*NO SPOILERS* Harry Potter and Books
technoshaman posted today about some of his issues around publishing and predatory pricing of the box and online retailers.
I wrote a lengthy comment that has some similar themes, but didn't really respond to any of his main points. In an effort to spread this (dis)information (and show how badly I stick to the issues at hand) I am happy to present the text here...
"I *WAS* an independent bookseller during the first four Harry Potter books. Here in Canada the publishing house is Raincoast Books, a sleepy little backwater publisher with a shrewed acquisitions department. Raincoast and all other publishers offer 40% off face price on all but the most rare or specialized publications for regularly stocking bookstores. In most cases the freight to your store is included if you achieve a minimum order dollar figures which was easy to do with people like Raincoast but a lot harder for other publishers with a shorter catalogue.
After book four and the Chapters/Indigo debacle (publishers allow you to return for full refund any stock that doesn't sell any time between 3 and 12 months. The big boxes were ordering 50 copies of everything and then dragging their feet to pay for it, then returning 47 copies of everything in 4 months. This ruined many of the publishing houses in Canada) Raincoast was the largest publisher in the country (I still can't confirm this because they are privately held, but I have it on good authority). In Canada Raincoast pretty much drives the bus. Knowing what I do from years past discount rates for this book here range from 44-52% based on volume ordered. Thresholds would be in the tens or hundreds of thousands to get this discount. Meanwhile Mom and Pop books still gets a good price, I think volume packages or first day launches get a bonus couple of points or a launch kit with a bunch of marketing crap (which is collectible if you can believe it!)
Totally beside the point... the Raincoast editions are MUCH nicer than the crap Scholastic puts out. Not only is the language not dumbed down, but the covers and artwork are of much higher quality and don't have that cheezy feel that most Scholastic editions seem to have. In our store we would have American tourists BEGGING us to trade them our Canadian books. Many often bought more copies of books they already had just to have them.
I support the right of all retailers to sell however they want. In the case of the publishing industry here, they were their own worst enemy getting in bed with big box/online retailing. Harry Potter in it's own right really created a whole new consumer of printed material. I believe that the hundreds of millions of copies sold worldwide are altogether in addition to what would have already been sold had that sensation ever taken place. I would also encourage all readers to make an effort to buy from bricks and mortar, be it big box or especially independent booksellers, because the wider issue that online retailers cause is a reduction of specialized selection at the local level. Better still, support a specialized retailer who also sells other items belonging to the same interest. I live in Vancouver but I shop at Edge of the Circle for my occult interests because nobody here makes an effort to cater to my particular needs in the same way."
Now I want some of my own comments!
I wrote a lengthy comment that has some similar themes, but didn't really respond to any of his main points. In an effort to spread this (dis)information (and show how badly I stick to the issues at hand) I am happy to present the text here...
"I *WAS* an independent bookseller during the first four Harry Potter books. Here in Canada the publishing house is Raincoast Books, a sleepy little backwater publisher with a shrewed acquisitions department. Raincoast and all other publishers offer 40% off face price on all but the most rare or specialized publications for regularly stocking bookstores. In most cases the freight to your store is included if you achieve a minimum order dollar figures which was easy to do with people like Raincoast but a lot harder for other publishers with a shorter catalogue.
After book four and the Chapters/Indigo debacle (publishers allow you to return for full refund any stock that doesn't sell any time between 3 and 12 months. The big boxes were ordering 50 copies of everything and then dragging their feet to pay for it, then returning 47 copies of everything in 4 months. This ruined many of the publishing houses in Canada) Raincoast was the largest publisher in the country (I still can't confirm this because they are privately held, but I have it on good authority). In Canada Raincoast pretty much drives the bus. Knowing what I do from years past discount rates for this book here range from 44-52% based on volume ordered. Thresholds would be in the tens or hundreds of thousands to get this discount. Meanwhile Mom and Pop books still gets a good price, I think volume packages or first day launches get a bonus couple of points or a launch kit with a bunch of marketing crap (which is collectible if you can believe it!)
Totally beside the point... the Raincoast editions are MUCH nicer than the crap Scholastic puts out. Not only is the language not dumbed down, but the covers and artwork are of much higher quality and don't have that cheezy feel that most Scholastic editions seem to have. In our store we would have American tourists BEGGING us to trade them our Canadian books. Many often bought more copies of books they already had just to have them.
I support the right of all retailers to sell however they want. In the case of the publishing industry here, they were their own worst enemy getting in bed with big box/online retailing. Harry Potter in it's own right really created a whole new consumer of printed material. I believe that the hundreds of millions of copies sold worldwide are altogether in addition to what would have already been sold had that sensation ever taken place. I would also encourage all readers to make an effort to buy from bricks and mortar, be it big box or especially independent booksellers, because the wider issue that online retailers cause is a reduction of specialized selection at the local level. Better still, support a specialized retailer who also sells other items belonging to the same interest. I live in Vancouver but I shop at Edge of the Circle for my occult interests because nobody here makes an effort to cater to my particular needs in the same way."
Now I want some of my own comments!