Prices: prices for the 8x10 History of Gear Books are fairly high (with two exceptions: the 6x9" black&white, softbound book about Warmlite Equipment Co.. And my 6x9 color "trade books," which are outdoor stories of a personal nature such as "Dawning and Other Mountain Adventures" (click).

Here is why the 8x10 full-color books have the prices that they do:

-- The 8x10 books are very high quality. Quality does not come cheap. Each book has a wealth of full-color images, and uses top-quality papers, covers, bindings and dust jackets.. I regard my 8x10 hardback versions as Presentation pieces, each suitable for use as mini coffee-table books
-- The History of Gear is not surprisingly a very Niche subject, with a very small potential market.
-- That fact has meant that I've never been able to find a book publisher willing to subsidize my efforts.
-- So I've had to self-publish
-- But as a self-publisher my choices have been very limited. Although some self-published authors have the financial means to risk a lot of money by contracting to have 1000 copies of their book printed in hopes that they'll be able to sell enough of them to recoup their investment, I have not had the means. And I have also never felt that my niche market was going to be large enough to justify printing large numbers of my books.
-- Due to these factors, I have chosen to use "Print on Demand"(POD) publishing. My publisher only prints up a book when there is an order, either from me, or from you via their website at Blurb.com

-- Folks may wonder about my profit--- my profit per softback is $2, and per hardback $3. I sell somewhere between 15 and 30 books per year in total, so you can see the books are in most respects a public service to the Outdoor community.
-- Prices: my publisher periodically increases the prices for the books and/or shipping, so please keep that in mind when you visit the Blurb website. Typically the softbacks are about $40, and the hardbacks about $55 (plus shipping and any State sales taxes). Prices vary somewhat according to the length of the book. My publisher will ship anywhere in the World. Shipping costs from them are higher than I'd like, but the books are very sturdily packed and efficiently shipped.

-- A final thought: Mr. Gerry Cunningham, founder of GERRY Mountain Sports, after reviewing a hardcover edition, told me firmly: "Your price is fair; do not ever compromise your quality."