Quote:
Originally Posted by brecklundin
I know you are just spit balling here but having once been in the book business...no seller pays 50% of cover price...a seller like Amazon pays 30% MAX probably more like 20-25%. I used to pay 30-40% in the late 80s. And i was a lower volume seller at around $200k/yr in wholesale purchases spread aorund 4-6 publishers.
So I see no chance they are losing, even on best sellers. Maybe breaking even on best sellers considering overhead.
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We have also seen experiments in recent years with lower prices to retailers for a different reason. Publishing has historically been a 100% returns business, where any unsold books could be returned for full credit. In most other retail lines, the retailer is expected to know what will sell to their market and returns will be limited. If the retailer guesses wrong, they eat the cost of unsold goods. Publishers are experimenting with deals that give retailers lower wholesale prices in exchange for lower returns. If they take the lower price option, they can't just return anything unsold for credit.
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Dennis