The Big Bad Book Blog

3 Tips to Help You Deal with Returns

FACT: The average return rate in the book industry is almost 30 percent—and it’s close to 40 percent for mass merchandisers like Wal-Mart and Costco.

Behold the Publisher’s Paradox: One of the best ways to increase book sales is to roll out big supplies supported by big publicity. One of the best ways to reduce book returns is to aim for steady, consistent sales and to be conservative with supply. Can these two truths find a way to coexist, to live together in peace, harmony, and net profits? The honest answer is . . . well, let’s just say it’s tough. To better understand the relationship between targeted promotions and returns, let’s take a brief look at the buying process. continue reading

NBC will air a one-hour broadcast of the Quill Book Awards this Saturday evening. The show will be carried by all NBC Universal-owned and -operated stations and should be seen by 80% of television households. Check your local station for time and station.

Publisher’s Weekly reported today that Barnes & Noble has launched an online book club at bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com. The online book club will allow readers to “commingle—digitally, at least—with authors.”

“Marie Toulantis, CEO of bn.com, said the promotional opportunity for authors–which follows on the heels of the successful Barnes & Noble Recommends program, through which the giant retailer highlights one book a season to aggressively push in its stores–”meets the needs of authors who are eager to reach as broad an audience as possible.”

Who Moved My Cheese?, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Chicken Soup for the Soul—their covers make self-respecting graphic designers cringe, yet they have astronomical sales. It’s common sense that attractive covers invite book shoppers and ugly covers repel them— so why do these unsightly titles consistently outsell their better-looking shelfmates? (And why do their creators keep producing similar-looking books?)

The simple answer is that, in a hypercompetitive, overcrowded market, branding trumps beauty. continue reading

Barnes & Noble announced deeper discounts for their membership club members to help compete against discounters, warehouse clubs and online retailers. Members pay $25-a-year and receive a 40% discount on fiction and nonfiction bestsellers, and a 20% discount on all hardcover titles. They will also continue to receive a 10% discount on everything else sold in the store, including coffee and paperbacks. Members had received an extra 10% discount in addition to the usual 30% discount off hardcover bestsellers, and a 10% discount on other adult hardcover titles.

In an article by Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg of the Wall Street Journal, Joseph J. Lombardi, Barnes & Noble’s chief financial officer, is quoted as saying “You have to be competitive. We’ve been talking about softness in the hardcover business, and this lets us support that format with our best customers.”

To learn more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116174027712702867.html?mod=2_1167_1