Comments for The widening gap between price-slashing and service at http://bookbrunch.co.uk , comment 1 to 1 out of 1 comments http://bookbrunch.co.uk Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:20:02 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://bookbrunch.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4220:the-widening-gap-between-price-slashing-and-service&catid=927:bookselling&Itemid=117#comment-197 Up to, say, 12.99 or even £15 price tag one can ignore the discounting and purchase a book at full price from an independent but if a book costs more - £20/£25 say - then it makes a huge difference if amazon has it for £12 and £14 post free.. the difference of being able to then buy two books for the same price. Amaxon upfront big discounts do not translate so impressively to back list though - I looked at a 7.99 paperback there yesterday and it was only discounted by 1.10... some obscure titles on backlist are barely discounted at all. So it makes sense for all the Indies to trawl through amazon and see what is on a really 'silly offer' and not bother to stock that - many follow this policy anyway. I disagree with Patrick that amazon and Tesco go together though... amazon has fantastic customer service/delivery, it is speedy and efficient and it recommends other books 'you may like.' I know they sell other things but those are kept quite separate. Tesco asks you to bung a book in your trolley, bagless, on top of the leeks and there is no one to give you any help or information whatsoever. They also have no backlist supply of any kind. There is room for a lot more really good Indies.. I know that Winchester and Salisbury, to name but two places where people buy a lot of books, are crying out for them. Come on somebody. - SUSAN HILL Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:56:41 +0100