Posted by From Publisher’s Weekly:
For Better or Worse, Used Book Sales Grow
Trade publishers ambivalent; online businesses prosper
by Jim Milliot — Publishers Weekly, 4/2/2007
"Prompted in part by Amazon.com’s decision to sell used trade books in 2004, the Book Industry Study Group commissioned a report in 2005 to determine the size and composition of the used book market. Those findings, released in fall 2005, confirmed the fears of publishers—that used trade books had grown into a significant market, with sales estimated at $589 million in 2004—while providing proof to retailers about the opportunity afforded by used books. But what has happened in the market since that study?
Despite their concerns, publishers have found few ways to stop used sales; in fact, while no new figures are available, the used book market for trade titles appears to have grown by double digits in 2006. The good news for publishers, however, is that the increase in used book sales has not resulted in the collapse of sales of new trade titles. Preliminary sales figures from the AAP show sales of adult titles in 2006 up slightly, consistent with gains of recent years. That’s cold comfort for some publishers who speculated that sales could have been higher if not for the siphoning of sales by used books."
For the complete article, CLICK HERE.