NY TIMES FEATURES TEXTBOOK PRICE CONTROVERSY ON FRONT PAGE

The New York Times ran a front page story recently about the growing controversy between college textbook sellers and publishers over price.

In a page one story on how more students are buying cheaper textbooks online from sources abroad, National Association of College Stores spokesperson Laura Nakoneczny, was quoted as saying “We think it’s frightening, and it’s wrong, that the same American textbooks our stores buy here for $100 can be shipped in from (another) country for $50.”

“It represents price gouging of the American public generally and college students in particular,” Nakoneczny said.

A response letter published later in the Times by AAP president and CEO Pat Schroeder blamed stores for high prices, saying that students pay a textbook price set by the bookseller “that includes a mark-up that may well exceed the 25-30 percent acknowledged by bookstores.”

In a response to Schroeder’s letter, NACS CEO Brian Cartier noted that the average college store markup on textbooks is 22 percent, a figured that has remained constant for seven years.

The issue of text sales abroad has been simmering for some time. Late last year, NACS sent letters to eight publishers, suggesting that the policy of selling the same text at price differentials here and abroad when publishers know “or should know” some texts going overseas will be sold in the U.S. might violate the Robinson-Patman Act and urging that publishers take steps to stop the practice.

The NACS board later approved a resolution calling on publishers to “take immediate actions to stop” the practice and said that the problem represents “price gouging.”

Source: John Mutter and Jim Milliot, Publishers Weekly. 

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IPSOS BEGINS TRACKING USED BOOK MARKET

In April 2002, Ipsos BookTrends began to track more consumer data on the purchases of used books. Though the study notes that this is data that is insufficient to establish any specific trends, it does provide some insight into what may be future consumer patterns.

The typical used book buyer is extremely similar to a new book buyer, the study reported, although a larger number of lower-income consumers purchase used books. The dominant age of a used book buyer is also the same as a new book buyer: 40 to 60 plus years. The price of a used book is about 50-60 percent less than a new book.

Overall, used bookstores captured a five percent market share in 2002, almost double from the previous year. Consumers purchased 110 million book units and spent nearly $400 million last year.

There appears to be four key retail channels for used books: used bookstores, independent bookstores, the Internet and “charity” sales events. Approximately two thirds of used book purchases are impulse buys.

Source: Bookselling This Week, Oct. 6, 2003.

AMAZON.COM’S NEW SEARCH TOOL YIELDS MIXED RESULTS

Amazon.com has installed its new search tool, dubbed Search Inside the Book, that can scan every word of 120,000 books. The search tool is integrated into the standard Amazon “search box,” which already sits atop a search box for Google.com.

Critics have suggested that the search tool might complicate things by returning too many results. Critics also charge that the tool currently is less comprehensive, citing a search for reporter “Nellie Bly” in which only one of the top 25 hits returned has an “inside the book” reference to Nellie.

Amazon said earlier in the year that not all publishers have agreed to allow them to render the text of their books searchable. Some fear they will be giving away too much material from books for free. To prevent browsers from merely using the site to look up information, customers must have established an account with Amazon before perusing the “inside the book” text.

AMAZON INFLUENTIAL IN BOOK PUBLISHING

Amazon.com is becoming a benchmark by which authors can measure how well they are fairing with consumers. Amazonians have even received private book signings, mini-performances and cooking demonstrations from a host of authors and artists ranging from political humorist Al Franken to famed barbecue author Steven Raichlen to country music singer Roseanne Cash.

“Amazon is an early indicator of consumer enthusiasm,” said Harcourt senior vice president of marketing and sales Laurie Brown. “It’s a place where you look to for early signals as to a book’s potential in the marketplace.”

Amazon has sold $1.7 billion worth of books, music, videos and DVDs for the first half of the year.

Source: Billingsgazette.com

GERMAN PUBLISHING FAIR A SUCCESS

Organizers and exhibitors alike expressed their satisfaction as the world’s largest book fair in Frankfurt, Germany, ended Oct. 13. The association for the German book trade, which operates the fair, reported that visitor numbers had risen by 8.7 percent to 288,887 this year.

“This is a clear signal for the revived optimism within the sector,” said book fair director Volker Neumann. “The majority of exhibitors were extremely satisfied with their business success during the fair.”

Compared to 2002, visitor numbers increased by 17.4 percent on Oct. 10, the first Friday in the fair’s history that welcomed the general public from 4 p.m. And while growth rates of 7.1 percent and 5.4 percent were recorded on the weekend (times when the public were admitted) the first two fair days only saw 4.5 percent and 3.5 percent more business visitors than last year.

On the last day, visitor numbers reached a record level, up 29.4 percent from 2002. It was the first day of the fair during which time publishers were allowed to sell their books. Even though Neumann could not meet his target of 15 percent more visitors, the statistics gave him credit for some of the changes he introduced, namely the book sale and the longer opening hours for the general public.

Source: Kristina Merkner, “Publishing Fair a Success,” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 2003.

ROADWAY CORP. HURT BY COSTS OF YELLOW DEAL

Roadway Trucking Company reported a third-quarter net loss due to costs of its planned acquisition by rival Yellow Corp. The Akron, Ohio, trucker posted a net loss of $3.4 million, or 18 cents a share, including costs arising from its agreement to be acquired by Yellow for $966 million.

In July, Yellow agreed to acquire Roadway to form the biggest U.S. trucker specializing in loads of 10,000 pounds or less. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, according to Yellow and Roadway executives.

News of the deal was quickly followed by an announcement by Union Pacific, the biggest U.S. railroad, that it planned to spin off its Overnite shared-loads trucking unit amid Wall Street hopes for a pickup in trucking volume.

Source: Truck.net, Sept. 30, 2003.

‘LEFT BEHIND’ REACHES EIGHT MILLION IN SALES

“Left Behind,” the first book in the Tim LaHaye/Jerry Jenkins Christian fiction series, recently achieved eight million in sales worldwide. Launched in September 1995, “Left Behind” developed into a product that has moved more than 58 million copies, been translated into 34 languages, launched five number one bestsellers and broke all records for Christian publishing.

Source: Strang

REGAL TAKES OVER VINE BOOKS

Regal Books took over ownership of Vine Books, formerly an imprint of Servant Publications, Nov. 1. The sale included publishing rights, future contracts and inventory of more than 100 backlist titles. A contract has been signed between the companies which outlined that all editorial, marketing and sales related to Vine Books will be conducted from Regal’s Ventura headquarters, while warehousing and fulfillment will be relocated to Gospel Light’s warehouse in Cincinnati.

Source: Christian Etailing

AUTHORS ON THE AUCTION BLOCK

Ruminator Books in St. Paul, MN was on the verge of obtaining needed funds from investors a couple of months ago. The store had taken some serious hits within the past year, due to increased competition from the chains and having to close a satellite store at Open Book Literary Center in Minneapolis. At this time, owner David Unowsky asserted that the store would survive. Next month, the Ruminator is holding an online auction of literary memorabilia donated by prominent authors from across the country to help raise cash for the beleaguered business. The auction will be held on the Ruminator’s web site (www.ruminator.com) Nov. 15-19. Objects will be displayed in the brick and mortar bookstore in St. Paul beginning Nov. 3.

The auction has received objects from about two dozen authors. Treasures from authors Margaret Atwood, Charles Baxter and Julia Alvarez are included in the Ruminator’s growing collection.

Source: PW Daily

BOOKSTORE SALES GET AUGUST BUMP, UP 15.5 %

Preliminary estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show a large gain in bookstore sales in August, up 15.5 percent to $2.11 billion. If the estimate holds up, the gain will most likely come from sales at college bookstores.

Source: PW Daily

SEPTEMBER SEES 6.9% GROWTH FROM LAST YEAR

Traditional retailers saw better-than-expected sales in September, according to the National Retail Federation. Sales in the GAFS category increased 0.2 percent seasonally adjusted from August, and jumped 6.9 percent from the same period last year. NRF continues to predict that holiday sales will rise 5.7 percent over last year.

Source: Strang

AVERAGE CONSUMER PLANS TO SPEND MORE THAN $600 FOR CHRISTMAS

The average consumer plans to spend $671.89 this holiday season, up from 2002 when consumers spent an average of $648.85, according to the recent National Retail Federation 2003 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Auctions Survey, conducted by BIG Research for NRF.

On average, consumers plan to spend $518.44 on gifts this year, $393.69 on gifts for family members, $73.27 on friends, $17.16 on co-workers and $34.32 on other gifts. Consumers also plan to spend $34.18 on decorations, $25.79 on greeting cards and postage, $79.42 on candy and food and $14.06 on flowers.

NRF is projecting that holiday sales will increase 5.7 percent this year to $217.4 billion, which would be the largest increase since 1999.

Source: Strang

BOOK COUNTRY SALE FINALIZED

The sale of Book Country Clearing House based in McKeesport, PA has been finalized.  Richard Roberts and his wife Sandy will partner in the deal. Richard has prior experience in cable and satellite television and specializes in company turnarounds. Sandy Roberts is an attorney and real estate developer.  Their plan for Book Country is to build inventory supply and improve technology. They are also planning to diversify their product offerings.  Book Country was previously owned by Pete Tello who passed away last year.

RETIREMENT PARTY HELD FOR BOB WALKER AT CIROBE

Bob Walker began his career in the “Bargain Book Business” by joining World Publications in 1989.   After eight successful years Bob left World Publications to assist Dean Winegardner in building American Book Company.  He served as Corporate President from May 1997 through December 2002. American Book Company hosted a retirement reception dinner for Bob in Chicago during CIROBE.