2

Why are some journal articles so expensive, such as this article that costs more than $12.55 per page to purchase?

adipro
  • 8,488
  • 6
  • 44
  • 88
Geremia
  • 3,535
  • 5
  • 24
  • 39
  • 2
    I am not sure whether the question -in its current format- would be beneficial to the community. If you wonder about the usual cost of purchasing PDFs and whether there are limits to the cost; then please update your question. – seteropere Apr 19 '14 at 05:16
  • 1
    Short answer (and this is true about a lot of things): you are paying for the intellectual content, not the raw materials. It's the same reason a DVD costs $20, even though it only costs 50¢ to manufacture. – J.R. Apr 19 '14 at 11:37
  • 9
    Because the publishers can get away with it. See here: http://thecostofknowledge.com/ – Anonymous Apr 19 '14 at 13:29
  • 1
    I guess that publishers make basically no money off single-article purchases (though I myself have resorted to buying articles online twice) and that the price point for single papers is simply to ensure that institutions buy subscriptions. – Max Apr 21 '14 at 16:46
  • @Max: Yes, perhaps it is an incentive to do that. – Geremia Apr 21 '14 at 21:44

0 Answers0