I think part of it is a printing/publishing industry issue. I could buy
a paperback book for $3.99 back in the days when those Vanessa-Ann
Collection books were popular. Those titles are at least $4 more now
for the same book unless you buy used. Magazine prices have gone up way
too far also. Even worse, many of the magazines I used to read now have
fewer pages and far more ads in them. Because of this I'm down to just
one subscription now (from a max of six subs. ten years ago) and don't
know how much longer I can afford it.

The specialty fabrics, fibers, and embellishments issue is important,
too. Back then almost everything that came out was charted for just
plain old 10-cent-or-less floss (which certainly is not just ten cents
anymore!). It is very hard to justify paying $3.50 for a skein of silk
floss when it is used for a total of just five stitches in a design or
buying a package 500 beads when you only need a couple.

As long as dedicated stitchers have reliable incomes they will probably
continue to buy whatever catches their fancy. Others will finally
confess they have reached SABLE and quit buying (I'm easing into that
category). It is much harder to get people to try needlework at today's
prices. How many people want to spend $200+ for a pattern and supplies,
years of time, and $350 for professional finishing for their first
project in a new hobby? Sure, there are cheaper projects sold for
beginners, but many of them just aren't appealing or look childish.

The "limited edition" racket really makes me sick. I fell for it once
and will never do it again. Face it, except for MLI's promise (which
might be only for her lifetime) and maybe a couple of others, virtually
every needlework pattern goes out of print sooner or later. Doing a
numbered print run and jacking up the price seems underhanded. It is
just a gimmick to speed up the revenue stream and build hype for the
designer by taking advantage of the impulse buyer. Paying extra if you
receive something extra (accessories pack of those expensive
fibers/embellishments, a class with the designer, etc.) is fine.
Getting a bonus (freebie) for being one of the first to buy a design
would be a fair way to speed up cash flow.

The whole series thing is getting annoying, also. At least with a
series of books I can just get them from a library so my time is the
only significant investment I have to make. When I allowed one of my
subscriptions to lapse I noticed my final issue had part one of a series
that I would like to stitch. Unfortunately that magazine chose to
spread the series out over two whole years so I'd have to buy $29 of
magazines at subscription price (significantly more otherwise) just to
get the one design. Since it was the first thing in that magazine to
catch my eye in a couple of years, I didn't bother. Magazines have quit
publishing in the middle of series. Designers get bored and move on to
something else or die before they have finished a series. Where does
that leave the buyer?

Whew! All this has given me a dreadful headache. I think I'll go take
a nap.

Julie wrote:
Every once and awhile I abandon needlework for a long period of time
then come back to it. After a hiatus of about a year (when I
concentrated on quilting), I returned to my first love. To "celebrate"
I purchased a needlework inventory program and entered in all my
leaflets and books along with what I paid for them. One thing that I
noticed was I got a lot more value for my money with my older leaflets
and books. It used to be that when you bought a book or leaflet, you
got several designs (not to mention several pages). Now you pay
$8,$10,$12 dollars or more for one pattern (and on top of that, are all
the specialty threads, overdyed fabrics, and embellishments that go
with it).

I understand (and support) that designers deserve compenstion for their
work and I have purchased many, many designs (not to mention my
increasing stash of overdyed floss and silk), but I have to say I feel
designers are starting to price themselves out of my market (and I'm
not cheap about what needlework materials I buy). I used to buy some
patterns just to support a designer's work, but I don't do that so much
any more. There are some noted exceptions - for instance Prairie
Schooler, Cross-Winged Collection, and The Cricket Collection are
always good buys, but after I saw a $40.00 Just Nan "limited edition"
leaflet I couldn't believe my eyes. And those little Bent Creek
Snappers - $4.00*12 months=$48.00 for little square designs (and yes, I
*have* these, so what was I thinking?!).

Does anyone else feel the same way? I really miss the some of the older
style books that used to be printed, like the Vanessa Ann Collection,
that had not only lots of stuff, but interesting ways to finish them.

--
Brenda