Needless to say if the books were published in India, they would be much cheaper.

In India, a 550-page hardcover published today by an average for-profit Indian publisher with offset printing (more than 500 copies) in metric demy 8vo size (138 mm x 216 mm) with 80 gsm paper and 300 gsm dust jacket along with thread binding would have a price between Rs. 650 to 700 (including the standard 50 to 55% distributor margins which are prevalent in India). For a print run of 2000 copies (which would cover most books published in India) with the above specifications, INR 1.2 to INR 1.25 per page is about the fair price for books. For books produced with digital printing (100 or 200 copies), the fair price is 20 to 25% higher. Many publishers in India print books with two prices (one in INR, and one in USD), with the price in USD being two to three times the USD equivalent of the price in INR.

This being the average, prices much lower are not difficult to spot in India too. Some traditional publishers like Chowkhambha publish books that cost much lower per page: their four-volume Hindi commentary on the Siddhantakaumudi by Pandita Ishvarachandra with 2600 pages (which I think are 68 gsm) in 7 inch by 9.25 inch size costs Rs. 1300. With some publishers like Gita Press and Divya Prakashan (of Yoga guru Swami Ramdev), the scale is so large is that they can produce books which are unbelievably low priced and yet good quality. The 16th edition of Swami Ramdev's Pranayam Rahasya (ISBN 817525484X) had a print run of 200,000 copies.