If you like to read conspiracy books, you’ve probably heard of the Missing 411 collection. However, if you’ve gone online and tried to buy one, you must have been shocked by the hefty price tags.
Why are these books priced so expensively compared to other books in similar genres?
Missing 411 books are primarily expensive because of their content. The books talk about real situations that affected real people. Their high demand and different price markups by vendors also contribute to the high prices.
This article looks at Missing 411 books and why they’re so expensive. Keep reading to find out where you can get them for a reasonable price.
Who Wrote the Missing 411 Books?
The Missing 411 books were written by David Paulides. David is a former police officer who is now a writer and investigator notably known for his self-published conspiracy books.
One series tries to prove the existence of bigfoot while the other is the Missing 411 books.
About the Books
The Missing 411 series consists of David’s self-published books and documentaries that document cases of people who have gone missing in national parks and other places. He started this series after the commercial success of the bigfoot series.
According to Paulides, he began to work on this series when he was doing some research in a park and an off-duty ranger expressed concern over a few recent disappearances.
He said that the missing people were disappearing in mysterious circumstances and wanted David to investigate.
Paulides got to work and uncovered several lines of evidence that suggested negligence of the park service for failing to locate the missing people.
He later widened his research to include a string of mysterious disappearances internationally.
The books publicized the fact that the National Park Service does not keep a comprehensive list of people who go missing in parks and although there’s a database for criminal and incident reports, it’s underutilized and doesn’t interface with other criminal databases.
According to A Sobering Coincidence, David does not have a final theory on what is causing the disappearances.
However, he says the field of suspects is narrowing and urges the readers to get out of their comfort zones and try to put the pieces together.
Why Are the Missing 411 Books So Expensive?
Typically, self-published books are usually cheaper because most of the proceeds go back into the writer’s pocket.
So, why are these conspiracy theory books so costly?
1. The Content’s Nature
The Missing 411 books talk about true stories that impacted real people. They contain months or probably years of research on the mysterious disappearances in various areas. The author seeks to establish the truth in all those situations.
Access to such information is never cheap to obtain, perhaps because the perpetrators can use other media channels to protect themselves from further investigation.
Since the information is so valuable, it’s only right that the books should be expensive.
2. The Books’ Primacy
The first books containing the mention of an idea or theory are always valuable. Conspiracy theory books like the Missing 411 books often get many spinoffs once they become popular.
These spinoffs often dilute the information from the original books with unverified claims and contradictory theories.
As a result, most readers prefer to get the original books with raw information before the spinoffs, reprints and new editions distort them.
Therefore, people are willing to pay top dollar for the first edition of Missing 411 books to avoid reading contaminated information in the future.
3. Different Prices From Vendors
The author gives vendors a fair platform where they can all buy each copy of the book for $25. However, since most vendors know the value of these books, they overinflate the prices to make a profit.
For instance, Amazon is known to inflate book prices if one or a few copies are left in stock.
4. Supply and Demand
When the demand is high and the supply is low, prices are always high. That’s the case with Missing 411 books. Since the author published them himself, he couldn’t produce enough copies to satisfy the market.
He also limited the number of copies for each release to make it harder for counterfeiters to reproduce them. As a result, the books are hard to come by, even in popular libraries.
Therefore, stores that have them in stock can sell them for unreasonable prices and still get customers. In fact, the more people learn about these books, the more likely vendors will inflate the prices further.
How Many Missing 411 Books Are There?
As of 2022, there are 10 Missing 411 books and two documentaries. The books include:
- Missing 411: Montana (2020)
- Missing 411: Canada (2019)
- Missing 411: Law (2018)
- Missing 411: Off the Grid (2017)
- Missing 411: Hunters (2016)
- Missing 411: A sobering Coincidence (2015)
- Missing 411: The Devil is in the Details (2014)
- Missing 411: North America and Beyond (2013)
- Missing 411: Eastern United States (2012)
- Missing 411: Western United States and Canada (2012)
The Documentaries include Missing 411 (2017) and Missing 411: The Hunted (2019).
Are Missing 411 Books Sold on Amazon?
Although the author does not sell Missing 411 books on Amazon, it’s possible to find a few copies. However, they are usually overinflated, mostly selling for upwards of $100.
David Paulides once explained that these books are probably sold by vendors who buy from his website and mark up the price for a profit.
The books are also not available on Kindle because the author doesn’t want to turn them into ebooks.
Read Also: Why are Barnes & Noble Books So Expensive 2022?
Where to Buy the Missing 411 Book Series for Cheap
If you want to read one of the Missing 411 books, you can try a few places for a bargain.
Thriftbooks
This used books website often has Missing 411 books in stock. Although the prices are higher than $25, they’re not as expensive as on Amazon. Shipping might also be slower than at other sites.
Bigfoot Store
David Paulides’ books are pretty reasonably priced at the North American Bigfoot Search online store. For instance, while Missing 411 books sell for more than $100 on Amazon, you can find them here for $24.95.
eBay
If you can’t find the book you want in the alternatives above, you can always search on eBay. Although some people try to flip these rare books for a profit, some are just happy to pass them on to the next person since they’re done reading.
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