leaving you free to run around doing housework, drive your car, exercise - whatever it is you do while you're simultaneously listening. Audiobooks are more a convenience than anything, and that aspect is what you are really paying for, and why when you buy them instead of print materials the cost is generally going to be higher.
I do not think this is a case of evil or "mean" HP publishers deliberately targeting this certain group of their audience & trying to milk more money out of them. I do, however, think it's unfortunate & even slightly malicious that the author chose this somewhat nasty angle to report about a common & perfectly legit business practice.
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 3:49 PM EST
Witch
Points: 917
Slytherin_Punk says:
That is ahsame. Maybe they can get the tape. I couldn't understand the pounds though.
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 4:20 PM EST
Head Boy
Points: 423
ApplebyArrows says:
That is so sad. I would gladly read it to those blind people.
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 4:27 PM EST
Muggle
Points: 56
Auberon says:
Guys I couldnt agree more here. Audio books are not just for the blind, in fact they are targeted at people who like to listen tobooks while on long trips or who just enjoy the old time radio experience for their favorite books. POinting the finger at these producers and saying your trying to scam the disabled is mean and viscious in itself. Ever heard a book on audio? They have sound effects, some have multiple voice actors for the different lines and almost all have a unique musical score written for them. The running time on the OotP is something like 28 hours! Thats a lot of work and a lot of product! I think 75 pounds is very reasonable for this form of medium. Books on audio, read in their entirety take a lot of work. Ive bought a few recently, specifically a starwars novel and an ann rice novel in audio form for something like 17 bucks a piece. They were 2! audio tapes that SEVERLY SEVERLY cut down on the content of the book. So if you want the full text, every word read outloud and performed, be prepared to pay for the luxery. So no it is not unfair. Its completly fair, and yes I am teed off
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 4:47 PM EST
Muggle
Points: 56
Auberon says:
DogStar....or anyone else for that matter. If you can explain to me exactly how offering 23 cds at roughly 90 bucks american (less than 4 dollars per fully produced, full content cd!) is a rip off then I would appreciate it.
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 5:49 PM EST
Student
Points: 257
witch_hazel says:
That's really out of order. Of course you'd expect the prices to go up a bit since the books are longer and better but honesty £75 and £65? That's just a rip-off.
If I was blind I wouldn't pay that amount of money. I'd get my mum or a friend to read it to me. It'd be cheaper. I can't believe how much it is. That's just so nasty.
Do the books come in braille? They should do, they come in Welsh and Latin! If they don't have braille books they really should, it would cost less than £75 and £65 for audio tapes.
I think right now a decent price to pay would be between £20 and £30. Any more is just stupid. They can't seriously expect blind people to put up with this? They have to lower the price. It's just so horrible when people who can see can buy the book for around 1/4 of the price!
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 7:48 PM EST
Witch
Points: 712
harryroxmysocks says:
Thats not fair, but I dont really understand the prices.
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 9:20 PM EST
Auror
Points: 2773
Alessandra says:
witch_hazel: It most certainly is not out of order considering the amount of work that goes into them.
If you do a bit of research, you see that audio books are not necessarily for the blind:
Audio CD Amazon.com Sales Rank: 867
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 112
Audio cassette Amazon.com Sales Rank: 1,098
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 267
I seriously doubt there are enough blind people to account for those sales ranks. People who can see just fine are obviously buying the audiobooks as well.
The CD is pre-selling for £52.50, the cassettes for £45.50. That's not too bad.
If you really don't want blind people to pay fair market value for a product - especially one not created specifically for blind people, as the article tried to imply - then start a charity foundation to buy audiobooks for blind people.
And yes, it is available in braille in the UK as well: http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/uk/newsid_3042000/3042030.stm
Y'all can go on and on about it not being fair, but the only way to be completely, 100% fair is to remove the eyes from all the people who can see right now. Then everyone would be blind and life would be fair for all...except for those who cannot hear....
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 9:55 PM EST
Order of Merlin, 1st Class
Points: 1856
Rupert Baby says:
That is completely horible, i think there should be some way for the disabled to get a resonable prices i mean come on although im sure people would somehow find out a way to get the lower prices even if they werent disabled so maybe there is something else we can do?!?
Posted Aug 21, 2003 at 10:30 PM EST
Astro Zombie
Points: 2603
Fallen Bomb says:
I don't thin their being cheated but it is alot I don't think their being cheated cause Braille is harder and more expencive to make than regular versions.
Posted Aug 22, 2003 at 2:21 AM EST
Metamorphmagus
Points: 37946
tonks black says:
Aww..i feel sorry for the boy going blind in february. sometimes i wonder if i am going blind because my visions always seems to be getting worse and i would be heartbroken if i read the first four and had to pay alot to hear the fifth.
Posted Aug 22, 2003 at 10:01 AM EST
Muggle
Points: 56
Auberon says:
ARRG! some of you guys are frustrating me to no end! *deep breath* ok your grasp of economics is not so great. DOnt let this article sucker you! Hes taking a pulling on the heart string issue of blindness to make to producers of the audio stuff look like bad guys! AGAIN IF ANY OF YOU CAN EXPLAIN TO ME HOW 23 CDS AT ROUGHLY 90 AMERICAN (28 HOURS OF MATERIAL) IS A RIP OFF, AND THAT MEANS GIVING ME A REASON OTHER THAN OH ITS TO EXPENSIVE FOR THE BLIND PEOPLE I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT!
Posted Aug 22, 2003 at 11:32 AM EST
Points: 200
Brittany says:
I'm not sure which side of this I'm on. Both sides have good arguments. Disabled people have a much harder time in life. It's hard for them to make extra money. If they really want a book, and they have to spend a lot of money on it, it might be financially hard for them. However, the producers of the CDs and tapes have to make money too. There are Braille books, and if the person cannot read Braille, maybe someone could read the book to them. In addition, at our library, they have many copies of the Harry Potter books on tapes. You can check them out, so, if a blind person couldn’t read the Braille copies of the book, they could just go to the library and check out the audio version. It's free that way. You might have to be on a waiting list for about a month, but you wouldn't have to pay any money.
Posted Aug 25, 2003 at 12:46 AM EST
Wizard
Points: 547
ivanlo says:
Oh man I feel so bumed out for her and all other diasbled HP fans. I think J.K.R. should have a say in this!!!
Posted Aug 25, 2003 at 12:58 AM EST
Points: 16
toasty boy says:
the cds and tapes are going to be more expensive because they cost more to produce. a book is only made of paper and ink meaning cheap to mak, cds need to be recorded so they have to pay the narrator, rent the recording studio and then produce the cds.
[b]even though it is still WAY too much to pay for a book!!!
Posted Aug 27, 2003 at 10:21 AM EST
Points: 3
Hagridsidiotbrother says:
I am new to WRITING on this website. But that is so freakin' wrong. (I used to know how to convert Pounds in U.S. Currency.) All I know is that that is still too much for an audio version of HP: 5.
Posted Sep 2, 2003 at 2:03 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2034
Professor Snape says:
Wow!! This article seemed to split the views of a lot of readers. Personally, I can see the audio books cost more than the regular books, considering there is a lot more put into them to make the product (maybe not 500% more than the making price). However, I think the braille books should be a little bit cheaper than what they are now. Not low enough that the prodcucers take a loss but a decent price so blind peopl can enjoy the books also. I also argree that this article was wriiten to pull on the heartstrings of readers.
Posted Nov 15, 2003 at 11:21 PM EST
Professional Beater
Points: 20891
feltonluver says:
That is terrible! The tapes should be that more expensive, especially since they cannot read it but they have to hear it... thats mean.
Posted Feb 29, 2004 at 7:36 PM EST
Mediwitch
Points: 2608
nickyole1 says:
Well, I do agree. That is super unfair. I have a blind friend, and she never really has any money because anything for the blind is really expensive.
Posted Jul 31, 2004 at 8:29 PM EST
Student
Points: 212
TomFeltonsLady005 says:
That is horrible.
I didn't notice the pounds sign untill i read a couple of posts on this topic. I don't get brittish currency but all i know that it is such a rip off!!!!
Posted Sep 2, 2004 at 8:50 PM EST
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