![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Bookselling economics
Sep. 3rd, 2012 01:52 pmI like bookstores. I like walking into a store and seeing what they have in stock. I like spotting new releases from favorite authors and finding new authors to try.
In order for bookstores to exist, they must make money. If I see a book at the store and then go home and buy the e-book version, I feel guilty because the store gets no credit for the sale. The fewer sales that go through that store, the fewer books they will stock, until eventually the store ceases to be profitable and shuts its doors.
So I don't mind buying physical books from an actual bookstore. But-- like so much else in the publishing industry-- the pricing is nuts. Today I bought a hardcover new release at the local bookstore. With my Barnes & Noble discount card I saved 10% off the cover price. If I'd bought it from Barnes & Noble online, it would have been 42% off the cover price, and shipping is free. How much longer before fans like me only order from online sites, so the bookstore no longer bothers stocking these books? And then how much harder will it be for new readers to discover this series?
Bah. Humbug. There's much about this brave new world that does not please me. But on the other hand, I have a long awaited new book, and a lovely day for sitting outside and reading.
In order for bookstores to exist, they must make money. If I see a book at the store and then go home and buy the e-book version, I feel guilty because the store gets no credit for the sale. The fewer sales that go through that store, the fewer books they will stock, until eventually the store ceases to be profitable and shuts its doors.
So I don't mind buying physical books from an actual bookstore. But-- like so much else in the publishing industry-- the pricing is nuts. Today I bought a hardcover new release at the local bookstore. With my Barnes & Noble discount card I saved 10% off the cover price. If I'd bought it from Barnes & Noble online, it would have been 42% off the cover price, and shipping is free. How much longer before fans like me only order from online sites, so the bookstore no longer bothers stocking these books? And then how much harder will it be for new readers to discover this series?
Bah. Humbug. There's much about this brave new world that does not please me. But on the other hand, I have a long awaited new book, and a lovely day for sitting outside and reading.