How about you folks?   Will you go to Russos (for instance) and buy the book at full price or are you more likely to get it from Amazon or a big box store for 9 bucks?

Neither.  I'll buy it used from Goodwill.

I've come across some great books -- some signed by the author -- at the secondhand stores for less than a buck. It's hard to feel sorry for the trade group.

I go on line and use Abe Books, good prices.

I also use our underfunded, understaffed library, takes awhile to get the book but I have lots of time.

I like to buy off half.com.

I've gotten a few hard to find books through my alma mater.  They can get books from anywhere in the world through inter-library loan.

My choices 

1.  Goodwill on Rosedale - nothing over 95 cents
2.  Half.com
3.  Borders - with a 30% off coupon for being a rewards member
4.  Sam's Club - only new top sellers but cheap!!!!

No one wants to pay more for a product than they have to, but these retailers who start price wars that go at or below cost of goods truly are damaging consumers in the long run. The writer points out that people will still go to independent book dealers for selection and service, but those stores won't be able to pay the bills if their customers who shop out of "affection and allegiance" shop there for a special request here and there, but buy the bestsellers elsewhere because they want a bargain like everyone else. Remember when there were usually 2 different book stores in shopping malls? Now there are usually none. There used to be toy stores in malls, too, but Walmart & Target put an end to that with their toy price war a few years ago. Once the competition is eliminated, prices go back up and your choice of where to purchase has been minimized. These stores are also minimizing the brands they carry, and minimizing the amount of off-brand merchandise they carry, which takes away choice and gets people to buy the products that are more profitable for the store. It's a game that they play at the expense of the consumer, but the consumer thinks they win because they got a great deal....on one item. I don't think the book war will last because it's ridiculous to sell something at or below cost, but I also think Mr. Jacoby is ridiculous if he thinks this won't have an impact.

Don't forget the used book sale 4 times a year at Beale Library.  I help out there so you'll always get a heads up from me.  The money goes back to the library and funds programs as well.

I'm a Goodwill book shopper and the Assitance League on P has a nice used book section too.

Makesmelaugh, I think the toys will still be made in China (with lead in them).  I also believe books will always be in libraries as they have been for thousands of years.

WalMart and Target go out of business by not being able to compete with online sells.

Like my man, Sam Walton, says, paying higher prices is paying for a business' inefficiency.

Nancy, did you know the Goodwill downtown has a coffee shop?  My wife and I love that place!!!

Jfrancais, I hate to have to break the news to you, but not anymore. Goodwill downtown closed its coffee shop a month or so ago. I asked one of the employees there, and she said there are no plans to reopen it. I loved it, too.

Tell me laughoutloud, did you read the purpose of what's being called the "book war?"  They are loss leaders just like all you can eat salad and bread at restaurants.  They're designed to draw you in so you'll buy other items.

They aren't at war with publisher, other book sellers or each other when it comes to books. 

And yes, while we all love a bargain, a lot of us just can't afford 35.00 for a book.  I honestly feel for the small stores since I was one of them.  But I'm a logical person and I understand the issues too.

Jf, I knew that and am sorry to hear they got rid of it.  What a shame.

Thanks for the heads up elim.

I clearly have the minority opinion here, but I appreciate the major bookstores, particularly Barnes and Noble, for their depth of selection and organization. So, yeah, I buy some of my books there. I have a Barnes and Noble discount card and use their coupons, too. For those who say "shop the local guys," I'm also a Russo's customer from time to time.

That said, if I find a bargain book at Goodwill or Target, I'm not going to pass it up. I avoid Wal-Mart like the plague for a number of reasons, so they shouldn't stock books on my account.  ;-) 

Eli, you're killing me.  WHat will I do when I come home for the holidays?

I don't buy books anymore! I share with friends then when we run out of books to share I collect them and take them to the SPCA then I pay a visit to my sister's used book store in Pleasanton Calif and stock up for free !!!!

jfrancais: "Like my man, Sam Walton, says, paying higher prices is paying for a business' inefficiency."

But they're selling at or below cost, and no matter how efficient an independent store may be, they can't compete with it. Also, those stores buy bulk in amounts we can't even fathom, so they get the same items for a much lower cost than an independent merchant does. They sell certain items for less than my company can get them from a wholesaler. We're not inefficient and we're not trying to rip people off...just trying to make a living. I'm not against big-box stores because they have a great place in our current society. However, I'm against them selling things at or below their own cost, I'm against them opening multiple stores in close proximity to each other, and I'm against them carrying specialty items they can't provide instruction or service on, at prices that an independent can't touch. I can't pay the bills by giving out free instructions to people who buy their stuff somewhere else, and it's not fun when people get mad at me when I tell them that there are no replacement parts available for the brand they bought at Walmart.

NancyII: "Tell me laughoutloud, did you read the purpose of what's being called the "book war?"  They are loss leaders just like all you can eat salad and bread at restaurants.  They're designed to draw you in so you'll buy other items. They aren't at war with publisher, other book sellers or each other when it comes to books."

Yes, I read it and I understand how it works. Their purpose has no bearing on the consequences, or on my opinion of it.

As a side note on the book topic, it's very nice that Russo's carries books that are required reading in high school English classes, and they give a student discount.

I support Russo's when I can. I do not go to WallMart, it is a blot on the marketplace. Read Nickle and Dimed in America

Read Sam Waltons bio.

Laurah - I'm with you.  I normally purchase from Borders or Barnes and Noble - they almost always have the books I'm looking for (though there are a few very rare books I'm looking for that I'll have to get from Amazon).  Only books I've purchased from Amazon were some of the Harry Potter books, because I had them delivered the day of, or the day after the books hit the shelves.  I've purchased more CD's from Amazon than anything.

I only buy hardbacks at B&N or Borders as gifts or when I buy local history I get them at the museum gift shop.

Other than that I buy only paperbacks.  The hardbacks tend to hit me on the nose when I fall asleep.

Barnes and  Noble or Boarders gift certificates for Christmas = shopping spree after Christmas.

I usually buy new books now, but I have purchased my share of bargains from Goodwill, S.A., Amazon, yard sales, etc.   When I want a free  read, I peruse my husbands bookcases in the garage.  I can usually find something fascinating there.

 But they're selling at or below cost, and no matter how efficient an independent store may be, they can't compete with it.

No. They are selling at ultra slim profit margins.  B&N is going to say that because its in their interests but I believe WalMart is good at making money.  They do buy in large quantities but cheaper book at WalMart (which I don't purchase anyway) is due to the efficiency in their business model.

Why were they one of the few companies to make a profit in this economic downturn?

Read Sam Walton's bio.  He didn't believe in the old way of doing business and dealng with middlemen that made his prices higher.  They would not even deal with him until his business model was so sucessful that it only made good business sense to do so.

Those 25 cent sodas in front of the store are probably sold at a loss.

Unless the execs of these chains got together at a golf course and decided to fix prices, the complaint is crying over lost profits from overpriced books. Walmart undercut prescription drugs. Alot of people who couldn't, bought their prescriptions at an affordable price. Other stores likewise cut their prices.

HLN says Walmart has declared a "toy war" on Toys R Us for the holiday. Major brand toys will be priced at $10. In these times of economic hardship, that's a lot of children who will benefit and I imagine donation dollars will go farther. 

If more people are buying books because the price is lower, then it follows more people are reading. That's a bad thing?

Economic recessions create hardship for most, opportunity for others. If a store can move its merchandise by cutting prices and settling for a lower profit margin, I wish them well. How much will they make by keeping it on a shelf at a higher price? They move the product, make something, and the public benefits. Maybe Walmart, et.al. should get into the banking business and open gas stations.

 Maybe Walmart, et.al. should get into the banking business and open gas stations.

They do have gas stations and they have some financial services.  They are seeking approval to do more.

Careful what you wish for...

http://moneycentral.msn.com...

http://www.businessweek.com...

I buy books all over the place:  Barnes & Noble, Russo's, Borders, Target, Vons, Goodwill, The Library (our branch in Oildale has a whole wall of books for sale all the time,) and from my son's Scholastic book-order forms.  My husband buys them online.  

I'm running out of places to buy them and will probaby have to start stealing them from people's houses, just for variety.   Witters, I'm coming over your house first.  ; )

Harwick Books  Now Open!  Everything Must Go!

Oh Lord have mercy. I've got about 20 boxes of books sitting in my living room from when I moved (Feb.) and the spouse keeps hauling more in the front door about twice a week. We' re suckers for books. Like Catherine, we get them **everywhere** and never get rid of them.  Anyone need a copy of the The Jewish Encyclopedia? I don't know how we got that but I'm forbidden from even taking it to a local synogoge and throwing it onto the front steps as I race away while the book is in mid-flight.  I have National Geographic from 1956 (the advertisements are hilarious).

You they are going to do the same thing to them selfs as the record industry the news papers and soon the big 3 tv companies. When they over price them selfs then people will go else where and in print media anyone can self publish a book and charge alot less and still make more money than when a company like Simon&Scheuster.

Got you beat on the National Geographic's, I have a steamer trunk full starting from around 1915. Then there are the "extras" I keep for those art projects.

I have some of my parents "Book of the Month Club" books( Mr. Blanding's Gets His Dream House etc) printed on the official"it's war time" paper (WW 2) ,and some classics they bought. Then there is the Sci-fi boxes,the stacks of books,the bookcases...and still I read.

I bought enough books at the recent library book sale to last for the next year. I also kept my word to Mrs. Catpaw and got rid of useless books from the shelf. Well, I did get rid of three of them.  

More power to Walmart.  Not that I agree with they're doing, but in the game of business there is no fair play.

In the bookselling business, larger retailers like Barnes & Noble will do just fine.  These best selling titles only account for less than 5% percent of their total revenue.  In the age of digital, paperback and hard covers will stay but there is greater potential in the future in eBook readers like Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Nobles' Nook, etc.  

To answer Nancy's question, I would be more likely to buy a book for the cheapest price available. 

"Not that I agree with they're doing, but in the game of business there is no fair play." 

I think that pretty much sums up life in America.

Why are gasoline prices so high and where did all the independent gas dealers (middlemen) go? There is no competition in that industry and the big oil cartel fixes the price after forcing independents out of the market.

Where did all the record stores and video stores go, and why are the prices for cable and satellite reception so high? The content owners cut the independent dealers (middlemen) out of the market.

Why are book prices so high when the demand is so low? Content owners and their distribution arms control the prices. This is not a free market, this is a monopolized market controlled by a handful of companies in each sector.

I find it hilarious to continue to read apologists for WalMart, and their conglomerate brethren in other industrial sectors, citing low prices as the manna for all civilzation. You may not realize it but everyone now works for WalMart, and the proof is in what choices you have in the market and what wages you can command.You can truly see today what 95% of us can actually afford to buy now that all the home equity and credit has vanished. WalMart never offered most of its employess benefits they could afford, now most Americans cannot afford any benefits. We have lowballed ourselves into a nation of indentured impoverished "servant leaders" of WalMart.

For those cheering the opening of the new WalMart Supercenter in the paper today, look around Bakersfield and check out the wealth of vacancies in nearly every shopping center.

The ABA years ago started to fight back against the unfair trade practices being utilized to destroy independent booksellers. They lost. Just as NARM and VSDA(now EMA) lost the fight to keep the majority of record and video sellers alive. If you drive by California Avenue, just west of the Bank of the West building, you will see the Blockbuster location going out of business. All these closures of all these outlets did not improve the shopping experience or gain the consumer any appreciable savings. The closures took good earning jobs and threw them away, where we now have the highest amount of unemployment since Reagan was President.

The government turned its back on protecting competition in the market under the ruse of a free market system. The only thing free about our current economy is the rein which corporate conglomerates have had in rewarding a handful of extremely wealtyhy people at the expense of everyone else.

And to think you need to pass a drug test to give really crummy service at all these big box locations.

And to think you need to pass a drug test to give really crummy service at all these big box locations.

Some of them even require you to be able to do long division and algebra.

i havet he same feelings for this group that I have for record companies

you have ripped off the public for so long, that you are reaping what you have sewn.....

you dont even have to pay for books here pretty soon.  you will be able to download them for free from places like limewire

Learnm, do you not believe that art has value? Musicians and authors do not deserve to be paid for their work? 

I actually do not mind paying for books, DVDs or albums that I enjoy, because I believe that paying for the item is my way of thanking (supporting) the effort that made it possible. I value the time and effort that it takes to produce a song or a story or a visual escape that may alter my perception of the world in some small way, and I think that the artist deserves something in recognition of that effort.

"WalMart never offered most of its employess benefits they could afford"

When did you work for Walmart? 

When I worked there my insurance cost me the same as it does through SS and exactly what it cost me when I worked for the county.  During my time there I had to have surgery that cost me zip..zilch over my monthly premiums.  I had sick pay, 401K that THEY paid into and bought stock at the cost of the stock with no load or fees.  It came out of my check at the amount I chose.  I also had paid vacation after the first year.  We got a discount and a bonus discount that we could use on Black Friday on through Christmas (one time)

Whlle part time people have to accumulate hours to get insurance and other bennies, they ARE available.

Now, please tell me what benefits were denied or unaffordable?

I'm not an apologist for WM but what I AM, is honest and a realist.  I don't live in a world of what I wish for, I live in a world of facts.  If Walmart had treated me badly I'd be the first standing up like Norma Rae...but that was not the reality.

Learnm, do you not believe that art has value? Musicians and authors do not deserve to be paid for their work?

BAKOBLUE..you are missing the point, these marketing clowns RAPE artists.......Motley Crue...a band from the 1980's, only made less than a dollar per album sold, yet they sold millions.  They had to continuously tour to make any money...and a couple of them are in financial dire straits now.

that book group, as well as the record companies arent in it for the artists...they are in it for themselves

BTW...im all for artists getting paid for their art.  how cool is it to make money on your point of view?

Learnm, unfortunately that's true for nearly all musicians. I agree that there are an awful lot of folks in line who get a cut of the price of a book or album. I guess it was your comment about not even having to pay for books that led me to believe that you weren't interested in paying the person who wrote them. Glad to see I misunderstood.

My nephew is a song writer in Nashville and I can't remember what they get per album sold but it wasn't nearly as much as one might think.  He has cuts on a lot of artists albums and they get a cut from each album even if their song isn't the single release.

I agree that it's really cool to make money off something you love doing.

"Make your hobby your career and never work another day in your life."

"The only thing free about our current economy is the rein which corporate conglomerates have had in rewarding a handful of extremely wealtyhy people at the expense of everyone else."

But who do we have to blame for that?  No one else but ourselves.  If I feel strongly about boycotting a company because of their malpractice and unethical behavior, I will stop shopping there.

"There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else."  ~ Sam Walton

  They had to continuously tour to make any money...and a couple of them are in financial dire straits now.

I believe the music industry will eventually use CDs as ads for concerts and apparel.  The technology is too cheap and readily available.

Bye, Sam Goodys...

Anyone notice the Blockbuster on California & Stockdale is closing?

Saw that after leaving Fresh and Easy tonight bakoblue. Killed by Netflix no doubt. Somehow I suspect their "closeout prices" will still be more expensive than Amazon.