Newly released cookery books are on offer for as little as a third of their recommended price as retailers try to get customers buying.
Jamie Oliver (left) and Gordon Ramsay Photo: PA
But there will be little festive cheer this year for independent booksellers as major retailers fight a price war over the latest books from big names including Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay.
The deep discounting has left them unable to compete with discounts of up to two-thirds.
In some of the starkest examples, Jamie Oliver's latest book – Jamie's Great Britain – is being sold by the website Amazon for £10, instead of its £30 recommended retail price.
Other bargains include Heston Blumenthal at Home, by the high-profile originator of so-called molecular gastronomy, which is being widely sold for half its £30 cover price.
And Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's River Cottage: Veg Every Day, is widely available at half price or even less than its £25 cover price.
The scale of the price war, which affects every one of the major cookery releases in the run-up to Christmas, is causing concern among independent bookshops, which have already been hard hit.
Eric Treuille, the owner of Books for Cooks in west London, said it was cheaper for him to buy some books by celebrity chefs at his local supermarket rather than from wholesalers.
He said: "They aren't just far below the retail price, they are also far below the wholesale price. There are some books that I can't buy at that price from my wholesaler or the publisher. For me it would be cheaper to buy Jamie Oliver's book in Sainsbury's than getting it from a wholesaler."
Mr Trueille, the author of five cookery books, added: "It is just getting bonkers. It is a devaluation of the product and the work and it is absolutely mad."
Rosamund de la Hey, a former children's marketing director at Bloomsbury Publishing, owns the Main Street Trading Company book shop in St Boswells, in the Scottish Borders.
Ms de la Hey, who sells the books at their recommended price, said: "It has got to a point now where it is becoming ridiculous. It puts us on the back foot because it makes us look like we are ripping people off - that's the most frustrating thing."
She added that publishers sold the books to major retailers including Amazon and supermarkets for up to 20 per cent less than the prices paid by independent shops.
Analysts say the discounting is driven by the guaranteed popularity of books based on television programmes.
Unusually this year there is no offering from Nigella Lawson – the first time since 2005 that she has not had a book out for the festive market.
Full story including the list of THE TITLES, THE COSTS, AND HOW THEY COMPARE.
The scale of the price war, which affects every one of the major cookery releases in the run-up to Christmas, is causing concern among independent bookshops, which have already been hard hit.
Eric Treuille, the owner of Books for Cooks in west London, said it was cheaper for him to buy some books by celebrity chefs at his local supermarket rather than from wholesalers.
He said: "They aren't just far below the retail price, they are also far below the wholesale price. There are some books that I can't buy at that price from my wholesaler or the publisher. For me it would be cheaper to buy Jamie Oliver's book in Sainsbury's than getting it from a wholesaler."
Mr Trueille, the author of five cookery books, added: "It is just getting bonkers. It is a devaluation of the product and the work and it is absolutely mad."
Rosamund de la Hey, a former children's marketing director at Bloomsbury Publishing, owns the Main Street Trading Company book shop in St Boswells, in the Scottish Borders.
Ms de la Hey, who sells the books at their recommended price, said: "It has got to a point now where it is becoming ridiculous. It puts us on the back foot because it makes us look like we are ripping people off - that's the most frustrating thing."
She added that publishers sold the books to major retailers including Amazon and supermarkets for up to 20 per cent less than the prices paid by independent shops.
Analysts say the discounting is driven by the guaranteed popularity of books based on television programmes.
Unusually this year there is no offering from Nigella Lawson – the first time since 2005 that she has not had a book out for the festive market.
Full story including the list of THE TITLES, THE COSTS, AND HOW THEY COMPARE.
