I've never really considered myself an "activist" but as I went searching for Rosemary Shepherd's beginning bobbin lace book today, I found exorbitant prices, over $100 and $200. The book is in print again and it's available on a couple of websites new for around $35.

So I emailed one of the offending pricey booksellers and asked if they were aware the book was available for $35. The response:

Thank you for your email. The cost of this book is based on a competitive market for rare books.

We thank you for your message and hope you have a pleasant day.

I emailed back and said that was the point - it's not rare and this practice is becoming quite common AND....it's giving booksellers a bad name.

You'd think they would already know that, so in my mind it makes them unscrupulous as well.

Off soapbox now.