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For those that don't know a remainder is I'll explain with an example.
Recently I got myself a hardcover copy of Saturday by Ian McEwan for $9.99 brand new. This book was published in hardcover in 2005 (in Canada) and sold for $34.00. After a while sales of the book slowed and extra copies were returned to vendors/publishers for whatever credit is available. I don't know the exact amount of credit given. Since these books still have salvageable revenue they are not destroyed like mass market books are. Search for my diatribe on 'strip covers' for more info on that. The publisher collects these returns and bundles them into lots and auctions the lots off.
So say, for example using arbitrary numbers, 10,000 copies of Saturday get returned and go on the auction block. Say they are bought by a bookseller for $3000. That's $3.33 for each book. Put a $9.99 sticker on the front and you have almost $7 profit on 10,000 books. This example ignores other costs for the sake of simplicity. How long it takes for a book to become a remainder depends on a few things but mostly it's dependent on how well the book is doing. How well authors get enumerated for remainders I do not know. I am guessing it's another copy sold so it's not a bad thing but of course it's better for the author if you pay full price. I am poor and I have a book buying addiction. So, while I'd love to be able to buy books full price I can't always. So I try and get remainders when I can. The book isn't second-hand so it's still in new condition and I assume the author is getting credit for another copy sold. There are many titles I still want to get my hands on but I think they're going to be available as remainders soon. I would like to know if there anyone knows a reliable way of tracking when a book will become a remainder.
Recently there was a hardcover book in regular stock at a major book chain called Mighty Fitz. An account of the ship that sunk in Lake Superior many years ago. The one Gordon Lightfoot sings about. Recently the book was returned and the trade paperback edition is going to be available in October(06). The hardcover isn't carried in stores as regular stock anymore but it can be ordered. I wait until I see that the hardcover is no longer available to order. Then I know that the book has gone back to the publisher to be put into remainder lots for auction. I then keep an eye on the remainder section for that title. This is the most reliable method I have for remainder tracking. Obviously neither the retailers or publishers are interested in making it easy to find out when the book you want will be available at a highly reduced rate. I was hoping someone here may know a way of tracking or finding out when a book is to become a remainder.
Recently I got myself a hardcover copy of Saturday by Ian McEwan for $9.99 brand new. This book was published in hardcover in 2005 (in Canada) and sold for $34.00. After a while sales of the book slowed and extra copies were returned to vendors/publishers for whatever credit is available. I don't know the exact amount of credit given. Since these books still have salvageable revenue they are not destroyed like mass market books are. Search for my diatribe on 'strip covers' for more info on that. The publisher collects these returns and bundles them into lots and auctions the lots off.
So say, for example using arbitrary numbers, 10,000 copies of Saturday get returned and go on the auction block. Say they are bought by a bookseller for $3000. That's $3.33 for each book. Put a $9.99 sticker on the front and you have almost $7 profit on 10,000 books. This example ignores other costs for the sake of simplicity. How long it takes for a book to become a remainder depends on a few things but mostly it's dependent on how well the book is doing. How well authors get enumerated for remainders I do not know. I am guessing it's another copy sold so it's not a bad thing but of course it's better for the author if you pay full price. I am poor and I have a book buying addiction. So, while I'd love to be able to buy books full price I can't always. So I try and get remainders when I can. The book isn't second-hand so it's still in new condition and I assume the author is getting credit for another copy sold. There are many titles I still want to get my hands on but I think they're going to be available as remainders soon. I would like to know if there anyone knows a reliable way of tracking when a book will become a remainder.
Recently there was a hardcover book in regular stock at a major book chain called Mighty Fitz. An account of the ship that sunk in Lake Superior many years ago. The one Gordon Lightfoot sings about. Recently the book was returned and the trade paperback edition is going to be available in October(06). The hardcover isn't carried in stores as regular stock anymore but it can be ordered. I wait until I see that the hardcover is no longer available to order. Then I know that the book has gone back to the publisher to be put into remainder lots for auction. I then keep an eye on the remainder section for that title. This is the most reliable method I have for remainder tracking. Obviously neither the retailers or publishers are interested in making it easy to find out when the book you want will be available at a highly reduced rate. I was hoping someone here may know a way of tracking or finding out when a book is to become a remainder.
