( CNN ) -- Only 800 printed sets of the multi-volume Encyclopedia Britannica are stacked in the company 's Kentucky warehouse , the company says , and when the last one sells , there 'll be no more . It could be just a matter of days . `` They are flying off the shelves , '' Jorge Cauz , president of Encyclopedia Britannica , told CNN Friday . Just three weeks after the publisher of the iconic encyclopedia announced it would be ceasing print production after 244 years , more than 3,000 printed copies of the final edition , the 2010 version , have sold at the standard price of $ 1,395 Cauz said . New versions of the coveted 32-volume set , which up until the last decade was peddled by door-to-door salesmen , will now be available exclusively on the Internet . News of the publishing shutdown rattled consumers enough to cause a spike in sales to 1,050 a week , company spokesman Peter Duckler told CNN . Before the announcement , the company averaged a mere 60 sales a week . Worldwide , the company is now selling 150 copies a day , Duckler said . Cauz said he was n't sure if the printed copies would last more than a few days . The encyclopedia 's end adds to a trend that is seeing newspapers , magazines , books and journals turn into online URL addresses almost daily . One nostalgic customer , who wasted no time ordering one of the last published sets when he heard they 'd soon be gone forever , called the transition the `` passing of an era . '' `` I remember being so engrossed in all the things you could possibly know , '' David Wise of Chicago told CNN . Wise,44 , had a hand-me-down encyclopedia set from his aunt and uncle , and fondly recalls reading it every night before dinner in his youth . `` I have young kids . I thought , there 's no way I 'm not going to let them have that experience , '' he said . Wise recalled his family 's set was missing the `` F '' volume . `` There was a slight gap in my education , '' he joked . For Wise , the encyclopedia series encompasses not only what one can learn from the content of the books , but how much society has learned over time . `` In the first edition they did n't know what California was , '' Wise told CNN . `` Now we 're studying intergalactic space ! '' The first edition of Encyclopedia Britannica , dating back to 1768 , takes up no more than 8 inches on his desk . The newest version covers multiple shelves on his bookcase . Wise says the encyclopedia catalogs `` a robust explosion of human knowledge . '' While Wise mourns the loss of a cherished a tradition , Cauz , 55 , is less than disheartened about having to retire the printed version , along with its hard covers and pages that must be turned by hand . `` The youth has an attachment to the digital screen , '' he , explained . `` That 's how they learn and explore , and so that 's where we will be . '' Cauz celebrates the company 's ability to mold with the changing times , adapt to technological advancements , and enhance the experience for customers new and old . He said even Internet subscriptions have spiked since the announcement of print cessation . `` Society still pays high regard to facts and scholarly knowledge , '' he said . `` The whole idea of Britannica being alive and vibrant is here . ''
Only a few copies of the final printed Encyclopedia Britannica are left , the company says . Sales jumped from 60 copies a week to 1,050 after the announcement . Comment: The Britannica will continue to thrive on the digital screen , the company president says .