 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group The Price of Books Major Keary |
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Anyone frequent browser of bookshops will have noticed the sudden, and sometimes frequent, leap in the cost of computer books. Not so long ago the Australian RRP was in the order of twice the $US cover price; there was a brief period of relief, but now the Oz price of titles from some publishers is three times the $US cover price.
The GST is a factor, but pre-GST there was a five per cent import tariff on books. While prices were within reason it did not have much impact, but now it does. The Government made much of doing away with sales tax (which did not apply to books), but has not removed the tariff; as that 5% becomes a larger, and larger add-on, so it bumps up the GST component. Another factor is, of course, the exchange rate.
Even taking account of those things, the increases seem excessive, and there has been some buyer resistance. The problem is that overheads for local distributors have been increasing, but the publisher margins, figured into cover prices, are thin, and - in relative terms - have been getting thinner.
There has been some response. Look around for bookseller discounts on titles from particular publishers. In one case, Collins at 401 Swantston Street have a 20% discount on Wrox titles and which is running parallel with a McGraw-Hill promotion: buy five Wrox titles and get one free.
You don't have to buy five at once. On buying the first book you will be given a card that gets checked for each subsequent purchase. A full ticket allows you to choose the next title free. The promotion is called Code Red.
Wrox books, easily identified by the red cover, are written for professionals. They are expensive, but for those who need that kind of high-end resource or reference they are worth the money.
I expect to see more promotions of that kind, so keep an eye out. There could also be some experimental discounting to assess the effect on sales, but I suspect that will be confined to the main retailers.
Reprinted from the June 2001 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
