Rising costs are the norm - it’s admirable how effectively Castalia has managed them so far. The bindery delays were unfortunate, but it appears current capacity will resolve that before too long. Tariffs are a consequence of The Script, and a blunt instrument with unintended casualties along side the macro-economic reconfiguration. Price hikes in some configuration were always inevitable. Reducing frequency looks like the best solution short term, but the price will have to be revisited before long. Something rational, rather than Easton’s demented doubling, is most likely not to kill subscription numbers.
Additional money for already purchased books is the least good option.
I would agree that option 1 is the most practical for the largest group of subscribers.
I would be willing to take on a higher price per month to keep the books coming at the current frequency, but understand that would probably not work for everyone.
Thanks for all you are doing to produce these great books. Very well done.
I care about the price pr book, not the price pr year, ie. care about the value propostion. I'm a Dane. I already pay +25 % vat plus +30 USD per shipment, money that I pay directly to denmark, when I receive the shipped books. That's similar to the +39% charge tariff, in that it's something that affects me as the buyer and something I have to take into account when doing my purchase. I really abhor the idea of paying +50% for base price of each book, primarily due to US tariffs+US increased costs. I'm fine with a minor increase in subscription fee, due to higher quality or inflation. +15 % for just the leather, < 17 % for book blocks in europe is way less than +50% total.
A way to minimize shipment cost is also to bundle them, I always request bundling so I only receive 1 or 2 packages a year, due to the +30 usd for each shipment I receive.
I don't really care whether you reduce it to 4 books a year from 6, I just care about the total price pr book, as in 4 books at 400 USD a year is similar to 600 usd for 6 books, though that won't solve your problem.
I'm a subscriber for 3 reasons. 1) supporting Castalia 2) Vox' vision of preserving knowledge physically instead of just digitally 3) the books are really pretty :)
I'm fine with smaller price increases for better quality, and for inflation reason. I would probably pay up if it went to +50% pr book, but I wouldn't like it initially, and I would hate the reasons given. So obviously I would prefer a separate EU and US price, like the history books, and that allows to keep the pricing of EU books down.
The shipping guys are working on figuring out how to keep the prices down for the EU people in the VAT region. That's definitely something we want to do, although our initial attempt at setting something up in Europe didn't work out, the books are mostly here now, so we're looking into it.
I'm glad to hear that. There's also a possibility to do VAT declarations before shipping, which would remove that $30 fee and also avoids the risk that the local authorities return the package to sender. I'm pretty sure there must be companies designed to handle those VAT declarations for you, much cheaper than it is for me handling it after the fact. I figured you were too small and too busy to bother with that for now. I could perhaps help look into that, if you were interested, though I don't myself know anything about it. I know companies like Temu does it and many many other large sellers. But of cause they are huge.
I think the suggested extention is a good solution. There are already several books in the backlog, and adding (in the case of the original subscription) another $50 per book is a better cushion than the previously suggested $25 increase. It's still a great deal with 4 leather books a year, is still affordable to those of us on it where $75 a month might be pushing it, and the quality will soon be increasing. The pros look to outweigh the cons pretty easily.
I travel to Europe (UK, France, Switzerland, Germany) quite often, and my company has offices in quite a few major European cities. Could I just take delivery in one of my office locations?
Oooohhhh, that purple in the last picture is to die for!
Extending the schedule is fine by us, it makes sense both short term and long term, as inflation is inevitable and we've had an awesome deal for years now. Cheers, Vox and Castalia people
I favor anything that lets US customers pay the cost of tariffs and shipping without raising prices for the rest of the world.
Slowing the schedule increases the price per book for everyone, and it slows the schedule. Directly increasing the price per book doesn't slow the schedule, once you get the difficulties ironed out and start producing them faster and get caught up.
It might help to understand that with the exception of History, the US customers have been subsidizing the rest of the world until now. There are a number of countries that are essentially break-even for us due to the cost of shipping. It would make more sense to us to stop selling to the rest of the world outside Europe than to raise prices on the US customers but not on anyone else.
Not that we're going to do that, of course. Just putting things in perspective.
The tariffs are the immediate signal that we need to take action, but they are not the only cost factor that dictates some sort of change. Even if we could eliminate the tariff entirely, which could, in theory happen, it's still the right time to change our pricing model.
The approach you're taking does make more sense now. I'd still prefer a higher subscription price to fewer books for the same subscription price, unless the pace you've been trying to set isn't achievable, and isn't likely to be.
Extending the schedule solves the near term problems. As Castalia becomes capable of delivering at greater speed and scale, some increase is in order. You will still be cheaper and better, and the original value level can return. By then, the tariff may even be negotiated down, though the other costs still need recovery.
My sole objection is that The Arts of War, my main motivation to subscribe, has been moved out of my subscription to History. It has been a surprisingly long wait.
THE ARTS OF WAR by various, limited edition of 750/75. (Jan-Feb 2023)
I think you'll be pleased to know that your objection is based on a misunderstanding. You're still getting THE ARTS OF WAR as a Library subscriber.
THE ARTS OF WAR is a collection of various historical texts, curated by me, and the delay is entirely on me. But it's collected and in interior production now.
THE ART OF WAR IN THE MIDDLE AGES is a book by Charles Oman.
Two entirely different texts with zero overlap. One Library, one History. I've corrected the latter title in order to make this more clear.
I’d like to echo Narnia Bear and No Thank You. I love the books, with the obvious care and attention to detail that is involved in making them, and getting fewer books per year is a great solution.
I would also happily contribute to special runs, such as the Iliad and the odyssey. (I really hope you are still going to do “The Tales of Genji.”) It doesn’t matter if they have a mark about original backer. I just want a good quality book with a good translation.
I am impressed with the Castalia team’s business acumen, kindness, and compassion by keeping prices stable in the face of several years of inflation. Thank you! The quality of your books is unmatched and well worth it.
I'm fine with both extending the schedule or charging direct shipping cost. Biggest improvement for me personally as an EU-resident would be shipping from an EU warehouse, the biggest pain currently are the customs fees I have to pay for each book.
We hope to have a solution for this at some point that would at least lessen the duties to EU subscribers. To make that happen VAT has to be collected thus still increasing the cost. And the EU doesn't make any of that easy for non EU countries
It's that sales tax that has to be paid, and paying it, plus some processing fee, is fine by me. Having you do that Al that legal hoop jumping is costly busywork. I don't mind that hassle.
Would a dual strategy be on the table? Say increasing the price per subscription 20% and extending the schedule a little less than stated. I'm not sure if that complicates things further than necessary.
That would be pointless and wouldn't help us address the issue at all. We're trying to figure out how we can make more money per book to cover the increased costs without raising prices.
Doing fewer books with fewer payments doesn't accomplish that.
Until the backlog is dealt with, you will potentially have a higher cost for shipping, tariffs, and other costs than when the book was purchased. And some of these costs can’t be forecast, and could go down (tariffs). And there is a preference not to charge a customer more, for a book they bought in good faith. And the US sales were subsidizing other country sales that have higher shipping costs.
Swag’s:
- add a charge, country dependent, for tariffs.
- make shipping rates per country, and based on forecast rates / costs at estimated shipping time.
- extend the schedule to catch up with the backlog.
- temporary increase production to catch up with the backlog.
- Ship from the EU to avoid Eu custom charges to improve the EU customer experience.
- Investigate ways to reduce cost of U.S. shipments.
We're aware of that. And we'll be very happy to refund anyone who objects to the revised arrangement and thereby avoid having to send them any books at a loss. If they want to buy books in the future, they can pay the full retail price.
Which will be at least $199.
We certainly didn't agree to any of the price hikes or tariffs that we've experienced.
Haven't seen anyone mention this and maybe this has already been considered/done, but have you all looked at getting an exemption (exclusion) from the tariffs? The USTR does have an office in Geneva and I would think you could make a strong argument why these fine books should be exempt from the tariffs.
2. We already should be exempt given the US law and the executive orders. That didn't prevent us from being charged 10 percent on our most recent shipment to the US.
3. The cost increases aren't likely to stop anytime soon.
Gotcha. Looks like I am in the minority on preferring to pay the shipping cost direct as the consumer but I do understand that would be difficult with the constant changes in shipping pricing. Regardless, looking forward to the future of Castalia subscriptions whatever they look like
Rising costs are the norm - it’s admirable how effectively Castalia has managed them so far. The bindery delays were unfortunate, but it appears current capacity will resolve that before too long. Tariffs are a consequence of The Script, and a blunt instrument with unintended casualties along side the macro-economic reconfiguration. Price hikes in some configuration were always inevitable. Reducing frequency looks like the best solution short term, but the price will have to be revisited before long. Something rational, rather than Easton’s demented doubling, is most likely not to kill subscription numbers.
Additional money for already purchased books is the least good option.
I would agree that option 1 is the most practical for the largest group of subscribers.
I would be willing to take on a higher price per month to keep the books coming at the current frequency, but understand that would probably not work for everyone.
Thanks for all you are doing to produce these great books. Very well done.
I care about the price pr book, not the price pr year, ie. care about the value propostion. I'm a Dane. I already pay +25 % vat plus +30 USD per shipment, money that I pay directly to denmark, when I receive the shipped books. That's similar to the +39% charge tariff, in that it's something that affects me as the buyer and something I have to take into account when doing my purchase. I really abhor the idea of paying +50% for base price of each book, primarily due to US tariffs+US increased costs. I'm fine with a minor increase in subscription fee, due to higher quality or inflation. +15 % for just the leather, < 17 % for book blocks in europe is way less than +50% total.
A way to minimize shipment cost is also to bundle them, I always request bundling so I only receive 1 or 2 packages a year, due to the +30 usd for each shipment I receive.
I don't really care whether you reduce it to 4 books a year from 6, I just care about the total price pr book, as in 4 books at 400 USD a year is similar to 600 usd for 6 books, though that won't solve your problem.
I'm a subscriber for 3 reasons. 1) supporting Castalia 2) Vox' vision of preserving knowledge physically instead of just digitally 3) the books are really pretty :)
I'm fine with smaller price increases for better quality, and for inflation reason. I would probably pay up if it went to +50% pr book, but I wouldn't like it initially, and I would hate the reasons given. So obviously I would prefer a separate EU and US price, like the history books, and that allows to keep the pricing of EU books down.
/Alex
The shipping guys are working on figuring out how to keep the prices down for the EU people in the VAT region. That's definitely something we want to do, although our initial attempt at setting something up in Europe didn't work out, the books are mostly here now, so we're looking into it.
I'm glad to hear that. There's also a possibility to do VAT declarations before shipping, which would remove that $30 fee and also avoids the risk that the local authorities return the package to sender. I'm pretty sure there must be companies designed to handle those VAT declarations for you, much cheaper than it is for me handling it after the fact. I figured you were too small and too busy to bother with that for now. I could perhaps help look into that, if you were interested, though I don't myself know anything about it. I know companies like Temu does it and many many other large sellers. But of cause they are huge.
We're looking into it, but it's complicated.
I think the suggested extention is a good solution. There are already several books in the backlog, and adding (in the case of the original subscription) another $50 per book is a better cushion than the previously suggested $25 increase. It's still a great deal with 4 leather books a year, is still affordable to those of us on it where $75 a month might be pushing it, and the quality will soon be increasing. The pros look to outweigh the cons pretty easily.
Having more time to read/savor each book sounds like a win to me so extending the schedule is my pick. 😎
I travel to Europe (UK, France, Switzerland, Germany) quite often, and my company has offices in quite a few major European cities. Could I just take delivery in one of my office locations?
I don't see why not. The Switzerland office would be best.
Oooohhhh, that purple in the last picture is to die for!
Extending the schedule is fine by us, it makes sense both short term and long term, as inflation is inevitable and we've had an awesome deal for years now. Cheers, Vox and Castalia people
Prince Bio/Discography.
I favor anything that lets US customers pay the cost of tariffs and shipping without raising prices for the rest of the world.
Slowing the schedule increases the price per book for everyone, and it slows the schedule. Directly increasing the price per book doesn't slow the schedule, once you get the difficulties ironed out and start producing them faster and get caught up.
It might help to understand that with the exception of History, the US customers have been subsidizing the rest of the world until now. There are a number of countries that are essentially break-even for us due to the cost of shipping. It would make more sense to us to stop selling to the rest of the world outside Europe than to raise prices on the US customers but not on anyone else.
Not that we're going to do that, of course. Just putting things in perspective.
The tariffs are the immediate signal that we need to take action, but they are not the only cost factor that dictates some sort of change. Even if we could eliminate the tariff entirely, which could, in theory happen, it's still the right time to change our pricing model.
The approach you're taking does make more sense now. I'd still prefer a higher subscription price to fewer books for the same subscription price, unless the pace you've been trying to set isn't achievable, and isn't likely to be.
Extending the schedule solves the near term problems. As Castalia becomes capable of delivering at greater speed and scale, some increase is in order. You will still be cheaper and better, and the original value level can return. By then, the tariff may even be negotiated down, though the other costs still need recovery.
My sole objection is that The Arts of War, my main motivation to subscribe, has been moved out of my subscription to History. It has been a surprisingly long wait.
THE ARTS OF WAR by various, limited edition of 750/75. (Jan-Feb 2023)
I think you'll be pleased to know that your objection is based on a misunderstanding. You're still getting THE ARTS OF WAR as a Library subscriber.
THE ARTS OF WAR is a collection of various historical texts, curated by me, and the delay is entirely on me. But it's collected and in interior production now.
THE ART OF WAR IN THE MIDDLE AGES is a book by Charles Oman.
Two entirely different texts with zero overlap. One Library, one History. I've corrected the latter title in order to make this more clear.
You’re right, I’m very happy to hear that. Thank you!
I’d like to echo Narnia Bear and No Thank You. I love the books, with the obvious care and attention to detail that is involved in making them, and getting fewer books per year is a great solution.
I would also happily contribute to special runs, such as the Iliad and the odyssey. (I really hope you are still going to do “The Tales of Genji.”) It doesn’t matter if they have a mark about original backer. I just want a good quality book with a good translation.
I am impressed with the Castalia team’s business acumen, kindness, and compassion by keeping prices stable in the face of several years of inflation. Thank you! The quality of your books is unmatched and well worth it.
We will absolutely do THE TALE OF GENJI regardless of how we decide to handle this.
I'm fine with both extending the schedule or charging direct shipping cost. Biggest improvement for me personally as an EU-resident would be shipping from an EU warehouse, the biggest pain currently are the customs fees I have to pay for each book.
We hope to have a solution for this at some point that would at least lessen the duties to EU subscribers. To make that happen VAT has to be collected thus still increasing the cost. And the EU doesn't make any of that easy for non EU countries
It's that sales tax that has to be paid, and paying it, plus some processing fee, is fine by me. Having you do that Al that legal hoop jumping is costly busywork. I don't mind that hassle.
Would a dual strategy be on the table? Say increasing the price per subscription 20% and extending the schedule a little less than stated. I'm not sure if that complicates things further than necessary.
How would we extent the schedule less than one additional month? I don't understand the suggestion.
5 books a year with payments Jan-Oct? Skip Nov and Dec so people don’t worry about Holiday cash.
That would be pointless and wouldn't help us address the issue at all. We're trying to figure out how we can make more money per book to cover the increased costs without raising prices.
Doing fewer books with fewer payments doesn't accomplish that.
My understanding:
Until the backlog is dealt with, you will potentially have a higher cost for shipping, tariffs, and other costs than when the book was purchased. And some of these costs can’t be forecast, and could go down (tariffs). And there is a preference not to charge a customer more, for a book they bought in good faith. And the US sales were subsidizing other country sales that have higher shipping costs.
Swag’s:
- add a charge, country dependent, for tariffs.
- make shipping rates per country, and based on forecast rates / costs at estimated shipping time.
- extend the schedule to catch up with the backlog.
- temporary increase production to catch up with the backlog.
- Ship from the EU to avoid Eu custom charges to improve the EU customer experience.
- Investigate ways to reduce cost of U.S. shipments.
I don’t like the idea of retroactively changing the months for this year’s books, people didn’t agree to that at the time.
You will never regret buying these books, they are the safest investment you can make.
The few competitors are overpriced and lower quality.
Within a year of books shipping, I've seen people offer 2-3x the original price for 1st editions.
We're aware of that. And we'll be very happy to refund anyone who objects to the revised arrangement and thereby avoid having to send them any books at a loss. If they want to buy books in the future, they can pay the full retail price.
Which will be at least $199.
We certainly didn't agree to any of the price hikes or tariffs that we've experienced.
Haven't seen anyone mention this and maybe this has already been considered/done, but have you all looked at getting an exemption (exclusion) from the tariffs? The USTR does have an office in Geneva and I would think you could make a strong argument why these fine books should be exempt from the tariffs.
1. Tariffs aren't the only problem.
2. We already should be exempt given the US law and the executive orders. That didn't prevent us from being charged 10 percent on our most recent shipment to the US.
3. The cost increases aren't likely to stop anytime soon.
Gotcha. Looks like I am in the minority on preferring to pay the shipping cost direct as the consumer but I do understand that would be difficult with the constant changes in shipping pricing. Regardless, looking forward to the future of Castalia subscriptions whatever they look like
Two Possible Solutions:
Smuggle cowhide
Start a ranch to make the hides in America
Gonna guess the cows are the least of the problems to making the cowhides.