Ripped off by Easons.

Triamour

Okay, so while I understand entirely that everyone needs to look for the best value they can get, especially nowadays, I can't let this one slide...

I work in an independent bookshop, and we are not a rip-off. I would wager that most bookshops aren't, and certainly not most independent shops. What happens is we have to charge the RRP (converted into euro from sterling, or dollars, or whatever it is, and usually rounded down at that). The reason people see books on Amazon and the like for half the price they'd see the book for in a shop is NOT because the shop is ripping people off. The shop is charging the correct price for the book, the price which has been set by the publisher, and which reflects the price that the shop itself has been charged by the publisher.

What Amazon can do is demand massive price reductions and discounts from publishers, which allows it to then sell books on at (sometimes) massively reduced prices. Amazon basically has publishers over a barrel, and is slowly driving them, as well as bookshops, completely out of business.

So, by all means, spend your money wherever you want to spend it. But I am just driven mad by people who think bookshops are wilfully overcharging people and then laughing all the way to the bank. Amazon is going to spell the end of the book and publishing industries, and eventually there will be no choice in where to buy books (or, possibly, music), no more bookshops, no more dedicated and talented booksellers with their oodles of esoteric knowledge. And once Amazon has us all under its thrall, what do you think will happen to prices then?

Not a world I want to see or live in. But one which is coming.

BostonB

Amazon or Google. I read ebooks but I still prefer a physical book.

Looking Glass

I love TBD, but every single book that I've ever gotten from them has been damaged, if only slightly. Nothing major, but it'd have a funny looking crease on the cover, or in the case of a Vintage Classic would have the edges of the cover pealing back a tad showing white underneath. If you're browsing in a shop what you see is quite literally what you get - no worries about beaten up looking books when you can pick which one you want!

kippy

News at 11.
SHOCK - Buying almost anything online is generally cheaper than buying in bricks and mortar store.......

I though most people knew this fact at this stage and appreciated some of the reasons why this is the case?

SuperInfinity

Looking Glass wrote: »

I love TBD, but every single book that I've ever gotten from them has been damaged, if only slightly. Nothing major, but it'd have a funny looking crease on the cover, or in the case of a Vintage Classic would have the edges of the cover pealing back a tad showing white underneath. If you're browsing in a shop what you see is quite literally what you get - no worries about beaten up looking books when you can pick which one you want!

I have never experienced this. In my experience it's been the opposite: any books that are labelled "like new" or "very good condition" seem almost new. Meanwhile second-hand books in stores are a lot more likely to look "beaten up".

Once a second-hand book I got had university of arizona or something stamped on it, lol. That's it.

angel01

This is exactly why I bought a kindle, I can get all the books I need or want for next to nothing!

I bought Room by Emma Donoghue on my kindle for £2.99 which converted to about 3 Euro something. That book is in Easons for €8.99 or something.

I bought about 5 books on the Amazon UK store and that was worth less than 5 pounds.. will never use a regular book shop again!

Travel is good

I just saw this in the paper this morning:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2011/0617/1224299069100.html

So it looks like Eason's might be safe for a while, hopefully. I'm not a fan of Easons, but there are fewer and fewer book shops to browse around these days. I certainly don't want to see any more of them disappearing. You just can't beat the experience of physically handling the book and coming across an interesting read. It's harder to do that on the internet, as you normally have to know what you're looking for.

A question for the kindle owners - are the kindle versions cheaper? Anytime I look on Amazon the kindle books seem to be expensive. I don't have a kindle yet, but yesterday managed to download a free book from TBD onto my i-pad. These days I prefer to pay as little as possible for my books! Though I know, that means I'm putting the bricks and mortar stores at risk.

Callan57

Was never a fan of Eason's much preferred Waterstone's or Hughes & Hughes
.... I'm a Kindle convert too

baconsarnie

no more bookshops, no more dedicated and talented booksellers with their oodles of esoteric knowledge

Exactly. Serious readers need to keep this in mind.

I'm far from loaded and occasionally buy some titles from Amazon (particularly hard to reach books), but by and large i buy my books (and plenty of them- i see it as one of my few indulgences in life) from my local independent bookstore.

Not because I'm some form of altruistic angel, but for purely selfish reasons. I like the idea of the town i live in having a top quality bookshop with well-read staff, with well-stocked shelves. I'm no Luddite but my preference will always be to visit a bricks & mortar bookstore, do some browsing (possibly reading a few of the opening pages to make a judgment) and who knows, maybe even a chat with the staff about books (or other matters).

Manach

To reiterate a few points. Yes that on-line bookshops are cheaper and I do purchase books there. However the local bookshop people have know me for years and have an excellent taste in books
- so I reckon both types can co-exist.

Giselle

Manach wrote: »

To reiterate a few points. Yes that on-line bookshops are cheaper and I do purchase books there. However the local bookshop people have know me for years and have an excellent taste in books
- so I reckon both types can co-exist.

I don't think they can co-exist long term. If more books are bought online than in the bricks and mortar shops and online sellers consistently undercut the shops because of bulk-buying or whatever, sooner or later the uncompetitive shops will go under.

Its a real shame.

SuperInfinity

Giselle wrote: »

I don't think they can co-exist long term. If more books are bought online than in the bricks and mortar shops and online sellers consistently undercut the shops because of bulk-buying or whatever, sooner or later the uncompetitive shops will go under.

Its a real shame.

I agree. I feel the extra money is going towards paying the people at the tills, the police you see around, the renting out of a lot of space in a city centre, and the CEOs and managers etc. As a business model, the Amazon one makes more sense one would think.

As for the kindle, some books on the kindle are significantly more than their physical books price. So I don't know where that person is getting the idea of: " I can get all the books I need or want for next to nothing!". Maybe they just recently got their kindle or something....

I also think a physical book is significantly better though I have nothing against e-readers.

angel01

SuperInfinity wrote: »

I agree. I feel the extra money is going towards paying the people at the tills, the police you see around, the renting out of a lot of space in a city centre, and the CEOs and managers etc. As a business model, the Amazon one makes more sense one would think.

As for the kindle, some books on the kindle are significantly more than their physical books price. So I don't know where that person is getting the idea of: " I can get all the books I need or want for next to nothing!". Maybe they just recently got their kindle or something....

I also think a physical book is significantly better though I have nothing against e-readers.

I bought one book for £2.99, one book for 68p, one for 49p - you tell me where I can beat that? If I wanted, I could pick free books to read and not have to pay a penny...

I have never seen a kindle book being more expensive than a regular book, not sure where you are getting that idea from and kindle books from Amazon UK are dirt cheap (least the ones I want to buy are anyway!!) ..

Seems to me, like you are anti e-readers :rolleyes: I love my kindle and will never use either a regular book store or go back to lugging books around. Excellent invention.

SuperInfinity

angel01 wrote: »

I bought one book for £2.99, one book for 68p, one for 49p - you tell me where I can beat that? If I wanted, I could pick free books to read and not have to pay a penny...

I have never seen a kindle book being more expensive than a regular book, not sure where you are getting that idea from and kindle books from Amazon UK are dirt cheap (least the ones I want to buy are anyway!!) ..

Seems to me, like you are anti e-readers :rolleyes: I love my kindle and will never use either a regular book store or go back to lugging books around. Excellent invention.

angel01, can you please stop using smileys like that? To kind of "tut-tut" what someone else has said. It's obnoxious and doesn't add anything to the discussion. This is not just against you, I find it annoying in general.

Here's a topic discussing the price of kindle books and how some are more expensive, especially popular books:

http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php?topic=25299.0

angel01

SuperInfinity wrote: »

angel01, can you please stop using smileys like that? To kind of "tut-tut" what someone else has said. It's obnoxious and doesn't add anything to the discussion. This is not just against you, I find it annoying in general.

Here's a topic discussing the price of kindle books and how some are more expensive, especially popular books:

http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php?topic=25299.0

In fairness to you, I will use what smileys I like, they are quoting Amazon US prices (which are a bit on the pricey side) UK store is cheap though...:)

Coriolanus

13.

Sniper One: The Blistering True Story of a British Battle Group Under Siege by Dan Mills (Kindle Edition - 15 May 2008) - Kindle eBook
This title is available to UK customers only.



14.

Four Meals for Fourpence by Grace Foakes (Kindle Edition - 12 May 2011) - Kindle eBook
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15.

The King's Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi (Kindle Edition - 20 Dec 2010) - Kindle eBook
This title is available to UK customers only.





16.

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, all six volumes, with active table of contents, improved 2/1/2011 by Edward Gibbon (Kindle Edition - 7 Mar 2008) - Kindle eBook
This title is available to UK customers only.



17.

In Stitches: The Highs and Lows of Life as an AandE Doctor by Nick Edwards (Kindle Edition - 12 Jun 2009) - Kindle eBook
This title is available to UK customers only.



18.

Marius' Mules II: The Belgae by S.J.A. Turney (Kindle Edition - 18 Nov 2010) - Kindle eBook
This title is available to UK customers only.



19.

London and Londoners in the 1850s & 1860s (Victorian London Ebooks) by Alfred Rosling Bennett and Lee Jackson (Kindle Edition - 1 Jan 1924) - Kindle eBook
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20.

More Blood, More Sweat and Another Cup of Tea by Tom Reynolds (Kindle Edition - 28 May 2009) - Kindle eBook
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21.

Art Of War by SUN TZU and Tony Swinton (Kindle Edition - 11 Feb 2011) - Kindle eBook
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22.

The Poetry Of Wilfred Owen by Wilfred Owen (Kindle Edition - 4 Oct 2009) - Kindle eBook
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My Friend The Mercenary by James Brabazon (Kindle Edition - 31 May 2010) - Kindle eBook
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Picking Up The Brass by Eddy Nugent (Kindle Edition - 18 Nov 2010) - Kindle eBook
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CAn't buy any of them here though, or am I missing something?

angel01

Nevore wrote: »

CAn't buy any of them here though, or am I missing something?

My address is listed to the UK and bought lots of books through the Amazon UK store.

Coriolanus

That's a rather niche case then. For the vast majority of people in this country, a kindle isn't going to be a whole lot of use for reading anything other than books that are out of their life+70 restriction.

FloatingVoter

When you can drop a Kindle in the bath or lend it to a mate and not worry too much if it comes back or not, I'll care about the toy.
As for books, they're a bit like DVDs. See the book in Easons etc. (interesting, buy it online with a few more to get the free postage).
As for DVDs...they're free aren't they ?

crotalus667

Triamour wrote: »

I work in an independent bookshop, and we are not a rip-off. I would wager that most bookshops aren't, and certainly not most independent shops. What happens is we have to charge the RRP (converted into euro from sterling, or dollars, or whatever it is, and usually rounded down at that). The reason people see books on Amazon and the like for half the price they'd see the book for in a shop is NOT because the shop is ripping people off. The shop is charging the correct price for the book, the price which has been set by the publisher, and which reflects the price that the shop itself has been charged by the publisher.

What Amazon can do is demand massive price reductions and discounts from publishers, which allows it to then sell books on at (sometimes) massively reduced prices. Amazon basically has publishers over a barrel, and is slowly driving them, as well as bookshops, completely out of business.

So, by all means, spend your money wherever you want to spend it. But I am just driven mad by people who think bookshops are wilfully overcharging people and then laughing all the way to the bank. Amazon is going to spell the end of the book and publishing industries, and eventually there will be no choice in where to buy books (or, possibly, music), no more bookshops, no more dedicated and talented booksellers with their oodles of esoteric knowledge. And once Amazon has us all under its thrall, what do you think will happen to prices then?
.

easons whole sales to alot of shops so they do have alot of buying power publisher's cant "set a price" thats called price fixing shops chose what price to sell them at, a bricks and morter shop has more over heads and a smaller pool of clients so basicaly online shops simply have a better buisness plan, i do tend to buy books in bricks and morter shops but it's only the impulse buys if i know what book i want it's online all the way i have spent too many wasted trips to pick up a book that has not arrived at the bricks and morter shop and then when it is there i ge tcharged threw the nose for it

SuperInfinity

I also don't see how this allegorical representation of Amazon with a gun over the publishers head and destroying the industry is a reality.

What is Amazon threatening the publishers with that they can "demand lower prices"? Do you mean an actual gun like, a real extortion racquet or what? "grrr, this is Amazon, u better give me the books at a low price, or else".

I also don't see how Easons charge "the correct price" but Amazon do not. Amazon have stated that they want to have every book under the sun available... so if anything it's publishers that have a barrel over them. It's not like Amazon refuses to stock some books. And if they did, the stores would have all of those books to themselves. If anything it's the bricks and mortar stores that have threats over publishers... because they probably sell the most lesser-known books that people buy on impulse.

SuperInfinity

FloatingVoter wrote: »

As for DVDs...they're free aren't they ?

No they are not free, as you well know.

Wink wink, nudge nudge, you should be ashamed of yourself. If you pirate your hands won't be cut off, but you should at least not go around condoning it... many shows rely on what they receive from DVD sales.

Toby Take a Bow

angel01 wrote: »

I bought one book for £2.99, one book for 68p, one for 49p - you tell me where I can beat that? If I wanted, I could pick free books to read and not have to pay a penny...

Second hand book shops will be much cheaper than this, especially the 2.99 price. Many of the second hand books sold on the Amazon marketplace are retailing for 1p. You can't get much cheaper than 1p.

angel01 wrote: »

I have never seen a kindle book being more expensive than a regular book, not sure where you are getting that idea from and kindle books from Amazon UK are dirt cheap (least the ones I want to buy are anyway!!) ..

You will, though. You're buying from an absolutely huge retailer who are very successfully going towards creating a monopoly. When the competition is crushed, those prices will rise. Basic economics. As for now, it's probably the type of books you are reading that make it seem that the electronic form are always cheaper. The more popular a book, the cheaper it will be on Amazon/Waterstone's/Eason, etc. When purchasing this book, they hope you'll also purchase one at the full price. A lot of books I'd like to read aren't available in e form, and some that are available are more expensive than the paper form.

angel01 wrote: »

Seems to me, like you are anti e-readers :rolleyes: I love my kindle and will never use either a regular book store or go back to lugging books around. Excellent invention.

Some people favour paper, some favour electronic. I think your use of rolleyes might be misplaced here.

SuperInfinity wrote: »

It's not like Amazon refuses to stock some books.

They do, though, on a worryingly regular basis:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2004/jul/30/newmedia.usnews

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120667525724970997.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/30/technology/30amazon.html

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/hely-hutchinson-criticises-amazon.html

The Mad Hatter

I don't get this idea of having only one source for books. At the moment, I'm reading James Joyce's Dubliners, which I downloaded onto my iPad, but which I have a paper copy of that I bought in a chain bookshop years ago, Nick Cave's And The Ass Saw The Angel, which I bought on Amazon, and a sort of bumper edition of Homer that I bought in an independent bookshop. It's true that markets are changing, and that retailers are going to have to change with them, but I don't think it's going to be so destructive as some here are claiming. Independent bookshops, for instance, cater to a very different market from chains, which tend to focus very much on bestsellers, whereas (better) independent bookshops are more for the hopeless addict cases:) Bookshops can also offer things which are impossible to get online, such as author readings and signings, and personal relationships with customers.

But innovation is needed. An experience that I will never forget is going into a bookshop in Waterford - I can't remember the name of the shop now, but if I ever get back to Waterford, it will be my first and possibly only stop. It had a reading area, cafe, and even a couple of little water features. It had a selection of "staff picks", books for sale at a reduced price, with an offer that if you could have your money back if you didn't like the book! They also had a notice at the cash register that (I think) ten per cent of profits were donated to charity at the end of each month. And they had the most knowledgeable staff I've ever found in a bookshop: I'd been looking for a particular book for several weeks then (Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell), and I knew the name of the book, but not the author. Every other bookshop I'd been in by then had typed the name of the book into their computer, looked at it blankly and then said "Nohh, sorry." In this bookshop, the guy said "Ah, David Mitchell," and promptly walked off and pulled it off the shelf.

The arguments that are being used by booksellers today seem a lot like the arguments that were being used thirty years ago by cinemas when VHS became available. But even though people can still watch movies at home, there are still cinemas - even independent and niche cinemas - everywhere.

Autosport

The Mad Hatter wrote: »

I don't get this idea of having only one source for books. At the moment, I'm reading James Joyce's Dubliners, which I downloaded onto my iPad, but which I have a paper copy of that I bought in a chain bookshop years ago, Nick Cave's And The Ass Saw The Angel, which I bought on Amazon, and a sort of bumper edition of Homer that I bought in an independent bookshop. It's true that markets are changing, and that retailers are going to have to change with them, but I don't think it's going to be so destructive as some here are claiming. Independent bookshops, for instance, cater to a very different market from chains, which tend to focus very much on bestsellers, whereas (better) independent bookshops are more for the hopeless addict cases:) Bookshops can also offer things which are impossible to get online, such as author readings and signings, and personal relationships with customers.

But innovation is needed. An experience that I will never forget is going into a bookshop in Waterford - I can't remember the name of the shop now, but if I ever get back to Waterford, it will be my first and possibly only stop. It had a reading area, cafe, and even a couple of little water features. It had a selection of "staff picks", books for sale at a reduced price, with an offer that if you could have your money back if you didn't like the book! They also had a notice at the cash register that (I think) ten per cent of profits were donated to charity at the end of each month. And they had the most knowledgeable staff I've ever found in a bookshop: I'd been looking for a particular book for several weeks then (Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell), and I knew the name of the book, but not the author. Every other bookshop I'd been in by then had typed the name of the book into their computer, looked at it blankly and then said "Nohh, sorry." In this bookshop, the guy said "Ah, David Mitchell," and promptly walked off and pulled it off the shelf.

The arguments that are being used by booksellers today seem a lot like the arguments that were being used thirty years ago by cinemas when VHS became available. But even though people can still watch movies at home, there are still cinemas - even independent and niche cinemas - everywhere.

That store was The Book Centre I'm a fan too

x_Ellie_x

I never shop in Easons anymore. They are way too expensive. The average price of a paperback in Easons seems to be €12. I've brought those same books online for less than half that price. The only shop I buy books from now is Chapters, especially the secondhand books. I've found some really good books I've enjoyed there that I wouldn't of got elsewhere as they are out of print.

Triamour

Right, I have to hop back in here, briefly...

Retailers like Amazon have power over publishers because they can basically say 'Right, Mr Publisher, I see you're going to release a title next year, RRP 24.99. Brilliant. We'll stock hundreds of copies.' Publisher is happy. Next thing Amazon tell him 'Actually Mr Publisher, we want to buy the book from you for 14.99. You sell it to us at that price, or we don't stock it.' The very same thing is happening to farmers in this country who are being told by large stockists and chain supermarkets 'sell us your produce for a fraction of its price, or we won't buy anything from you at all - you can let your hard work rot in the ground for all we care'.

And yes - perhaps it is a form of price fixing that publishers charge bookshops a particular price for a book - we are charged the RRP, minus a percentage discount (which forms the bookshop's margin of profit). But I can tell you that's how it is. The bookshop is free to charge what they want for the book to their customers, either a lot less than the cover price or a lot more, since the end of the Net Book Agreement - in our case we simply convert from the supplier's currency (Sterling or Dollars mainly) to euro, and sell it at that price. Books that are sold for 4.99, with a 12.99 RRP on the back, in places like Tesco or wherever, are called 'loss leaders' - they are sold cheaply because those retailers just want to get people in the door who will then buy a load more stuff and bring up their overall profit margin. In our case, we only sell books, so we can't do that. At least, we can't do that and survive.

I sort of resent people implying that I don't know what I'm talking about. I sell books for a living. This is how it is. And the rate things are going, I won't be making a living much longer. But I digress.

amacachi

Could have sworn that recently at least in the UK books were sold wholesale at at least 50% lower than RRP meaning selling at RRP represented at least a 100% mark-up for the retailer.

Keyzer

Autosport wrote: »

I love Easons and I love going to Easons and spending hours there but now its over in an hour due to the fact its nearly empty, Are they closing some of their stores???? I'm scared

I'm scared too - OMG !!!!

Coriolanus

Keyzer wrote: »

I'm scared too - OMG !!!!

I'm thanking this on the presumption that you're being sarcastic. :pac: