PUBLISHERS BATTLE AGAINST USED BOOKS ONLINE Público Deposited
The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 29, July 18, 2004, Article 30
PUBLISHERS BATTLE AGAINST USED BOOKS ONLINE
The New York Times this week featured an article about
the problems used book sales on the Internet are causing
publishers."Publishers, particularly textbook publishers, have long
countered used-book sales by churning out new editions
every couple of years. But the Web, particularly sites like
Amazon and eBay, have given millions of consumers an
easy way to find cheap books - often for under $1 -
without paying royalty fees to publishers or authors.Mass-market publishers are not certain the used-book
phenomenon is a problem worth addressing, but others in
the industry have already made up their minds."We think it's not good for the industry and it has an effect,
but we can't measure it," said Paul Aiken, executive director
of the Authors Guild, a trade group. "There has always been
used-book sales, but it's always been a background noise
sort of thing. Now it's right there next to the new book on
Amazon.""Amazon has listed used books alongside new books since
late 2000. But analysts and industry executives said the
momentum among consumers and newly minted used-book
sellers was just now approaching the point of biting into
new-book sales."We've not been able to pinpoint a definite effect, but my
gut is that absolutely there's an effect," said Dominique
Raccah, chief executive of Sourcebooks Inc. of Naperville,
Ill., a publisher of both fiction and nonfiction titles. "And it
concerns me that we're not formalizing a reasonable,
proactive response.""This is not a new phenomenon," said Albert N. Greco, a
professor at Fordham University's graduate school of
business administration. "But now it's different. The computer
and the Internet have revolutionized things."Furthermore, Mr. Greco said, there is no stigma attached to
buying used books. "It's not like buying a used pair of shoes.
And the prices are very reasonable," he said.To read the full article, see: Full Story
- 2004-07-18
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