tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35428618.post8745325036591356811..comments2024-01-20T00:59:08.689+00:00Comments on Brave New World: NBA = Net Book AgencyMartyn Danielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02134633193540004531noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35428618.post-11902273179592525732010-11-03T14:15:38.222+00:002010-11-03T14:15:38.222+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Martyn Danielshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02134633193540004531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35428618.post-3457560422211918342010-11-03T14:15:14.192+00:002010-11-03T14:15:14.192+00:00Alan
i would agree with you that although RRP on t...Alan<br />i would agree with you that although RRP on the jacket can indicate good value the current level of price promotion and deep discounting has become a farce.<br /><br />Some would suggest the RRP is made up and is based on having to accommodate 55% or so discounting promotion. So to price a book you double it to price and then discount it by 50% and tell the consumer its half price. Hello whose kidding who here? <br /><br />RRP on books works in a market where sanity exists but not in a market where deep discounting is the norm and the price on the jacket relates to the discount it has to accommodate. <br /><br />With respect to ebooks we have a price that relates to what? Some say it has to relate to the hardback so not to hurt its sales. Others say it must be cheaper but on a staggered release. Others that it could be to a price point as the cost associated is fairly normalised across all books and the differential really only apply to physical today and the only common cost is acquisition and royalty. Some argue that ebooks cost a fortune to create and these common infrastructure cost have to be factored in. <br /><br />The reality is that the price is only as good as the cost the consumer will bear and a lack of clear pricing and confusion just leads prices to go one way.<br /><br />Retailers should be able decide what the sell anything at. It may be higher it may be lower but as long as the cost is paid the manufacturer or supplier should walk away as they have been paid. The problem is that many today don't know if they want to be retailers, publishers, wholesalers and 'too many cooks...'Martyn Danielshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02134633193540004531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35428618.post-72182472599973379742010-11-03T09:56:47.813+00:002010-11-03T09:56:47.813+00:00I remember the original NBA = Net Book Agreement i...I remember the original NBA = Net Book Agreement in a time when books were considered "different". Today, to most publishers, books are just another product to shift in as big numbers as they can. The biggest selling thing in fiction today is the RRP printed on almost every book. Very few hardback novels are worth £18.99 and even fewer are sold at that price. If publishers stopped having prices printed on books, booksellers would have to start using other promotional methods other than price to sell their wares. <br /><br />Almost all other suppliers to the retail trade work on a uniform cost price with small extra discounts for quantity purchases. Retailers can then price the goods at the level at which they can sell them and make an acceptable margin. <br /><br />If publishing worked in this way, e-book pricing would not be an issue because the publishers would have worked out their cost price and left it to the retailer to decide on the selling price.<br /><br />You only have to look at the second hand booktrade and parts of academic publishing to see how unimportant printed prices could become to the general bookseller.<br /><br />Selling on price has helped drive consumers away from real bookshops to the big chains and Amazon. It has certainly driven up RRPs on books. If UK publishing was to get rid of book pricing, booksellers would have to get back to providing good old fashioned service: something that the independent booktrade has never forgotten.Alanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18372185194608309414noreply@blogger.com