Would you spend more money on a guidebook printed in the US?

Short version: Would you spend more money on a guidebook printed in the USA? / Will the average climber give a shit?
This is the world-renowned business advice forum, right?

Long version: I’ve put together a new guidebook for Vedauwoo. (Link here if you’d like to see a sample). I know the climbing there sucks and no one will buy this book but let’s for fun assume the opposite.

Im trying to figure out getting this thing printed and printing in the US is significantly more expensive than printing somewhere overseas. Ballpark maybe half as many books for the same price (maybe less), and many many thousands of dollars more in up front costs. I’d like to print in the U.S. but also don’t want to totally shoot myself in the foot financially. 

I haven’t had tons of luck securing ads for the guide (presumably because most companies just want to work with an established publisher like Sharp End or something) so this is basically a self-funded project and those extra thousands of dollars aren’t exactly laying around in my bank account. (Should have picked a different life pursuit). 

Hence the above question. Would you be willing to spend say $50 or $55 for a guidebook that was printed in the US vs. $40 for one printed overseas? Or would you just think “meh, MP is good enough.” What about the average climber? Again, let’s for fun pretend my book is sorta good and you want it.

Anyways mostly just looking for folks thoughts. I’m kinda leaning towards most folks would just want a cheap book but hey! 

Maybe I’m old but there is absolutely no financial difference between $40 and $55 if I want something at this point in my life.
(Edit) To be clear, I could care less where it’s printed. I’ve never once looked at any of my dozens of guide books to see where it’s printed. 

I would pay that. I haven't been and don't know what the current books are like, but if yours is much more comprehensive or has significantly more useful information I think at least a moderately high number of people would buy it. I don't think that price difference is incredibly large for most, although I do reckon it will turn off some. But many will just pay the higher cost I reckon. 

Hope I can go there one day and buy your book in the future. Good luck. 

$55 seems normal. Also, why not also leverage apps like rakkup or connect with the Kaya folks. Half the problem with guide books for areas that aren’t as popular is finding the climbs and Vedauwoo is not a particularly easy place to get around. All the cracks looks the god damn same lol.  I feel that tools like Kaya that have integrated offline gps maps, pics/videos will help popularize an area (for better or for worse) which I feel may help drive sales of your book. I almost always buy the guidebook for the area to read about the history and have something to hold and read.

Maybe I'm incompetent, but climbing guide books can be hard to navigate depending on the areas and I always supplement with apps that can get me going in the right direction. 

I have never once looked at where a book was printed when buying a book or at all.

$50 seems a bit expensive but I have not bought a guidebook in 2 years so maybe inflation has had more impact that I expect.  

I think some of your issues is you seen to be self publishing and not printing on demand through Amazon or some other avenue. Publishing companies provide, at least used to provide, some valuable services including bankrolling the printing and distribution to retail outlets.

I know a couple of people who self published through Amazon and it seemed to work well enough.  They definitely did not get rich but they made a little bit and got their book out there. At least they did not lose money.  My mom published though a traditional publisher with about the same results in the 1990s..  there are also vanity publishers and you probably will not break even with them.  

I have a lot of books in my house and have never paid attention to whether any were printed in the U.S. or elsewhere.  

If it's a pretty definitive guidebook for an area I'm 100% going to, I will pay 55 bucks over 40. I really like books in general, so if it's high-quality printing, beautifully laid out, and it's obvious it was a labor of love, then it feels even more worth the cost. I supplement sometimes with apps, but these days almost always try to buy the guidebook.

I would pay $55 for a guidebook for an area I'm going to.  BUT, I also wouldn't care where it was printed.  I'm also a big fan of physical guidebooks.

Yes I would. And I would also use said book to slap their made-in-China red hats off their f’ing heads for trying to take our public lands away.

Your book looks great.  $40-$55, doesn’t matter to to me.  Buying a second after the first one shreds sucks.  

Too Fast Topos the Cochise guide is offered as pdf only or print.  PDF only is sweet.  

The Dick Williams books for the Gunks could withstand heavy abuse.  Climbers drilled holes in it and hung it from their harnesses or backpacks in the bad old days before the GunksApp.  

There are great books which fall apart. I would never critique a guide author by name.  Especially since as money has been sucked out of publishing all printers have had to cut back on quality.

As you are planning, would you  please consider durability?  I ask because I plan to buy your book.  

I am pretty sure that losing money on a guidebook is a law in most states.

The 10-15 $ price range is moot. As already said there is little difference and it is easily covered with minimal financial burden to a buyer.

Please consider formatting that keeps crag overview in line with how it is the real world. The new fad of useless drone pics for topos sucks. A few overheads are neat to see but the guides that provide info using vantage points that aren’t a spot a user would be viewing from is basically useless when actually standing on the ground.
Also avoid the hero local hardman stories. Those are fluff that thickens the book and adds cost with little value. (I didn’t click your link so maybe both points do not apply…) 

Keep it simple and concise; then maybe the local price will be more in line with overseas. 

Thanks for some initial thoughts!

Lorenzo - I have never used an app like rakkup or Kaya so that’s not really a thought right now. I love physical guidebooks to the areas I go so that’s the plan.

Obviously, I’m not trying to get rich here. But I am trying to hopefully break even within a couple years haha.

Climber Pat - Print on demand services are way more expensive than doing a print run. Yes, there’s 0 up front cost but there would also be 0 return on investment. Yes, I’m self-publishing which is a headache for a Luddite like me, but I’ve always had a bit of a DIY attitude so I’m going for it.

Live Perched - I am trying to keep quality as a focus. It also drives me crazy when books immediately fall apart. That’s another reason for going US. Much cheaper / easier to get a physical proof and idea of print quality from the printer.

Thanks for letting me bounce some ideas off y’all! 

At the price point you listed-  Yes I would buy a US printed book!

I would pay the 50-55 price for a made in USA book. And I definitely will buy this book when it comes out! 

Nowadays I buy physical guidebook more as a gesture to support the local climbing areas than utility. I'd totally rather have a USA/locally printed guidebook at $55 than a $40 printed somewhere else. Utility wise digital guidebook is just better. E.g. GunksApp GPS and topo are godsend. 

I own hundreds of climbing guidebooks and I've never cared one iota where any of them were printed 

one of my old bosses had this very simple principal on design (i work in product development)

question 1: will this design change stop a product return and/or stop a negative product review
question 2: will this design change help to sell one more product

if the answer to Q1 and Q2 is no, do not make the change.

IMO, nobody would refuse to buy your guide book because it's not printed in the US and I honestly think that that is a more important question to ask than the question you've asked. I don't think you'll gain any customers by having a US printed book, so what's the point? At the end of the day you'll just have to personally front more capital to have the same product (probably) reach the same amount of customers. Unless of course...you want to tout that your book is printed in the US - in which case I say go for it. As others have mentioned, if I want your guidebook I'm buying it for $40 or $55 and not really thinking about its price. 

I would care, but the quality has to match the price. I’d rather buy something high quality and made in Canada than some pos made in the us. But high quality and made locally I would pay extra for. Quality first, location of manufacture second. 

The price is fine at $55. And what you shared, it looks like you've done a quality job on the composition of the book.
Based upon feedback in this thread alone, I would imagine very few folks are not going to buy it because it's too high of a price.
Thus, I think it's something you can confidently assume is not going to impact sales much whether or not you do, so whatever reason you wanna do it, do it.

50-55 for a book starts to get into the territory where I’d either not buy use mp or photocopy someone else’s guide.

Too broke to care where it’s made