That's part of the reason it's so outrageous - it's free in countries like the Czech Republic and Canada, but some old-school publishing company was granted the monopoly in the U.S., and as a result authors and publishers are getting gouged in the U.S.
The other thing that bothers me is the shameless, mercenary upsells that are designed to trick newbies. $25 for a barcode? Many book designers throw it in for free or you can get a free one on your own at bookow.com/resources.php
When I first got started in book publishing, it was even worse. Bowker was selling website widgets for some ridiculous subscription fee - $120 to start and $60 every year thereafter (https://in30minutes.com/bowkers-isbn-markup-new-authors/). I wonder how many poor souls are still getting charged for that?
The other thing that bothers me is the shameless, mercenary upsells that are designed to trick newbies. $25 for a barcode? Many book designers throw it in for free or you can get a free one on your own at bookow.com/resources.php
When I first got started in book publishing, it was even worse. Bowker was selling website widgets for some ridiculous subscription fee - $120 to start and $60 every year thereafter (https://in30minutes.com/bowkers-isbn-markup-new-authors/). I wonder how many poor souls are still getting charged for that?