[btrettel]

I tried to negotiate with one journal regarding their OA fees, and I didn't get anywhere. Their journal, which I preferred because it was more specialized (it's not particularly prestigious because few people know about it) charges about 40% more than the cheapest OA journal in my field. The journal staff didn't seem to care how much cheaper their competition is. Not surprisingly, almost no one publishes OA in that journal.

Still, the cheapest in my field is AIAA journal at $2000 per article. That's still outrageous. Given my understanding of what happens behind the scenes I find it hard to believe any journal actually needs that much money to stay profitable.

I'd be happy to pay an order of magnitude less, say $200, if that could ensure the article stays online for a long period of time. I don't know anything about starting new journals, but I hope competition helps this situation. I might start a journal someday...