PRICE POINT

I had today’s entry planned well in advance. I was going to introduce you to the joys of trilogies, cycles and book series. However, yesterday I went to buy the third book in Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle, Brisingr, and in that moment this entire entry changed.

Let me explain.

I have a Costco membership and as of 10 a.m. Saturday September 20th, Brisingr was available for purchase. I also have a Chapter’s iRewards card and Brisingr was available at their stores on the same day, if a half an hour earlier depending on the location in my area. So where do you think I went?

Oh, wait, before you answer that, let me share with you another piece of the fact puzzle. Costco was selling Christopher Paolini’s Brisingr for $18.49 and Chapters was selling it for $33.60 ($30.24 if you had an iRewards card). Now where do you think I went?

Ya, ‘nuf said!

Still, I am sitting here somewhat confused, and yes, a little annoyed, because honestly I just want to understand. Why the huge price difference? If all the retailers were applying the same charge, I might be willing to accept it as the “going rate” and move one. However, in this case, as in a few others, there is a dramatic difference between two retail outlets with no immediate explanation and this has left me wanting answers. Answers that I think we are entitled to but that I will admit I am not qualified to offer...without at least a little research.

So, I did a little research; with the emphasis on little. You know, the kind of research that does not involve stealth camera work or hidden microphones but rather a quick Google search and a few emails. Ya, that kind.

First I sent an email off to the customer service department of Chapters.Indigo.ca which read:

Dear Customer Service,

I am trying to find answers to the severe pricing difference between books sold in your stores and those sold through Coscto. I have been a loyal Chapters customer with an i-rewards membership for many years, but now find myself straying to other book retailers more often due to the price points available.

Recently, I went to my local Chapters store to purchase Christopher Paolini's Brisingr and was shocked at the price tag attached; $33.60 or $30.24 for i-reward members. I am aware that had I ordered the book in advance I would have paid only $21.12 or $20.06 with my i-rewards, however, none of these prices could compete with the $18.49 price tag I found at Costco which asked nothing more from me than to buy when available. If this were a one time deal, I could easily overlook the situation, but I shop at both Costco and Chapter’s regularly, although for different reasons, and have seen this discrepancy between prices almost every time. Coscto, consistently sells their books a much lower price than Chapters.

Now, I realize that there are likely different cost’s for suppliers regarding shipment size and delivery, as I am sure there are other parts of the price-tag equation that I am not aware of. However, what I need from you now is a clear and honest explanation as to why my favourite book store, one I have loyally purchased from since forever, has attempted to sell me a book for so much more than I can get at another establishment that is not even a book store.

Please take a moment to explain this to me so that I can better understand the situation.

I actually sent that email twice, afraid that maybe I didn’t do it right the first time. Chapters.Indigo.ca, in return, replied twice. Both times stating that they will answer my email within the next 24 hours. So, I wait and promise to post their response as soon as I receive it.

In the meantime, here is where I admit to having worked for a book retailer in the past and I remember clearly the explanations we were given by management with regards to these same pricing differences. First, we were told the publishers set the price point thus suggesting it was not the retailers’ fault that their book prices are what they are. To find evidence of this claim, I quickly Googled this question and came across Christopher Dreher’s 2002 article entitled Why Do Books Cost So Much?.

In his article, Dreher attempts to fairly explain the equation that makes up a books asking price. He outlines what he calls the “trinity that determines the physical cost” of a book; that being the paper, printing and binding of written work. Factors such as “the size of the book, the quality of paper, the quantity of books printed, whether it contains illustrations, what sort of deal the publisher can make with the printer and the cost of warehouse space” are all considered and account for about 20% of the book cost. The remaining percentage is spread across a “publisher's overhead (the cost of maintaining a staff of editors, proofreaders, book designers, publicists, sales representatives and so on), and for the cuts taken by distributors (who run warehouses that supply books to retailers) and booksellers” not to mention shipping fees, the storage costs for copies not sold and the “returns policy” which allows retailers to return unsold copies of books for credit. An interesting point, at least to this writer, Dreher points out that an author’s cut on book sales is quite low, ranging from only “10 to 15 percent”.

While I read Dreher’s article I was impressed by the number of publication costs’ I was not aware of and slowly I began to appreciate the bigger picture; which is to say, that it takes a good amount of money to publish a book. Further article reads (also found on the net) pointed out that recent industry movements towards e-books and self-publishing and printing on demand might slowly ease the increase in costs and we might soon see consumer friendly numbers. However, none of this really answered my initial question as to why one retailer was selling so much higher than another.

Let us return, for a moment, to my previous employer’s explanations. Their second suggestion, which was offered during a discussion specific to Costco pricing, was that Costco actually took a loss on their book sales in order to keep their prices low and customer loyalty high. Sounds possible doesn’t it? Once again, I wasn’t sure on the validity of this claim, and curious, I sent off another email, only this time to Costco.ca’s customer service. It read;

Dear Costco Customer Service,

I am a coscto member who has purchased several books from your warehouse locations over the past year. In doing so, I have noticed that your prices are significantly lower than your competitors and am curious as to why this might be the case. I have heard you actually take a loss on your book sales in order to keep your price point low, is this true? Could you please take a moment and explain to me how you manage to keep your book prices so low? I am currently working on an article for my blog and would like to be able to explain this situation to my readers.

Before I could officially submit my question for review, however, Costco.ca offered me a brief statement on this particular query. It read:

As a general rule, Costco Wholesale does not price-match other retailer prices. Costco Wholesale always offers you the highest quality merchandise at the best value. We constantly keep our profit margin as low as possible so that you can get the most out of your dollar. However, we cannot afford to sell our products below vendor cost. Costco Wholesale does not apply a loss leader strategy like other businesses, but instead offers you the lowest possible price on every item. Furthermore, Costco Wholesale tries to stay informed about other retailers’ prices to ensure we are always as competitive as possible, and we do not hesitate to adjust our prices if necessary.

I still submitted my own question (and still await an official response) but, I believe that Coscto has made itself quite clear in terms of whether they will take a loss on their book sales in order to keep their prices low. According to them, they do not. However, to be fair to my previous employer, Costco does imply they do not make a large profit on their books and this might be where their (previous employer) suggestion of a loss comes in. Now, once again, whether Coscto or my former employer is being entirely truthful would require a great deal more research than my blog will provide today *grin*.

So, what have we learned here? Books cost money to make and even more money to promote and distribute. That cost is applied to our purchase price as is everyone’s portion of the profit pie.

Truthfully, while I think the average cost of a hardcover or paperback book is high, I willingly spend that money when I feel the book in question is good enough. And I would be the last person to begrudge a writer, publisher, book maker or any member of the price equation their fair earnings on their work. I just wish I could be sure we, the consumer, were being as fairly considered in that same equation.

For now, and always, the library is our friend. Truly no one can compete with free, right? Next to that you have the league of many used book retailers both in store and online which often have the most amazing book selections available. Try them out and make your experience just as enjoyable as any other, only much kinder to your pocket book.

As for me, my copy of Brisingr is safely in my keeping (at the lowest cost to me, of course) and I intend to crack the spine of this book just as soon as I complete this post. Maybe next time I’ll tell you about that experience. In the meantime, here is a review of France’s Mayes’ Swan.

Swan
Author: Frances Mayes
Published by Random House, 2002

I have never read a book by Frances Mayes before and when I started this one I was not aware of her previous work. Other than that she was the name behind, Under The Tuscan Sun, a movie I thoroughly enjoyed and a book I unfortunately did not read, I was a newbie to the writing world of Frances Mayes. I hope to revisit her world again very soon.

Frances Mayes tells the story of the Mason family with deep respect and appreciation for her characters cultural and personal colouring. She is very careful to gently remind her readers that both these factors bleed into each other when her characters act, love, live and learn.

After reading Swan, I decided to visit Mayes’ website and found that she is both a poet and a prolific food and travel writer. I wish I had known this before I read her book, as it would have helped me to understand some of her approaches to telling this story. However, despite not having this knowledge, and now because I do, I appreciated Mayes’ beautifully written voice where she tenderly enfolds her characters into their surroundings and smoothly teaches her reader to pay attention not only to who her characters are but also to where they are and why they are there. Through her book, Mayes taught me to look more closely at what I eat and where I live, as both may say a lot about who I am.

Overall, Swan was a very nice read. Perfect for a quiet afternoon, with peaceful music and a nice cool drink by your side; perhaps some good old Southern Iced Tea.

Favourite lines from the book…

What strikes my brain stem is all we don’t know about what we know. (page 184)

We run on what’s not said, he thought, at lease in Swan we do. For all the talk, talk, talk we do, the crucial subjects are swallowed without a sound. (page 206)