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Why can the fixed book price policy save the cultural book market?
A fixed price policy (FBP) is a form of resale price maintenance applied to books that allows publishers to determine the price at which a book will be sold. The purpose of this policy is to promote non-price competition among bookstores, thereby promoting sales of less popular, difficult, or culturally significant books rather than just popular bestsellers. This will not only preserve rich cultural works, but also help small independent bookstores maintain their operations and prevent monopoly by large bookstores.
The fixed book price is not only a price limit, but also actually sets a minimum price, allowing bookstores to adjust prices within a certain range, thereby encouraging competition.
In France and Germany, fixed book prices have become law, while in the UK, online book agreements were once an industry agreement. The main purpose of these systems is to protect the survival of high-quality bookstores while ensuring the diversity of cultural books. The introduction of this policy will help to establish a healthy book market with a rich variety of books, as such a book market is considered an important part of the country's cultural life.
The Importance of Fixed Book PricesThe policy of fixed book prices has a long history, and many countries have already implemented it in the 19th century. The core of these policies is to enable small independent bookstores to resist competitive pressure from large chain bookstores. Because large bookstores usually focus on bestsellers, many books that have cultural value but are not widely read are marginalized. The introduction of fixed book prices was intended to address this problem by allowing bookshops to remain competitive on price, thus ensuring that they could carry books that had potential but had not yet been widely recognised.
The fixed book price policy is considered an important guarantee of cultural value and maintains a healthy literary ecology.
International perspective
According to research in cultural economics, fixed book price policies have been established in some developed countries and have lasted for decades. During this period, countries have had great differences in their evaluations of fixed book price policies. On the one hand, critics believe that this policy distorts the market to a certain extent and makes prices inflexible. Supporters believe that fixed book prices are an important tool for maintaining the diversity of cultural products.
In France, for example, the existence of fixed book prices has helped protect the survival of independent bookstores and boosted their market share. In the UK, after the end of the fixed book price policy in 1995, the number of small independent bookshops decreased significantly, and they were replaced by larger chain bookshops. Such changes threaten the diversity of cultural books.
Composition of the fixed book price policy
Economists have evaluated the fixed price policy from different perspectives. Many believe that this policy can encourage bookstores to focus on providing better pre-sale services, such as author signing sessions and book theme weeks. wait. These services can not only attract consumers, but also create a good competitive atmosphere internally, allowing bookstores to obtain stable profits.Eliminate the possibility of price competition and allow bookstores to truly compete on service.
Challenges Ahead
Although the fixed price policy has played a positive role in protecting small bookstores and cultural diversity, it still faces many challenges in the future. With the advent of the digital wave, the rise of e-books and the development of online bookstores, the traditional book market is facing a huge reconstruction. In this context, ensuring that the fixed book price policy remains effective will be a major challenge in the future.
The evaluation of fixed price policies is undoubtedly a complex topic, with many supporters and opponents, and the effectiveness of this system in different countries varies. As the market environment changes, whether this system can adapt to new demands through adjustment and improvement remains an issue worthy of in-depth discussion.
How should we choose between culture and commercial interests to ensure the healthy development of the book market?
