Bargaining with the Rational Consumer: Selling the Low-Cost Book
Bargaining with the Rational Consumer: Selling the Low-Cost Book
This chapter examines the historical development of the practice and ideology of discounting in the book trade in the U.S. It describes the efforts of book professionals to counter the figure of the bargain-hunting consumer and highlights the criticisms against the practice of price-cutting. This chapter also describes how price-cutting by regular bookstores, which became institutionalized in the 1970s and 1980s, contributed to the growth of bookstore chains and other mass merchandisers while contributing to the demise of independents.
Keywords: discounting, book trade, U.S., book professionals, bargain-hunting consumer, price-cutting
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