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We can read here:

An article-processing charge of $5000 will be levied to cover the costs of review, editing, layout, and online hosting and archiving, if accepted.

This is too expensive for me, so I'll not submit my article there. But I'm also skeptical if the costs are really $5000.

Count Iblis
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    Hmmm... Am I understanding this right? You are interpreting the Lancet's statement as meaning the $5000 is only enough to pay for their costs, with (practically) zero margin, e.g. for profit, or even a safety buffer. [I don't read it that way - I assume the $5000 includes a profit margin, but my interpretation doesn't trumps yours. I am just checking I have understood you right.] – Oddthinking Apr 22 '18 at 07:03
  • Why assume that there is any relationship to what the Lancet's costs are? After all, they have subscription revenues and paywall charges to cover their costs as well. – matt_black Apr 22 '18 at 19:05
  • Possibly off topic? – Martin F Apr 23 '18 at 04:27
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    The claim is a bit problematic in my view, as I don't think this actually claims that their own costs are equal to what they're charging. And the exact answer is probably difficult or impossible to get. You might be interested in [this general article about Open Access costs](https://www.nature.com/news/open-access-the-true-cost-of-science-publishing-1.12676), it does mention a few numbers about estimated internal costs for some journals. – Mad Scientist Apr 23 '18 at 05:39
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    @matt_black - The Lancet Public Health (the journal in question) is an online, open-access journal. The articles are free to view; no subscription, no paywall. – David Hammen Apr 23 '18 at 06:49
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    From the Guide for Authors, some aspects of this apparently high cost are explained. One is that the "fee reflects the anticipated low ratio of acceptance to submission". In other words, the fee charged for an accepted article pays for the expenses incurred from rejecting articles not up to Lancet quality. – David Hammen Apr 23 '18 at 07:01
  • Another is that this journal deals with rather touchy subjects such as the [Contribution of alcohol use disorders to the burden of dementia in France 2008–13: a nationwide retrospective cohort study](http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(18)30022-7/fulltext). This takes extra care and feeding on the part of the journal staff. – David Hammen Apr 23 '18 at 07:01
  • Finally, the publisher is the much despised *Elsevier* (there's an implied charge for profit), while the journal is in the highly praised Lancet group (there's almost certainly a charge for prestige). – David Hammen Apr 23 '18 at 07:05
  • @DavidHammen what does the lancet charge for publication for its non-open-access journals? – matt_black Apr 23 '18 at 08:20
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    They forgot to add *shareholder profit*. – gerrit Apr 23 '18 at 11:24
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    @matt_black - As far as I can tell, nothing, which is rather standard. What's not standard are Elsevier's non-open access subscription fees and the open access charges, both of which apparently support the 37% profit margin that Elsevier is widely reported to rake in. – David Hammen Apr 23 '18 at 11:31

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