Fair’s Fair “For Book Lovers”

Being willing and able to change ourselves and our attitudes when circumstances around us change is vital.

In the used books business change is one of the constants. During the past one year gasoline prices increased dramatically but then the landlords of single and multiple residential dwellings drastically increased rents and left their tenants with little disposable income. Next the Canadian dollar increased in value from the mid 80’s to achieve par with and then exceed the U. S. dollar. Books are one of the few items sold locally with both a U.S. and a Canadian price listed on them.

Until this past few months the difference in the prices between the two currencies could somehow be justified in the minds of the consumers. The sudden drop in the value of the U. S. dollar threw that into question.

How quickly can you adjust to all these changes? First gas prices increase - less disposable income in customers’ pockets = less sales. Increased rents - even less disposable income in customers pockets’ = drastically less sales. Customers want some evidence of the increased buying power of the Canadian dollar. 

The first two industries impacted are the book business and the automobile business (but it is almost certain others will follow). The sales prices of automobiles affects far more people than that of books because only 10% of the population reads but the automobile industry and its lobbiests have far more power to dictate terms both to governments and to individuals.

The sellers of new books are no doubt in a precarious situation at the present time and there is little doubt some changes will have to be made. Unfortunately the most likely scenario will see more bookstores closing.

Oh well, it only effects 10% of the population and if you were running the government - would you really want an educated public that may think outside the box?