$.50 (U.S.) in 1980 would buy the equivalent of $? in 2010?

[Buried Alien]

I'm not particularly good at math, so I'd like to ask the folks here who are...

In the U.S., how much would you need to spend today (in general) to buy the equivalent goods and services you could buy for $.50 thirty years ago in 1980?

It's basically a question about how much inflation has changed our buying power during the past thirty years.

Comic books have increased their cover prices sevenfold since 1980, but I don't think our wages have increased sevenfold during that time, have they?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Brandon Hanvey]

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

What cost $.50 in 1980 would cost $1.28 in 2009.

Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2009 and 1980,
they would cost you $.50 and $0.17 respectively.

[Buried Alien]

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

What cost $.50 in 1980 would cost $1.28 in 2009.

Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2009 and 1980,
they would cost you $.50 and $0.17 respectively.

Thanks, Brandon.

So what many of us have suspected for a long time is true: we ARE getting ripped off for comics these days. :frown:

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[jessecuster3]

So what many of us have suspected for a long time is true: we ARE getting ripped off for comics these days. :frown:

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Maybe you feel ripped off, but, when you factor in the enjoyment and ability to repeatedly consume the product, maybe their value is exactly right.

[Michael P]

I'm pretty sure that you can find inflation calculators by typing "inflation calculator" into Google.

[Agent Helix]

Inflation only accounts for the difference in base monetary value. It doesn't account for the cost of new printing techniques, more expensive paper, more complex coloring, and etcetera.

[Cosmic Average]

Thanks, Brandon.

So what many of us have suspected for a long time is true: we ARE getting ripped off for comics these days. :frown:

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

First, they're printing the comics on glossy paper, with superior printing methods. The product they're selling has changed.

Second, comics aren't selling as well as they used to. Ad revenue has undoubtedly gone down. They have to recoup that loss some how.

[Brandon Hanvey]

Thanks, Brandon.

So what many of us have suspected for a long time is true: we ARE getting ripped off for comics these days. :frown:

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Keep in mind that site is very simple in terms of price inflation.

With comics, you have to keep in mind the cost of talent, production and market factors as well as inflation.

But $3.99 is high in terms of price for a 24 to 32 pages of comics. Marvel and DC, as well as others, are trying to get the maximum amount of profit out of fewer readers.

[Buried Alien]

I'm pretty sure that you can find inflation calculators by typing "inflation calculator" into Google.

Sure...but I fail at math so badly that I probably wouldn't even be able to figure out what numbers to input. :redface:

Seriously, I'm pathetic at math, which is particularly shameful for me as an Asian.

It's some kind of psychological block or phobia. When I was in Kindergarten, every time I counted higher than the numbers seven or eight, I saw myself going into some dark, hellish tunnel. My experiences with numbers have not been good since then.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Winslow]

Inflation only accounts for the difference in base monetary value. It doesn't account for the cost of new printing techniques, more expensive paper, more complex coloring, and etcetera.

Exactly.

Take something that hasn't changed much in 30 years like a refrigerator. A nice refrigerator cost $400 in 1980, and it costs the same today.

Levi's cost $25 on sale in 1980, and cost about the same today.

Or a calculator that cost $500 in 1980, probably costs $30 today.

Inflation is a bad way to calculate cost or value.

[Buried Alien]

First, they're printing the comics on glossy paper, with superior printing methods. The product they're selling has changed.

Second, comics aren't selling as well as they used to. Ad revenue has undoubtedly gone down. They have to recoup that loss some how.


Inflation only accounts for the difference in base monetary value. It doesn't account for the cost of new printing techniques, more expensive paper, more complex coloring, and etcetera.

All this is true. I wish that a less expensive alternative were available, however. Comics were once an ideal low-cost form entertainment, but today, they aren't so much.

How about movie tickets? Are we getting ripped off at the box office compared to back in 1980?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Winslow]

How about movie tickets? Are we getting ripped off at the box office compared to back in 1980?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

That's really a personal question rather than an objective one.

I feel I am getting ripped off at the movie theater so I don't go. Others enjoy it. Are they getting ripped off? Not if they enjoy it.

[Bear]

Thanks, Brandon.

So what many of us have suspected for a long time is true: we ARE getting ripped off for comics these days. :frown:

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

I'm sure that we are getting ripped-off at least a little bit (that's the cardinal rule of business--screw the consumer how ever you can legally get away with it). But let us not forget too, that the overall quality of the materials used in fabricating a comic book, have improved significantly as well.

I think a newer comic probably holds-up better to spilled milk, what with all of that (is it plastic) coating on the inside pages we have now.

I once ruined my favorite "What If?" that way...

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20051124042537/marveldatabase/images/thumb/0/07/What_If_Vol_1_3.jpg/300px-What_If_Vol_1_3.jpg

And yes: I did most certainly cry over it.

[Cosmic Average]

All this is true. I wish that a less expensive alternative were available, however. Comics were once an ideal low-cost form entertainment, but today, they aren't so much.

How about movie tickets? Are we getting ripped off at the box office compared to back in 1980?


Average ticket in 1980 was $2.69. What cost $2.69 in 1980 would cost $6.91 in 2009, according to this (http://www.westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi). So, not really.

[Bear]

Average ticket in 1980 was $2.69. What cost $2.69 in 1980 would cost $6.91 in 2009, according to this (http://www.westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi). So, no.

Tickets where I live are at least $10 a piece.

[Buried Alien]

Average ticket in 1980 was $2.69. What cost $2.69 in 1980 would cost $6.91 in 2009, according to this (http://www.westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi). So, no.

Pretty much on target with what Winslow said earlier. It depends on the product. We're overpaying for some products, and underpaying for others.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Cosmic Average]

Tickets where I live are at least $10 a piece.

Grr... Post while I'm editing, will you? :tongue:

It depends on where you live. Around here, tickets are like $7.00...

[Michael P]

Inflation only accounts for the difference in base monetary value. It doesn't account for the cost of new printing techniques, more expensive paper, more complex coloring, and etcetera.

There's also the consideration that, on the average, comics are just better now than they were in 1980.

[Cosmic Average]

There's also the consideration that, on the average, comics are just better now than they were in 1980.

That's entirely subjective. Compare the Siege to the first Secret Wars...

[Agent Helix]

Secret Wars was shit.

[Buried Alien]

Grr... Post while I'm editing, will you? :tongue:

It depends on where you live. Around here, tickets are like $7.00...

In Southern California, it's been a long time since we've been able to pay single digits for movie tickets.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Buried Alien]

Secret Wars was shit.

I thought it started out great, but really lost the plot (literally) by the end.

Most crossover events do this, of course.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[MacQuarrie]

Thanks, Brandon.

So what many of us have suspected for a long time is true: we ARE getting ripped off for comics these days. :frown:

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)
If the price difference were attributable only to inflation, that would be the case. But the reality is that modern comics do not compare to 1980 comics in any appreciable way.

Comics in 1980 were printed in runs of upward of 100,000 copies, dramatically reducing the cost per unit. Modern comics usually sell less than 1/5th that.

1980 comics were printed on the cheapest newsprint paper available. Production standards were negligible at best. Modern comics are printed on glossy paper with full bleeds. Color was flat, not the shiny pretty stuff we have today.

1980- comics carried a lot of ads. A page of little 1" x 2" ads will bring in a lot more money than a single full-page ad, and comics carried a lot of them. Ad revenues contributed a lot to the bottom line.

Artists got paid a lot less then. There was no royalty system, no profit sharing, etc.

Comics were distributed as a mass-market product and priced accordingly. Modern comics are marketed as limited edition collectibles and priced accordingly.

There are dozens of other factors that could also be mentioned, but the long and short of it is that comparing 1980 comics to 2010 comics is far beyond an apples & oranges situation.

[Serik]

Given the enormous changes the publishing industry in general has experienced over the last 30 years, I too find inflation an insufficient means by which to judge price changes. Even some newspapers are deliberately shedding readers and raising issue prices as ad revenue declines. These papers know that a certain subset of their readers will pay more upfront for a daily newspaper because it's worthwhile to them.


While the Internet is widely cited for the drop-off, the lower circulation figures have resulted in part from a conscious decision by publishers to focus on the most loyal and profitable readers, often raising prices and limiting discounts.


"First there was reducing costs to align with the revenues. Now on the revenue side, there’s a recalibration — charging more for subscriptions and driving more revenue on the circulation side."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/business/media/27audit.html

Whenever inflation is discussed, the first thing I always ask is, "Why should we assume or expect that prices (in constant dollars) will remain the same over time?"

[MacQuarrie]

In Southern California, it's been a long time since we've been able to pay single digits for movie tickets.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

You're going to the wrong theatres. The Academy on Colorado in Pasadena shows second-run movies for $3. There are dozens of other theatres around that have similar prices.

[Buried Alien]

Well, I've learned a lot during the past hour.

Unfortunately, though, I still fail at math...

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[CYOTI]

All this is true. I wish that a less expensive alternative were available, however.

Oh, really?

Comic stripes - http://www.seattlepi.com/fun/comic.asp
Web Comicss - http://www.thewebcomiclist.com/
Manga - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_manga_licensed_in_English

Complaining that you don't have "less expensive alternatives" is bogus.

[Buried Alien]

Oh, really?

Comic stripes - http://www.seattlepi.com/fun/comic.asp
Web Comicss - http://www.thewebcomiclist.com/
Manga - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_manga_licensed_in_English

Complaining that you don't have "less expensive alternatives" is bogus.

Let me be more specific: I'd like a less expensive alternative for reading new stories about Superman, Batman (both of them), the Flash (all of them), and Green Lantern (all of them). I know nothing about the merits or faults of the three links you posted, but I know for sure they aren't publishing the characters I like reading about the most.

I'd happily give up glossy paper and fancy coloring. I didn't need it in 1980 and I don't need it now. I need the characters and their associated mythos, and its being printed on cheap newsprint and in inexpensive inks won't hurt my enjoyment at all.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Slam_Bradley]

I'd happily give up glossy paper and fancy coloring. I didn't need it in 1980 and I don't need it now. I need the characters and their associated mythos, and its being printed on cheap newsprint and in inexpensive inks won't hurt my enjoyment at all.



For the most part, the presses that used that cheap newsprint and the four-colors no longer exist. So you're not going to get the cheap product we were used to 30 years ago, even if the companies were willing to go back to it. It isn't a possibility.

[Buried Alien]

For the most part, the presses that used that cheap newsprint and the four-colors no longer exist. So you're not going to get the cheap product we were used to 30 years ago, even if the companies were willing to go back to it. It isn't a possibility.

I know. It's frustrating, however. Not beat-my-chest, gouge-my-eyes out frustrating, but frustrating...slap-my-knee and utter-a-mild-expletive frustrating.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Fenris]

Also: while the price of individual issues has gone up, we now have trade paperbacks and graphic novels, which (I think?) generally weren't available in the early 80s. And the price-per-issue of a tp is much more agreeable than that of an individual comic.


õ
When did those start, anyway? Aside from all those Archie digests, which have been around forever? Hmm!

[Iangould]

Just as a minor additional point, inflation is the average increase in prices.

Apart from all the other factors people have already mentioned, paper costs went up dramatically in 1990s.

The main reason the comics companies use the coated stock is that there's now virtually no cost difference between that and newsprint.

[dupont2005]

Thanks, Brandon.

So what many of us have suspected for a long time is true: we ARE getting ripped off for comics these days. :frown:

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

It's not quite that simple. Not all products increase in price at the same rate. Fuela nd building materials have also gone up quite a bit since then. The entire comics industry has changed quite a bit since 1980 as well. It's not quite fair to compare the inflating cost of comics with something like a loaf of bread. If you REALLY want to feel ripped off, a compact disc player cost over a thousand dollars in 1980, and today could be had for about $10:biggrin:

What did an Apple computer cost in 1980?:eek:

[Brandon Hanvey]

It's not quite that simple. Not all products increase in price at the same rate. Fuela nd building materials have also gone up quite a bit since then. The entire comics industry has changed quite a bit since 1980 as well. It's not quite fair to compare the inflating cost of comics with something like a loaf of bread. If you REALLY want to feel ripped off, a compact disc player cost over a thousand dollars in 1980, and today could be had for about $10:biggrin:

What did an Apple computer cost in 1980?:eek:


# 1980: May - Apple Computer introduces the Apple III. Price ranges from US$4500 to US$8000.

http://oldcomputers.net/appleii.html

[Asmith]

I'm sure that we are getting ripped-off at least a little bit (that's the cardinal rule of business--screw the consumer how ever you can legally get away with it). But let us not forget too, that the overall quality of the materials used in fabricating a comic book, have improved significantly as well.

I think a newer comic probably holds-up better to spilled milk, what with all of that (is it plastic) coating on the inside pages we have now.

I once ruined my favorite "What If?" that way...

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20051124042537/marveldatabase/images/thumb/0/07/What_If_Vol_1_3.jpg/300px-What_If_Vol_1_3.jpg

And yes: I did most certainly cry over it.
The cost of paper has increased since the 80s, internationally. There was even a global shortage for a bit. And that 'plastic' feel is usually just a high gloss stock or a machine varnish.

[Ned McDodd]

Also: while the price of individual issues has gone up, we now have trade paperbacks and graphic novels, which (I think?) generally weren't available in the early 80s. And the price-per-issue of a tp is much more agreeable than that of an individual comic.



that's why i read mostly in tradepaperbacks. 4 $ for a single comic books is over the limit for me now.

Also the digest format for the runaways series is great imo. I wish they would do that with more books, the smaller format is of course not perfect for all kind of stories and art, but i enjoy runaways a lot in this format and it's cheap.

Also with tradepaperbacks i reread my comics more than i would do it with single comic books.

[howyadoin]

Levi's cost $25 on sale in 1980, and cost about the same today.Where are you shopping? A new pair of Levi's is upwards of 50 bucks unless they're on sale.

[Lairston]

Thanks, Brandon.

So what many of us have suspected for a long time is true: we ARE getting ripped off for comics these days. :frown:

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Yep we are.

You get far more for your dime with novels.