Quote:
Originally Posted by guyanonymous
I didn't know that specifically, no.
Considering publishers ask retailers to throw out books rather than return them, I'm not surprised. Seeing dumpsters full of pocketbooks without their covers in the past, behind the malls I worked in, that really disgusted me. The government might as well pay farmers to throw away excess food...oh wait.
What a ludicrous system.
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That is correct, authors make no money on remainders; the publishers sell them to third-party resellers for a buck or two a book, just to try to cut their losses on copies that aren't likely to sell at retail. Authors are usually offered copies of their own books at the remainder price, and I usually buy a couple of hundred when the time comes (all too soon).
As for paperbacks being stripped and pulped, the reason for that is that it's too costly to ship them back and restock them in a warehouse, plus they might no longer be in condition to sell. It's wasteful, yes--but the alternative is higher fuel costs, higher warehousing costs, and more expensive books.