booksellers

Strange but true…

The suit, filed by Larry Townsend's attorney for copyright infringement, stems from a dispute over unpaid fees allegedly owed the author by his distributor, the Oklahoma-based Nazca Plains Corp. Nonetheless, the suit charges that Mitzel, along with over 40 other booksellers…infringed on Townsend's copyright by selling the author's books in his store.

Are used bookstores taking advantage of the members of book swapping sites such as Bookmooch by dumping their junk in return for saleable books? This swapper is suggesting that booksellers may be making a tidy little profit by farming book swaps. If it’s true, can it be fair?

The American Booksellers Association is urging their members to support a sales tax on online book sales. Out-of-state online retailers are enticing their customers away with tax-free purchases, and this “sales tax shortfall will grow worse each year as online shopping grows.” But the Book Patrol dude doesn’t think an online tax is the answer.

Indie bookstores are rebounding from the internet, supermarket and big chain store threat; at least in the U.K. According to annual figures from the Booksellers Association (BA), the decline in the number of independent booksellers was halted last year. You can find the stats and the reasons for them here.

Weighing in on the side of independent bookstores, JB Dickey, owner of the Seattle Mystery Bookshop, lets the media know that it’s not all doom and gloom in the bookselling industry, and that sensationalized stories of independent bookstore closures are counter productive and misleading.

It might reassure online book buyers to know that the government can’t just subpoena their buyer information. “Federal prosecutors have withdrawn a subpoena seeking the identities of thousands of people who bought used books through online retailer Amazon.com Inc.” The judge ruled that it would have a “chilling effect on expressive e-commerce.” You don’t say.

Independent bookstores are refusing to stage signings and readings for authors whose websites and emails have a book purchase link to Amazon but not to Booksense. Apparently it’s Booksense’s way of competing with Amazon because their brand isn’t strong enough. Do you think they might be cutting off their nose to spite their face here?

As a former and future bookseller... "Q: An ex-girlfriend gave me two very different answers on different occasions when I asked her how many people she had slept with before me. Should I press her on this, or is it her business? A: There are other things to discuss. Instead, ask, 'How many books have you read?' Let that be your marker of inadequacy instead." (paraphrased to fit)

The sale of galleys and ARCs may harm the reputation of the publisher because they are often full of errors, and yet the online sale of them continues into the hundreds of thousands. The PMA is has taken measures to stop the practice by passing “a resolution urging all of its members to stop working with the online marketplaces that facilitate those sales”.

After getting kudos from some of us here for not stocking the book, Barnes and Nobel has changed its mind and will be carrying the O.J. Simpson book in their stores after all. It’s just too much money to pass up.