The Neon Nurse's Charting

It is! Some writers and publishers are Not Happy that there is such a brisk trade in used books. There's an excellent summation of a recent panel at a sort of book trade convention, titled "The Used Book Debate at BEA"

http://bookstoretourism.blogspot.com/2005/06/used-book-debate-at-bea.html

Here are a few of the highlights I found interesting:

# Many consumers now feel that paying full price for a book is foolish when you can get it for cheaper. It's part of today's "bargain culture."

# Used books encourage readers to try new authors and books they may not read otherwise.

# Used books help to keep authors' careers afloat by sustaining their audiences and even creating new ones.

# An author's books may be out of print, but the used book market keeps them circulating.

# The largest retailer of used books in the U.S. is Goodwill Industries.

# Fifty percent of new books are sold at non-bookstores like Wal-Mart and Cosco.

# Many authors feel that since a book is their intellectual property, they should be compensated again if the book is resold.

# Bookselling is the only industry where the person who created the product wants additional payment if the actual item is resold. This is not the case in the auto or housing industries, for example.

# The sale of used books could force more authors into self-publishing as a way to retain higher royalties.

# Most readers have an emotional investment in their books and don't want to throw them away. They've been taught that books have innate value, therefore they'd rather give them away to a friend or donate them to an organization.

# Textbook publishers have reacted against used book sales by boosting their costs, thus increasing the demand for used textbooks all the more -- a vicious cycle.

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Feel free to discuss. :)