A hopeful heading on CBC.ca - Book Prices to Drop This Fall as Loonie Strengthens, but after reading the article still feel Canadians are getting the bum deal when buying books. Our loonie continues to rise, yet the price difference between US & Canadian shown on the book cover is still significant.
As the Canadian dollar picks up against its U.S. counterpart, retailers and readers are noticing there is still quite a difference between the Canadian and American list prices on books.
Publishers set the prices and print them on new books, often months or more than a year before books hit the shelves.
But Steve Budnarchuk, past president of the Canadian Booksellers Association, said Wednesday that ongoing negotiations between publishers and booksellers over the past year are starting to result in lower prices on new books.
Books coming into Canadian stores last fall and winter were about 25 per cent above the U.S. list price, Budnarchuk said, which was acceptable, given the exchange rate at the time. With a strengthening dollar, he said, he's expecting to see lower prices this fall.
"We'd like to see a price point of no more than 20 per cent above U.S. list, in order to be fair, and to have the consumer be able to accept the pricing," Budnarchuk said.
Full Article.
