Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
It's generally the bookstore, yes. Occasionally it'll be the publisher, to clear out stock. No, the bookstore doesn't need permission.
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As someone who worked in major bookstores for years, it's actually mostly publisher overstock. Stores may decide to take a loss and mark down their own non-returnable stock at a loss, but most of these discounts work in 1 of 2 ways.
1) Shared markdowns/affidavit returns: Basically, the store tells the publisher how many copies they have on hand and the publisher issues them a partial credit to cover part of the loss of the discount.
2) True overstock: Book stores return inventory for full credit. Publishers have too many and want to get rid of them. They sell them off to bookstores (often the same ones that returned them) at a much lower price that actually makes the $5.98 a profit for the store. More than likely it ends up as a loss for the publisher.
It's just the nature of the print business. It may seem illogical at first glance, but it's a great chance for consumer bargains. Bargains that will never exist (due to no overstock) with ebooks.