Used Blues
Used Books Become Newer Every Day,
To Many Publishers' Dismay
FROM PUBLISHING
TRENDS (JULY 2004)
Days
before Bill Clinton’s My Life went on
sale last month, a handful of shrewd and Internet-savvy
book buyers were auctioning off their copies of this
“rare” edition on eBay – and promising to ship
the book the day it hit store shelves. That number jumped
to over a hundred in the early hours of the release
date, many of whom guaranteed autographed copies, though
the book signing event was later that day or week. The
“Buy It Now” prices for these signed copies ranged from
$150 to $450 — an exorbitant increase from the $35 list
price, or Amazon’s $21. A mere week after the
autobiography was released, about 300 used copies (including
audio versions) were up for sale on Abebooks,
Amazon and Alibris — the top three used-book-selling
sites. (Note: It’s hard to know exactly how many because
the online listing categories “New” and “Like New” are
rather subjective.) These sites, along with a horde
of smaller online used book vendors, make up a sales
channel that not only denies publishers profit and authors
royalties, but wreaks havoc on publishers’ attempts
to track titles’ popularity.
Welcome to the new used-book market: It’s now more of
a science than a leisure time activity — both for the
buyer as well as the seller. Gone are the days of squeezing
through a maze of dusty used books and happening upon
a 1926 first edition of Pheasants: Their Lives and
Homes for the birdwatcher in your family; now you’re
practically guaranteed a copy of the hottest new beach-appropriate
paperback for a fraction of the list price, and you’ll
find it in less than a minute with the help of your
favorite shopbot. For those on the other end of the
transaction, the Internet can provide hefty profits
without the overhead of a traditional store.
The number of US readers who feel comfortable buying
used books is surging, thanks in large part to Amazon,
and its handy listing of used copies when a shopper
searches for a title. Americans bought 150 million used
books in 2003, or 14 % of the general trade books purchased
between April and December 2003, according to Ipsos
BookTrends. Online used book sales could double
and reach $2 billion by 2007, Forrester Research
predicts. Current studies indicate that about 5%
of US household dollars spent on books goes toward used
copies, but a spokesperson for Abebooks says the company,
which as one of the leading online used bookseller may
be in the best position to track such numbers, thinks
this estimate is low. Although publishers have long
been aware that used book sales over the Internet are
skyrocketing and, many believe, infringing on their
new book sales, they have had no concrete way to measure
this, let alone combat it; so many have just brushed
it off as an insurmountable problem. For example, even
though the AAP has taken a very definite stance
against used text book sales, there has been no visible
effort to counter used trade book sales. “We have more
information on used book sales affecting the new textbook
market, and we don’t have any information for the trade
market,” explains VP Katie Blough. “We have to
convince booksellers to give us their data. The more
information publishers have ... the better off they
are.” Given the Book Industry Study Group’s recent
formation of a research committee with used book tracking
high on its agenda, publishers may have some legitimate
statistics in the near future. Having said that, the
industry studies that have emerged in recent months
show many contradictions, and emphasize how difficult
this task will be.
One recent report, “A Portrait of the US Used Book Market,”
published earlier this year by Book Hunter Press
(www.bookhunterpress.com), deduces sales trends based
on the survey responses from 827 used book dealers.
It describes 2002 as the year that the Internet took
charge of the used book market, surpassing book stores
as the buying channel of choice. The report illustrates
— perhaps unintentionally — who the publishers’ biggest
online foes are in this battle for consumers’ dollars.
In 2003, Abebooks easily topped the list of Internet
sites purveying used books (39.2%); Amazon followed
(17.3%); Alibris placed third (12.7%); eBay was fourth
(9.0%); and independent dealer sites ranked fifth (8.6%).
A similar hierarchy existed for the number of dealers
who post their wares on the various sites: Abebooks
(78.8% of dealers); Amazon (58.1%); B&N (50.7%);
Alibris (44.4%); and individual dealer websites (39.8%).
Many survey respondents said they post books on a number
of websites for maximum visibility, according to report
co-author Susan Siegel. (Note: One obvious flaw
with this survey is that it doesn’t include the great
number of individuals who decide to post books for sale
on Amazon, or those amateur eBayers in their livingrooms.)
If
You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em
Abebooks, which boasts an average of 20,000 book sales
each day on its site, has evolved from the place only
rare book collectors went to the largest used book portal
on the Internet. Depending on the time of year, it’s
the place people go for used textbooks (fall), classic
children’s lit (winter), and light beach reading (summer).
After an announcement at BEA last month, Abebooks now
offers new books alongside the old, and about 10% of
its daily sales are new copies, spokesperson Marci
Crossan said. This move could eventually make the
company a contender in the arena currently dominated
by Amazon and B&N. But, more importantly, Crossan
said that since the company started offering space for
new books alongside the old, a few (“under 10”) U.S.
publishers have shown interest in selling directly to
the consumer through the site, à la Penguin. Publishers
are seeing it as a way to sell backlist titles and remainders,
as well as newly released books, she said. Just like
Abebooks’ other 12,000-plus booksellers (spanning 48
countries), publishers are subject to a modest monthly
subscription charge against an 8% commission. If you
can’t beat the used book seller, then join ‘em.
Dominique
Raccah, publisher and CEO of Sourcebooks,
thinks the biggest problem with used sales are their
encroachment on a book’s launch. Publishers need to
track down the source of galleys that make it onto the
Internet right around launches, she says. But, ultimately,
she’d like booksellers to be a bit more cooperative.
“Authors are really being ripped off. What I’d really
like to see is a moratorium on the part of booksellers
for six weeks from the publication date. I’d like to
see booksellers give authors a chance.”
Hope
on the Horizon?
In the past year and a half, BISG members’ grumbling
over used books sales has reached such a din that BISG
president Jeff Abraham said its board couldn’t
ignore the subject any longer. Though neither Abraham
nor the committee chairperson Kelly Gallagher,
of Evangelical Christian Publishers Association,
could hazard a guess on how long the study would take
or what methodology would be used, Abraham said, “We
believe we have the right participants to brainstorm
the problem and come up with a good project. Everybody
has anecdotal evidence to show used books’ cannibalization
of new books, but we don’t have any accurate numbers.”
The research committee includes members from the publishing
segment (Random House, S&S), manufacturing
(Banta, RR Donnelly), the retail segment
(Abebooks, B&N, Powell’s, NACS),
as well as market research firms Ipsos and Bookscan.
What numbers would most help publishers counter the
so-called cannibalization? According to Abraham, “The
big question is what is the year-on-year trend? Is this
growing, and if so, how quickly? And is it growing at
the expense of other channels or in addition to other
channels?”
Barrie
Rappaport, chief analyst at Ipsos who has
been tracking the book market for many years, thinks
publishers should be most concerned with knowing “who
the consumer is and what he’s looking for.” Why so many
readers choose used copies over new is, of course, the
obvious question. “There’s a variety of reasons,” Rappaport
suggests. “Some of it’s price. … Particularly
for those online. If you can go online and see a new
book that’s selling for $30, and then right below it,
you can see the same book in nearly new condition for
significantly less — yes, that is very attractive to
some.” But, there is some salve for publishers’ worries.
Rappaport’s survey indicates that most used book buyers
are committed readers who also buy new books. In April
2002, she started asking her 16,000 household survey
participants — who fill out purchasing diaries for a
variety of product categories — if the books they purchased
were new or used. “Am I going to be matching Amazon’s
numbers? Probably not.” (One concern with Ipsos’ methodology
is that it may not represent the entire US book-buying
population. The company’s caveat in its “2002 Consumer
Research Study on Book Purchasing”: “... because of
circumstances beyond our control ... [there is] an under
representation of the African-American and Hispanic
populations.”)
Others are not so optimistic about the viability of
tracking used book sales. Al Greco, professor
at Fordham University Graduate School of Business
Administration, likens tracking used trade books in
any meaningful way to “statistical work that rivals
rocket science.” He jokes that at an accurate study
would “cost as much as the GNP of Bolivia.” Having studied
the used textbook business in depth, Greco says the
“average textbook is flipped five times.” Assessing
used trade sales involves modeling similar to that used
in population studies, Greco explains, adding that you
would want to separate out rare and out-of-print books,
since they aren’t taking sales away from publishers.
He lists a number of reasons for the recent climb in
used book sales: the rise of e-tailers, such as Amazon,
which solicits people to resell the products they have
recently purchased from the site, shopbots, and auction
sites like eBay, which taught people how to bargain
hunt online; the economic downswing of the last three
years, which has hindered discretionary spending; and
the increase in book prices, which some believe is in
response to warehouse clubs discounting higher priced
books.
Despite recently publishing a tome of stats, Book Hunter
Press’ Siegel also thinks some numbers are impossible
to get. “There is absolutely no way to compute the number
of times a used book was resold,” she says, listing
unknown factors like dealer-to-dealer sales and bulk
library purchases. “Also, I don’t think it’s possible
to determine with any degree of accuracy what percentage
... is for books still in print or out of print,” the
latter of which is not taking sales away from new books.
A proponent of the used bookseller, Siegel can get a
little defensive about booksellers’ rights, as well
as the consumers’. “It’s not for me to tell them how
to market books, but ... it’s a fact of life that as
[new] books get more expensive, people look for an alternative.
It’s a changing world … Publishers are clever, and I
have faith in them that they can figure out how to adapt.
Anything that encourages people to read and buy books
is good.”
Michael
Powell of Powell’s Books, which sells new
and used books, says the Internet has made used book
sales more visible, but they’ve always been a part of
the book marketplace. Powell’s sales are split, half
used, half new; however, its inventory is two-thirds
used and one-third new. In recent years, Powell’s has
increasingly sold more books online (some books are
listed online and stored in warehouses, not even shelved
in store). “I haven’t heard publishers complain very
much — and I’ve never had any direct complaints. I have
heard authors complain about royalties. In fact, when
publishers have visited, they’ve admired the breadth
of selection we have.” In general, he has little sympathy
for publishers who lament the growing sales of used
books. On the other hand, he said he would cooperate
if publishers were interested in tracking used sales.
“It would be possible to give them an aggregate number
in dollars, but not possible to do on a title-by-title
or publisher basis.”
New York’s The Strand is another example of a
bookstore — and some would call it a literary institution
— that has benefited from online sales. Owner Nancy
Bass reported the store’s used book sales grew by
5% from June 2003 to June 2004 to reach 42% of its total
sales. This increase would have been greater, but the
store has been under construction, deterring some sales,
she says. The Strand’s expansion will require a change
to its longstanding catchphrase: “8 miles of books”
is now “18 miles of books.” “Having our books online
has been helping us tremendously, and it didn’t involve
much of an investment,” she says.
What’s a publisher to do? Textbook publishers’ response
to what is now an institutionalized used book market
has been to increasingly move their content online.
Ebooks, anyone?
©2004
Publishing Trends
