I was recently in The US, as you may already know from reading my last blog post. While visiting Lancaster, Pennsylvania, I took a look around a Borders book store. I wanted to compare their prices to the prices in the Canadian book store I work in, and to get an idea of the titles they carry.
Books in Canada are more expensive than books in The USA. Having said that, books anywhere in the World are more expensive than books in The USA. In Canada, this variation in price is a bigger deal because customers in Canada will often get angry with Canadian stores for charging so much more.
Now, I know I work for a Canadian book store, but I don’t think I’m in a position of unreasonable bias. I don’t think booksellers here are innocent of blame. I believe that the main bookseller in this country has, pretty much, an effective monopoly. Especially in Ontario. This gives them a lot of bargaining power when they deal with publishers which they should be using to it’s fullest extent. I’m not in these meetings, so I can’t say for sure whether they are or aren’t doing this.
There is one main reason why people in Canada complain about the price of their books, and I’m sorry, but it’s retarded. The problem is that the prices are printed on the back of the books in both US currency and separately in Canadian currency. Right next to each other. Well, okay, this isn’t the underlying reason why people complain about the price of the books. The underlying reason is a bit more complicated. My point is that if both of the prices weren’t on the books then it wouldn’t even enter into the customer’s minds to complain about it. In the same way that people don’t complain they can get a Big Mac Meal cheaper in The USA, a cellphone cheaper in Japan or a wedge of Wensleydale cheese cheaper in England. If I walked into a bookstore in Paris and complained that I could get Twilight for a quid less in England, they’d spit at me and accuse me of being an English Pig-Dog. They’d tell me to fuck off back to England and buy it there. Except I wouldn’t entertain complaining about it unless the difference was significant (LIKE CELLPHONE CHARGES IN CANADA BEING CRAZY).
Of course when a customer is stood before you, you have to choose your words carefully (unless you’re Parisian). You give them a watered down, easy to understand version of the truth that they probably don’t believe entirely but don’t usually have the energy to argue with. The watered down version of the truth, which is that the cost of doing business in Canada is higher and many of our books cost more because they are shipped from The USA, has two main advantages. Firstly the customer can’t really scream at you because the reply is reasonable and secondly it’s not long-winded and boring, so they don’t get bored. And it doesn’t hold up the line for half-an-hour like a discussion of macro economics would.
And that’s what it comes down to. Economics. Different countries have different economic models and while the UK and Canada have a lot of similarities, the USA is quite different. Social welfare comes with a hefty price tag, but most people would agree that it is a good thing. Especially “free” health care. Two reasons why you wouldn’t think free health care is a good thing:
1) You’re very rich and can afford all the care you would ever need and don’t want to pay for anyone else.
2) You’ve been told throughout your life that communism is evil and will destroy the planet. (IE you live in The US and have no exposure to the outside world).
So yes, health care comes at a cost. This comes in the form of various taxes. Businesses have to pay taxes, too. Yes!! Really!! These costs are passed onto consumers. I’m not saying that the sole reason that books cost more in Canada is because you get free health care, but it’s a contributing factor and it’s one that should be remembered.
There are many horror stories related to insurance companies not wanting to pay out for someone to have an operation in the USA. The way they try to find technical reasons as to why the insurance is not valid is sickening. I don’t wish harm to any of my customers, but given the choice, I hope that customers would opt to pay a little extra for their book and receive free health care than save a few dollars on a book.
God forbid, if you did come down with an illness and you bought a copy of Twilight in Canada for about 20% more, at least when you are bed ridden and bored it will be much more satisfying to slowly tear out the pages of that awful book.
