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Originally Posted by shalym
That's your opinion. In my opinion, fiction is more important and plays a larger role in my life than non-fiction.
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Just to clarify, if that's possible, it isn't exactly my opinion. It's one of three opinions I can't choose between; the other two opinions don't distinguish between fiction and nonfiction.
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Originally Posted by shalym
I do read (and love) biographies and history in general, but most non-fiction books of that type are interchangeable. They really are commodities.
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This mystifies me, but that's OK.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shalym
Hachette doesn't bargain at all with neighborhood bookstores--bookstores buy books at a wholesale rate, and are allowed to sell the books at whatever price they want to sell them at.
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For neighborhood book stores in the United States, you are totally correct. Outside the US, it varies whether there is retail price maintenance, but you are correct that bookstores buy at a wholesale price, either direct from the publisher, or from a wholesaler.
In the United States, retailers can indeed charge whatever they want. However, many manufacturers won't continue selling to said retailer if their price maintenance policy is violated. That why Amazon can no longer market most Apple products, or Wüsthof knives, except through third party sellers. Big publishers may have to make a decision as to whether they want to join Apple and Wüsthof.
Amazon demands special treatment from Hachette not given to neighborhood bookstores, and not given to most of the dozens or hundreds of web sites around the world that sell ePUB eBooks. It's Amazon's right to demand special treatment, as is Hachette's to resist, and as is mine to hope Hachette comes out on top.