Again I have not seen it. I am sure in certain niches used book prices have gone up as almost all second hand items have with resellers and the internet. But I have been buying used books for decades and they are as cheap as ever. so what phenomenon are you experiencing?

I'm saying that even public domain books are pricier yet lower quality for the price than ever. As others have pointed out, the mass market paperback has vanished from non-used bookstores.

I suspect I misunderstood you and by "new releases" you are referring to non-used books. Yes, the entire point is that they are too expensive to justify purchasing.