POD could devastate out-of-print book sales
You might be interested in this article I wrote about Amazon's advertisements for print-on-demand (POD) copies of out-of-print books.My main point was that mixing these books into Amazon's book-recommendation emails is a bad idea.
But even more important for booksellers, I think, is what this could mean for our sales. Scarce and out-of-print books are our bread and butter.
If you or I had found a real copy of the book mentioned here, we might have sold it for $500. Then again, it might never have sold. But with a "new" print-on-demand copy listed for $23 -- well, you get the idea. One more tightening of the vise for the bookseller trying to make an honest living.
posted by Steve Weber at 7/30/2007
8 Comments:
True, but you can't stop technological advances. You either adapt or go out of business. In 1984 I started setting type on a Macintosh. Typographers I knew scoffed at the 300dpi output and maintained that it would never replace professional typesetters. Within a few years typesetting as a profession was gone. A new age had arrived. It also changes many areas of printing and photography. Computers have even eliminated, for all practical purposes, the old fashioned secretary who took shorthand notes and then typed the executives letters. Most business people today type their own letters (and most of those are now email).
Times change. Don't fight it. Find a way to profit in it.
P.S. Doesn't mean we have to like it. ;-)
The POD is for people who want the INFORMATION contained in the book. Rare and out-of-print books are sold mostly to people who want to possess the physical book. Yes, we will lose some sales to scholars and others who want a particular book for research purposes, but worthwhile books will still sell. And there are many older books that sell in the $10-25 price range on which we can compete with the POD prices.
NWBookman
I agree with Steve. It is another hurdle. Many of the out of print books I sell are for research. Those people want the information and will pay the lower price. The people buying on behalf of government learning institutions will be required to purchase the lower ones. How exactly do the POD printers get past copyright laws? Are the copyright owners benefitting? It would be interesting and perhaps beneficial for us to know the way the system work, so that we would know which books are subject to reprints.
I have had students mostly and some researchers email me with requests, not on the condition of the volume but on the information contained within specific chapters or indices. I usually reply with a PayPal invoice for a minimum of 2 hours at a fee from $15 to $75 per hour with no guarentee the information will answer their questions or of be of any value to their research. To date I have had no takers.
It does upset me that with regard to students, the main request seems to be Title Page information. Obviously, to pad a thesis with more references. We should all shudder at this practice if carried into their future professions.
I agree with the person who said you can't stop technological advances, you have to adapt with them. Most of my "rare" books are out-of-print academic books that researchers, institutions and students will pay a lot for just to get the information. But even if POD starts at $22 and I undercut that price, I'm still paying a dollar for a book and selling it for twenty. Also, I do pretty well selling books that are still in print for 9, 10, 12 dollars. I'm more likely to sell ten in-print books for 10 dollars each week than I am to sell one obscure academic book for $100.
Isn't it true that certain old or rare books were printed on paper that doesn't hold up well over time,even when drastic measures are taken (acid-free gloves when touching the pages, limited handling, climate-controlled conditions, lack of light)?
This poses a problem for those who want the information in those books, as well as the beautiful illustrations, binding, etc. I happen to prefer the real book or magazine, not something that is POD or (shudder) on microfiche. But where does that leave the collector, watching the book decompose in a lifetime, not able to be passed on to future collectors?
I'd love input about this but my husband, a historian, says that certain books produced in certain years just fall apart while others last "practically forever" when maintained well. True? False? If this is true, how do we preserve authors' writings? Perhaps POD is better than nothing, although that won't help our bottom line.
Speaking of bottom line, some POD editions are priced far higher than the originals, as the publishers make the point that their copies are on archival, acid-free paper!
I wanted to add that true collectors want the books that have hand-colored prints or maps or ones that are signed by the author. Others want a book that looks newer and will turn up their noses at books that look old or worn, even if it is just normal aging and the book was maintained as well as possible.
I can certainly understand why POD alarms sellers. But I do wonder how much of a threat it is when it comes to certain price points and collectors who have some knowledge about books. Most of the people who pay big bucks book I've had are those who would never buy a POD book. There are always exceptions but they ARE exceptions. Anyone find this to be different with their sales?
The other day, I was researching a book I was thinking about buying. It was an obscure book about acting from 1921. I was truly amazed when my google search brought up the book, with all of it's contents FOR FREE. Any scholar who was after the information only, would have no need of the book. I do believe we will lose some sales, but the majority of my sales are to collectors, who would even scoff at a later printing.
To stay successful in business, one must always be able to deal with new technologies, and be constantly thinking about improving and changing our business plan ourselves.
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