Discount prices are killing bookshops

The Guardian, Wednesday 18 November 2009

Tim Hely Hutchinson asks why it is not a wonderful opportunity to buy Wolf Hall at £8.99, less than half its retail price – and less than an independent bookseller can buy it for – and get another book free (Letters, 14 November). One answer would be because Waterstone's is a capitalist enterprise and not in the business of making a loss; if it gives books away, it is going to demand a higher discount from the publisher to compensate. Ditto, the publisher which, to provide cheap stock for three-for-two offers, must increase prices on less-popular titles.

The ending of the net book agreement meant many small publishers and independent bookshops folded – out of 60-odd radical bookshops in the 80s, only half a dozen of us survive – and book prices as a whole rose. But this was a hard argument to put to the public, who were encouraged to equate discounting with cheaper books. Those who argued that books were different (as their zero-rate of VAT recognises), and needed retail price maintenance to avoid them becoming just another commodity to pile high and sell cheap, have been sadly proved right, with the book trade currently eating itself in an effort to compete on price with the supermarkets. Meanwhile, full-price books are perceived as expensive, despite them being cheaper than most nights out (and you still have the book the next morning instead of a hangover).

Waterstone's recently trumpeted "personal shoppers" in their new store in Liverpool. Surely these used to be called booksellers? And how many book-buyers realise that publishers pay to have their books promoted in a chain bookshop? At an independent you know if a book is visible, it's because we have chosen to recommend it to you. Many of our young customers have never encountered the individuality of a real bookshop and, having come in for a student text, are delighted with the treasure trove they discover. "Adapting" can be done in other ways than discounting, eg providing excellent customer service and, like ourselves, diversifying. We stock world music CDs and fair-trade crafts; and in contrast to an online bookseller, whose employment practices are pitiful, we are run by a women's co-operative and have our own ordering website – so now you can shop with the real Amazons.