Reading Between the Lines of Used Book Sales - New York Times

Found this via boingboing.

How many of your acquisitions departments buy used books, either to replace out of print titles or because the newest edition is too expensive? I'm guess quiet a few. Both Amazon and Alibris are both popular ways of acquiring used books online. In fact used books (in good condition) are a great way to stretch your library's budget--this little article in the NYT may add some insight for you used and new book buyers.

Reading Between the Lines of Used Book Sales - New York Times:
Excerpt

"In 2002, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers sent an open letter to Jeff Bezos, the chief executive of Amazon.com, which has a market for used books in addition to selling new copies. 'If your aggressive promotion of used book sales becomes popular among Amazon's customers,' the letter said, 'this service will cut significantly into sales of new titles, directly harming authors and publishers.'

But does it? True, consumers probably save a few dollars while authors and publishers may lose some sales from a used book market. Yet the evidence suggests that the costs to publishers are not large, and also suggests that the overall gains from such secondhand markets outweigh any losses.

Consider a recent paper, 'Internet Exchanges for Used Books,' by Anindya Ghose of New York University and Michael D. Smith and Rahul Telang of Carnegie-Mellon. (The text of the paper is available at ssrn.com/abstract=584401.)

The starting point for their analysis is the double-edged impact of a used book market on the market for new books. When used books are substituted for new ones, the seller faces competition from the secondhand market, reducing the price it can set for new books. But there's another effect: the presence of a market for used books makes consumers more willing to buy new books, because they can easily dispose of them later.

A car salesman will often highlight the resale value of a new car, yet booksellers rarely mention the resale value of a new book. Nevertheless, the value can be quite significant."