My wife was at the market today, and paid £1 for the autobiography of Martin Johnson (the English/Lions rugby captain), published in 2003. The price inside the cover was £18.99 - the price my local book shop were still charging.
It is not a 'dated' book by any means. So, how much are these shops making?
2007-02-15 07:30:29 · 4 answers · asked by Bunts 6 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
I don't know how the book industry operates in the UK but in America, The publisher will buy back books that don't sell so that the stores can disply books that will get better sales. The books that are bought back are then sold to shops very cheap. The shops make anywhere from 50-75% profit on these books. And if the book your wife bought was a hard cover then it is dated. Most hard covers sell in the first year or two before being shiped back to the publisher. Bookstores will hold on to paperbacks a bit longer because they're cheaper and take up less space and are therefore less of a risk.
2007-02-15 07:39:06 · answer #1 · answered by Coyote81 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Publishers sell off "remainders" which is probably what this book was - or it was 2nd hand. Book shop profits are very small, particularly since supermarkets started selling books. Publishers order a certain number of books to be printed, if they sell well, they may order a reprint. If they don't sell, they have to get rid of them somehow & therefore sell in bulk, really cheap.
2007-02-15 18:29:05 · answer #2 · answered by anwen55 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It really depends on the percentage that they have for each book. It can be around 1-2%
2007-02-15 15:38:21 · answer #3 · answered by boricua_chick_21 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check out what amazon charge. Book margins dont seem overly healthy but amazon make tiny percentage on what they sell.
2007-02-15 15:40:17 · answer #4 · answered by Girugamesh 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋