Why Are Canadian Book Prices So High?

Proust's cork-lined bedroom, in the Hotel Carnavalet in Paris.

Let's take Kathryn Davis's The Thin Place, the book that's sitting right here at my elbow,  as an example.  When I flip it over, I see that it is priced at $13.99 for Americans and at a whopping $17.99 for Canadian buyers. This price difference has been ludicrous for some time but it is especially so now that the Canadian dollar is worth as much as the American one.

I've  heard this issue discussed a couple of times on CBC radio and frankly, the reasons that publishers and booksellers have offered just don't make any sense. One disingenuous publisher actually suggested that his company would have to reprint all their books in order to change the Canadian prices on the covers. I guess he'd never heard of price stickers.

Since Luke was born, our main source for books has become our local library. The money we used to spend like water on books is now spent like water on diapers. So for at least a year now when I've wanted to purchase a specific book -- one that I've seen reviewed online, say -- I've been buying it from Amazon instead of from Canadian stores or online booksellers. (And I include Amazon's Canadian site in that category, even though it probably doesn't belong there.) Ever since the Canadian dollar really started to climb in comparison to the US dollar, it's been much cheaper to purchase books this way, even factoring in the cost of shipping.

Of course I'd like to support our independent bookstores. I visit the two tiny ones in our area as much as I can. If they don't happen to have what I'm looking for (and that happens a lot in such a small market), I still try to buy something else that looks interesting. But our budget doesn't always permit that. In the case of The Thin Place, which I happened to stumble upon locally the other day, I actually did fork over the extra dough.  It turned out to be a terrific book and I don't regret spending the extra money. That isn't always the case.

Comments

[babelbabe]

I have always assumed that the price diference reflected the difference between the US dollar and the Canadian dollar. Now I feel like a big (American)idjit. I can't fathom any reason for it at all - some tax thing, maybe?

[Patricia]

I'm torn about this. I was recently discussing the subject with a bookseller from an independent bookstore here in Toronto. He explained that there were many hidden expenses added on to a book that the average book-buyer is not aware of. He also said that it would still take a lot of work to put all those new price stickers on the books, and so they have to wait for a bit and see if the rise in the dollar is going to stay for a while, in order to make the work involved in changing all the prices worth their while. And while I have no sympathy for the big box bookstores, I do like to support the independents, and I know what a struggle it is to stay afloat in this business. Plus I figure what the heck – the extra money is supporting writers and the publishing industry, so I figure it is still money well-spent. And well...um...now that I have some books out there in the market, well...I need all the money I can get.

[kevin]

I'm a Canadian who's been living in London, England for the past 6 years. Most classic and modern novels are available in paperback here for £8 or less. Even if I were earning Canadian dollars living here, it would be cheaper to buy books. I spent $21 plus tax on No Great Mischief last time I was back in Canada and even the quality of the paper and printing was shocking. Who can afford to buy new books in Canada anymore? Remember when Canadian books weren't taxed? What happened?! The Canadian government should be encouraging a literate society.

[Stephany Aulenback]

You're preaching to the choir, Kevin! I agree. I do wonder, though, if the prices on the book jackets reflect government taxes, customs fees, whatever, or if it's the publishers themselves, responding too slowly to the change in the exchange rate. I'd love to see an in-depth article about this.

And Patricia, I wouldn't mind if I could be sure it's the authors and illustrators who get the money! I suspect it stays with the publishers. Who knows. Book pricing is a real mystery to me. By the way, I'm going to look for your current book for Luke.

[Phil]

bout a year ago I began questioning people at indigo and was always given the long-turn-around-time answer. Finally I tried to pay on u.s.dollares and was turned down. That got me tothinking about how these companies acually PAY for the books:when thcanadian dollar is high, even if they were required to pay in u.s. dollars, they would come out of deal at a definite advantage - money, some of which surely should come back to us, the purchasers and readers. Does anyone know any action group which might be interested in pursuing this further?

[Phil]

bout a year ago I began questioning people at indigo and was always given the long-turn-around-time answer. Finally I tried to pay on u.s.dollares and was turned down. That got me tothinking about how these companies acually PAY for the books:when thcanadian dollar is high, even if they were required to pay in u.s. dollars, they would come out of deal at a definite advantage - money, some of which surely should come back to us, the purchasers and readers. Does anyone know any action group which might be interested in pursuing this further?

[Stephany Aulenback]

That's hilarious, that you tried to pay in U.S. dollars, Phil.

[Kay]

Well, to grill the people in the bookstore is childish. They cannot change the prices. I know I work in one. We can only follow the directions of our company.If you have valid complaints(which I believe SOME people do) Call the company's customer service at their Head Office or if it's an independent talk to the owner but please don't keep asking us to lower the prices at the cash.It's not going to happen unless our head office says we can. I've been yelled at, cursed at, had books thrown and all kinds of harrassing comments. I love my job,I love books, I love working with my customers but I don't love people who are ignorant of the facts. We can't do or tell you what you want to hear. Customers have more power than employees do when it comes to complaints.We don't like it any more than you do, we are consumers also.PUBLISHERS set the prices,governments add import taxes and so forth, there is alot more to it than changing price stickers. Can you image getting a shipment of well over a 1000 books a day and pricing it all.You can't just slap another sticker over the us price. We'd have to hire extra receivers and pass the cost on to you that wouldn't me most people happy either.Most of us peel them off and look and then the argument continues.Nuff said.