I have some customers who refuse discounts Silverfish offers on the basis that 'big bookstores don't give any discount, why should you?' These are generally old friends (although some 'old friends' expect special privileges and discounts on account of being our cronies), or the 'self-avowed friends of independents' whom we love. Otherwise, most Silverfish customers -- regardless of income level -- do enjoy our discounts (with some even demanding it). The entire book industry is plagued by discounting, and is one of the main reasons for its imminent collapse.So, I was more than a little intrigued by the story on Publisher's Weekly, Bookmarc: Bookstore as luxury brand. Are customer's willing to pay more for a book from a luxury outlet? Write Judith Rosen & Wendy Werris for Publisher's Weekly: " Books as lifestyle is evident in the juxtaposition of books and other merchandise at Bookmarc. Nonbook items include hand-embroidered canvas book clutches made by Olympia Le-Tan in Paris, which feature covers of classic American novels like John Steinbeck’s The Pearl and Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls, and MJ-branded journals and notepads titled Huckleberry Finn Is My Homeboy or As I Lay Tanning. There are also paperbacks and hardcovers aplenty, especially by and about rock-and-roll stars, the 1960s cultural revolution, erotica, fashion, art, photography, and history, as well as memoirs, rare books, and even self-published titles from Blurb. Prices also tend to be eclectic, from $1,500 for a book-clutch to $1.50 for an MJ condom."
Ah, so that explains it. So, books become loss leaders once more. Or, in other words, the only way forward for a bookshop is to sell non-book items. Interesting.
Publisher's Weekly
