YQII wrote...
I don't think you're taking into account that the doujinshi releases are considerably larger than the standard book size (B5 vs A5), and how this consists of three individual volumes hosted inside a slipcase rather than a single book release. Even a generous estimate would put the theoretical minimum cost at about twice that, but only when assuming a very simplified model for the printing process—e.g., printing four 25-page books is the same as printing one 100-page book, which isn't the case.
This is a special collectors item, and the higher production costs are reflected in the final product price. Omnibussing the content would allow for a cheaper product (that's why publishers do omnibuses over individual volumes), but our goal with these box sets is to go above and beyond and provide the highest quality product for the fans, and that includes the format of the item itself. Although, a budget version might be something worth considering for future reprints.
First off, this is better with giving information to justify the price. BUT, I have spent time in Japan, and have bought more than my fair share of physical doujins, so don't lie to me about the B5 size making it more expensive. Doujins in Japan, B5 size, are usually about 700 yen at stores like Melonbooks or Toranoana, so about $7, including the cut the store gets. Buying them directly from the artist at Comiket (which I did with Asanagi) is usually 500 yen for non-compilation works. So yes, I DID take the size into account, and that is how I arrived at the safe price of $30, because even at the store average price of 700 yen, that'd be about $21, and $9 for a cardboard box is fair.
You did give a tiny bit more info, but it's still not enough to justify that price, and from your words it sounds like it's high just because you're calling it a "collector's item" and want to exploit fans of Asanagi's work. What else justifies this price? It's still black and white, right? Are you using standard paper as used with doujins in Japan, or are you upping the quality to all glossy pages? Anyone that actually knows the price and market of doujins in Japan knows how this is robbery, and this is on the level of those resellers at conventions that go to Japan, buy a bunch of doujins, then bring them back to America and sell for like, $20-25 each.