Comments on: Barnes & Noble CEO Looks Into Ending Traditional Return Policy

By: DS

DS — Fri, 23 May 2008 23:36:39 +0000

Books returned to the publisher are usually sold by the pallet as remainders or hurts. They are usually marked in some way so they won’t be purchased and then returned to a bookstore for full credit. Many Outlet Malls have bookstores that only deal in remainders and hurts at very deep discount. I always wondered how much the author would be paid when a book is sold this way. I used to buy from Hamilton Books and there was one place online that I used to have send me huge boxes of hardbacks–I believe they thought I was a bookstore!

By: Angelle

Angelle — Fri, 23 May 2008 03:41:11 +0000

When I was working at bookstores, it just takes a LONG time to check the entire store and pull copies as needed. One of the store I worked for gave us a scanner and we had to scan every title and return the ones we had too many of.

Very time-consuming.

By: Heather Loy

Heather Loy — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:49:59 +0000

I worked at B.Dalton/Barnes & Noble for a number of years before becoming a librarian. When I worked there, most trade & hardcover books, as well as other merchandise was shipped back to the publisher and/or to the B&N warehouse. Paperback books, most calendars, and magazines were “stripped” and covers sent to publishers.

By: Tilly Greene

Tilly Greene — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:19:54 +0000

Both trade and hardcover are boxed up and returned to the publisher, that is if the bookseller doesn’t want to put them on a sale table and save themselves the postage.

By: Ann Bruce

Ann Bruce — Thu, 22 May 2008 19:11:42 +0000

Trade-sized books are returned in saleable to the publisher, which is why many e-publishers go that route.

No idea about hardcovers. Although, I do see hardcovers deeply discounted (~75%) at bookstores after the mass market paperbacks come out.