Frustration

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Toppila89

Puritan Board Freshman
1) Why is it so difficult to find Calvin's 22 vol commentary for a reasonable price? I would like to get reformed commentaries to Finland but it seems to be impossible.
2) Why aren't these reformed publishing companies making more copies of this classic work? Even though there are many good authors today, I do not think they make reading Calvin and less useful.
If I was running a reformed publishing company I'd always make sure there were new copies of Calvin to buy.
 
Toppila89 said:
1) Why is it so difficult to find Calvin's 22 vol commentary for a reasonable price? I would like to get reformed commentaries to Finland but it seems to be impossible.
2) Why aren't these reformed publishing companies making more copies of this classic work? Even though there are many good authors today, I do not think they make reading Calvin and less useful.
If I was running a reformed publishing company I'd always make sure there were new copies of Calvin to buy.
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Hello, I work in the corporate office for a leading Reformed publishing company. It would, conservatively, cost $250,000 for a Calvin reprint. That is an estimate for roughly 1500 copies of each of the 22 volumes.

Oh, and that isn't including the labor costs to receive the books, list them on the website, create emails to alert customers, pack them, and then ship them worldwide.

As you see, this is a costly set to keep in print. It's easy to get frustrated with publishers when one doesn't know what goes into publishing these massive sets. Also, keep in mind, Reformed publishers are, generally, small companies. We are working in a niche of a niche.*


*Edited to be more charitable.
 
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Because of the reason for everything negative that happens these days: COVID. DUH. Livin’ in a cave? Wait, that might be where it came from! Any labs or wet markets nearby? Askin’ for a friend.
 
They’re difficult to get ahold of.

When I foolishly parted with my set I sold them to a seminary, along with Luther’s sermons, for about £300.

They’re extremely difficult to get ahold of in Europe.
 
I have a full set, but for the past 11 years or more I’ve mostly used the free e-sword module.

It hasn’t broken yet so I haven’t upgraded.
 
I have the 22 vol. 1983 Baker set I bought new I think or within several years, which has served me well; it's almost quicker than looking on Google books to look up something. I may be willing to part with my set now but the postage to Finland is just insane. Probably $300 just for the postage. Probably much cheaper if you could find a set available in the UK.
 
Toppila89 said:
If I was running a reformed publishing company I'd always make sure there were new copies of Calvin to buy.
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And if I were running a publishing company, I'd make all my customers desire only the best books and be willing to pay for them. :)

Seriously... as helpful as Calvin is, I doubt consumer demand is strong enough to make a reprinting project feasible on such lengthy material that's readily available to read online. Personally, even though I'd like to have a set and could afford one and do consult Calvin fairly often, I don't think I'd pay the hundreds of dollars a publisher would have to charge. I'm happy enough just going online. I've reached the point in life where I'm trying to get rid of good books, and the next generation mostly isn't interested unless they can put it on their Kindle.
 
The set is free on CCEL, and on many apps. That being said, I hate reading theology electronically, because I read with a pencil. I'm never selling my Calvin, unless at the uttermost end of need, to quote Denethor.
 
It seems to me that every church possible should have this in their library for checkout and easier, non electronic reading. I believe our church has a complete set! A good investment for an established church.
 
Jack K said:
And if I were running a publishing company, I'd make all my customers desire only the best books and be willing to pay for them. :)

Seriously... as helpful as Calvin is, I doubt consumer demand is strong enough to make a reprinting project feasible on such lengthy material that's readily available to read online. Personally, even though I'd like to have a set and could afford one and do consult Calvin fairly often, I don't think I'd pay the hundreds of dollars a publisher would have to charge. I'm happy enough just going online. I've reached the point in life where I'm trying to get rid of good books, and the next generation mostly isn't interested unless they can put it on their Kindle.
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If I were without Calvin now, I doubt I'd buy a set. It was very cheap when new printed due to the prepubs etc. And this has happened over the years as well. If you did a prepub, you'd need 1000 orders at 250 to cover the estimated printing cost Robert gave. That's a big prepub needed to stave off going broke. So likely not going to be below that and likely higher to account for other costs. Plus shipping of course.
 
I do empathise knowing how difficult it is to get certain classic sets and titles. I was very fortunate to find an eBay listing a few months ago for an old Calvin set at an excellent price which I jumped on. I'd recommend setting up saved searches/notifications on eBay for these kinds of things. Perhaps in God's providence a publisher will take up the task again. Let's be grateful we have access to it online for free regardless.
 
My only life advice is that if you are highly upset that you lack a Calvin's Commentary in hard-copy form when it is free online and this is causing massive frustration, I would beg you to re-evaluate your priorities in life.
 
easy tiger, the fella was only commenting on the lack of hardcopy Calvinist Commentarianism (coined). I’m sure though since reading this thread, he has engaged in some rigorous priority re-evaluation
 
For what it's worth, I too am keeping my eyes on the market for Calvin’s Commentaries. Have been for years. I like walking to my shelf, pulling a book, looking up what I need. E-copies are nice for searching particular words, otherwise I really don’t care to read on screens.
 
If anyone needs a reasonable Kindle version, hit me up. There's always some more formatting that could be done but it's in reasonably good shape :)
 
I love Calvin but have never had a hardcopy set. I go to him on my phone when I need him. But I certainly resonate with the frustration.
 
Toppila89 said:
1) Why is it so difficult to find Calvin's 22 vol commentary for a reasonable price?
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ClarionUK said:
They’re difficult to get ahold of.
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I have the AndBible on my Kindle and on my phone. Downloaded the Commentaries module, and one touch takes me from the Bible verse to the appropriate place on the commentary. I also have eSword on a couple of laptops but I haven't looked in a while to see what I have in the way of commentaries there.
 
Regi Addictissimus said:
Hello, I work in the corporate office for a leading Reformed publishing company. It would, conservatively, cost $250,000 for a Calvin reprint. That is an estimate for roughly 1500 copies of each of the 22 volumes.
Click to expand...

You may be the last person to agree with me, but electronic books are the future. I started with Logos because my eyes are not what they used to be. Books, especially old books have fonts that are just too small for me to easily read. At first, I missed the feel and particularly the smell of old books, but that was seven years ago. I now have a logos library approaching 7000 resources. I am hooked. I have a $600+ Samsung tablet and I no longer read any print books unless there is no other option. I actually prefer electronic to print for so many reasons that I will not belabor you with now. I am reading more than ever before in my life.

But I know this. For Logos to sell another copy of Calvin's 22 volume set costs them nothing.
 
Ed Walsh said:
You may be the last person to agree with me, but electronic books are the future. I started with Logos because my eyes are not what they used to be. Books, especially old books have fonts that are just too small for me to easily read. At first, I missed the feel and particularly the smell of old books, but that was seven years ago. I now have a logos library approaching 7000 resources. I am hooked. I have a $600+ Samsung tablet and I no longer read any print books unless there is no other option. I actually prefer electronic to print for so many reasons that I will not belabor you with now. I am reading more than ever before in my life.

But I know this. For Logos to sell another copy of Calvin's 22 volume set costs them nothing.
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A few years ago, I strongly disagreed with you. Then, I finally caved and bought into Logos. Now, I have a few thousand resources. I even got a tablet this week for my birthday.

I also find that I am primarily reading our books in PDF now.

I get so many review copies from other publishers each month. It is to the point where I am mostly requesting PDFs of their titles as well.
 
Call them "interior locutions" or plain nuttery but I've been collecting printed books with the understanding that once Big Tech takes complete charge of the net all electronic Christian books will be wiped.
 
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