Discounts banned for new books

• Source: Global Times
• [22:00 January 31 2010]
• Comments

A visitor browses at Disanji Bookstore before it closed its doors. Photo: IC

By Du Guodong 

A new industry rule, requiring that books be sold at the cover price for a full year from the date of publication, has provoked heated discussion. The rule also regulates that the selling price of books at online bookstores should not be less than 85 percent of cover prices.

Drafted jointly earlier this month by the Publishers Association of China (PAC), the Books and Periodicals Distribution Association of China and China Xinhua Bookstore Association, the controversial Regulation on Fair Trade in Book Business was issued in a bid to ensure that a pricing mechanism would protect the future of China's literature market.

"The current book market is in chaos with abnormal prices for selling books and both publishing houses and traditional bookstores are suffering a lot from the irrational pricing system," stated Huang Guorong, deputy secretary-general of PAC.

"The rule aims at protecting the interests of publishers, distributors and consumers as well as bookstores," Huang added, explaining that in some countries, including the US and many in Europe, newly published books enjoy a six to 18 month protection period and cannot be discounted.

In recent years, online bookstores have overshadowed traditional bookstores, attracting a rapidly growing number of consumers with their low prices, easy access free delivery services and cash on delivery options.

Traditional bookstores, represented by the State-owned Xinhua Bookstore, which usually sell books at full price, are fading out of favor and are often used as a place to browse new books before purchasing online.

Disanji Bookstore, the biggest private bookstore in Beijing, was forced to close its doors on January 20, citing a loss of 78 million yuan ($11.43 million), insolvency and poor management, after being in business for more than three years, according to Disanji.

A recent survey by QQ.com found that as many as 85 percent of customers choose to buy books online instead of at traditional bookstores.

The new industry regulation hoping to change the situation has caused consumers to question whether the move comes at the expense of readers. Most of them think that it is an obvious bias against online bookstores, with little respect to consumer rights.

"It is cheap and convenient to buy books at online bookstores and except for textbooks, nearly all of my books are bought online whenever possible," Chen Junhua, a graduate student at Peking University, told the Global Times.

"If the new rule really goes into force, I will have to cut my reading list," he added.

Traditional bookstore owners are relishing the new regulation, seeing it as a flash of hope to tide over the financial crunch.

"In recent years, many book retailers, especially online bookstores, have been selling books at a very low price to win over more customers," Li Shiqiang, manager of a privately-owned Sanwei Bookstore, told the Global Times.

"As a result, traditional bookstores have been seriously affected as they have relatively higher operating costs."

Sun Qingguo, general manager of Beijing OpenBook, a company providing information services for the book market, told the Global Times that he agreed with the new rule and that consumers should understand that their interests have been sacrificed to boost the industry as a whole.