During the latter half of the 18th century, the doors of German universities were opened from within. Scholars abandoned Latin in favor of the vernacular and turned outward to a broader audience. Philosophers and scientists saw in the printing press a tool that would help eradicate ignorance and superstition, ultimately laying the groundwork for a better society. However, the enthusiasm was short-lived. Influential scholars increasingly lamented by the turn of the 19th century that competition for readers’ attention had compromised the quality of science. Many described a situation of intellectual undercutting and warned that popular science was displacing the gen-uine. In this article, I examine the late 18th and early 19th-century German-language debate on the increasing commercialization of academic knowledge. Specifically, I analyze how one sought to stimulate demand for serious and educational literature by fostering people into good and quality-conscious readers