In Germany the price is capped. Everyone has to sell a new book at the price that was set by the author. This also applies to libraries, for the usage libraries have to pay 3-4 cent per lending to an organisation that distributes the money to the authors(the organisation depends on tge type of the print)
Yeah he means fixed. It's a common way to stop bookshops being squeezed out. They abolished it in the UK in the 90s which combined with internet sellers emerging led to the odd effect that book prices didn't really rise for 20 years.
In the US, new books were mostly cover price until into maybe the 90s? There were some exceptions. It wasn't uncommon for larger stores to offer some bestsellers at something like a 15% discount. It was sort of an innovation when a large independent bookstore opened in Cambridge MA and sold most or maybe all their books at a 15% discount.
There was also a larger set of fair trade laws in the US because manufacturers didn't want their products to be discounted which, among other things, probably got their products on the shelves of small stores that perhaps couldn't otherwise afford to carry them.
They want to introduce that too in Poland and it's an awful idea.
If you set a price that's obligatory to sell book for, it won't become cheaper, it will go up.
And I just won't buy it. I see exactly zero reasons why I should care for local bookshops. I'm not made out of money and I won't buy stuff from them only to keep them alive.
To clarify myself - for example, when new book releases, it has suggested price of 60 zł.
Online I can get it for 40.
In physical shop for 60; if it's there. Because most likely it won't be. And I can't order, none of the bookshops nearby do this.
Why should I be happy at unified price if all it means is that I will pay 1/3 more?
