Reading is a kind of precipitation, which makes people feel the weight of knowledge-however, when books are no longer sold at the marked price, but are directly thrown on the electronic scale to "weigh the price", how do readers feel?

Since the New Year, a large number of "Lun Jin Bookstores" have appeared in Nanjing, Hangzhou and other places. According to the investigation, the reporter of Youth Daily learned that Shanghai is an important town of this kind of bookstore, and many bosses are at the forefront of their counterparts in the country in this respect. Moreover, "selling books by the catty" has become an industrial chain, and many bookstores have become rich as a result.

In the eyes of many readers and cultural circles, "selling books by the catty" is embarrassing after all, which seems to be contrary to what scholars call "selling books ethics". Therefore, the controversy about this model has never stopped.

Youth Daily reporter Liang Liang

[On-site]

The small bookstore sells 500 A Jin every day.

Lao Zhang's bookstore is open on a busy roadside. A storefront of 30-40 square meters can also be regarded as a fashionable "small, medium and micro" bookstore. However, unlike those bookstores, there is an electronic scale that is said to have the largest load 100 kg on Lao Zhang's checkout counter. There is a poster of "Book per Jin 18 yuan" hanging above the electronic scale. "18" is newly posted, which shows Lao Zhang's determination to "beat CPI".

Lao Zhang is an expert in mental arithmetic. He can often see at a glance what the fixed number on the electronic scale is. Of course, he doesn't belong to that kind of boss, and usually gives up the fraction of the book price naturally. Therefore, Lao Zhang believes that the final book price must be a price that is satisfactory to himself and acceptable to readers. Books in Lao Zhang Bookstore are sold by weight. His skillful gesture of throwing books on the electronic scale always makes people feel deja vu in the food market. Even Lao Zhang sometimes laughs at himself. "People sell vegetables and I sell books." "Real vegetable veteran, although also haggle over every ounce, but have you seen a few is haggle over every ounce? Never mind, the guests will come again. "

However, Lao Zhang feels that he and those who sell vegetables are two different people after all. People sell vegetables, but he sells books after all. In this regard, Lao Zhang still has a deep-rooted lofty. So he refused to shout. His bookstore doesn't have any form of publicity except the poster whose price is constantly updated. Lao Zhang only sits in front of the cashier every day to check out. Before checking out, he glances at the store from time to time to see if anyone has stuffed books into his bag.

Lao Zhang seldom concentrates. It seems a bit like "diligence is not like selling books". However, this "weight bookstore" is not as sparse as the physical bookstores generally encounter. There are few people in the bookstore, mostly middle-aged and elderly people. With a few young people.

Some old readers obviously frequent it. They say Lao Zhang is "polite" and "always gives away odds and ends". So when you pay the bill, you will take the initiative to talk to him. But Lao Zhang always responds faintly. This bookstore can sell about 500 Jin of books a day, and Lao Zhang's hands are often too sour to lift. He is already very tired.

[evolution]

How was the "important town" made?

Shanghai is undoubtedly the "important town" for selling bookstores by the catty. When such bookstores appeared in Hangzhou and Nanjing recently, local readers were still sighing and marveling. Shanghainese have been weighing books in such bookstores for many years. Regarding the specific number of bookstores, the reporter asked the Press and Publication Bureau, but the bureau only filed the bookstores with publication distribution licenses, but did not file the forms of bookstore sales. In the survey, no one in the industry can tell clearly how many such bookstores there are in Shanghai, but they usually give a conservative estimate: "There should be hundreds."

This is not a very heavy proportion among thousands of book retail outlets in Shanghai at present, but its influence cannot be underestimated. Among them, the most convincing fact is that there are actually two "bookstores by weight" on the street of Fuzhou Road Bookstore in Shanghai, which is famous all over the country. In recent years, the market has been depressed, and the surrounding bookstores are tottering. I don't know how many bookstores have been closed, but these two bookstores have stood firm and done well. This is undoubtedly symbolic in the eyes of some peers who sell by the catty, indicating that such bookstores have begun to be accepted by the mainstream. Whether this acceptance is willing or not.

Of course, no one can tell when such a bookstore appeared in Shanghai. "It has been more than ten years." Lao Zhang said. Lao Zhang believes that the development of such bookstores in Shanghai is by no means accidental. Because "selling bookstores by the catty" wants to prosper, the premise must be that the stock book market is very prosperous. Shanghai people have a tradition of searching for discounted books in stock, so the city is naturally curious about new things. So in a sense, once the model of "selling books by weight" is invented, it will surely take root in this city.

People who do this business come from all fields. Lao Zhang used to be made in a factory, but some people used to run a bookstore, but they used to sell by the book, but now they are based on the weight. However, they all seem to regard this industry as a "sunrise industry", especially when they see that foreign bosses have followed the example of Shanghai and started "selling bookstores by the catty". They don't doubt this.

Last June, 5438+10, a bookstore like this opened on Zhongshan Road in Wuxi, causing onlookers. The proprietress bluntly said that she was influenced by Shanghai when she opened the shop. "I thought it was very interesting, so I tried to open it in Wuxi." In a sense, the "important town" is also reflected as a kind of radiation force.

[source]

The "savior" of stock books

The reporter of Youth Daily learned in the investigation that 60% of the "Golden Bookstore" are books in stock. Where does the supply come from? Lao Zhang said that there is no large state-owned bookstore. Because of the "consignment system", the unsold books are directly returned to the publishing house. "Private bookstores are different. Because state-owned publishing houses don't trust private bookstores, private bookstores often buy out their goods, and if they can't sell books, they have to eat them themselves. When their warehouse is almost full, it is the best time for you to bargain with them. "

Publishing houses are another source of books in stock. State-owned bookstores return unsalable books to publishers, and these books have become "hot potatoes" in the hands of publishers. If it is not disposed of, it can only become pulp, which is a great loss for the publishing house. Therefore, most bosses pretend to be the "saviors" of the stock ledger. However, Lao Zhang still prefers to deal with private bookstores. "Maybe because everyone is private, there is a feeling of being in the same boat and it is easier to communicate."

Of course, in addition to stock books, there are nearly 20% of the so-called "underwriting books" in "bookstores by the catty". For example, artists should publish a picture album when holding an exhibition. But apart from a few well-known painters, artists can only pay for their own albums at present-they often spend tens of thousands of yuan to find a publishing house to print 1000 copies, instead of selling them in bookstores, leaving them directly to the artists themselves. These albums piled up in artists' homes are the so-called "exclusive books".

In Lao Zhang's view, from the source, there are a large number of private bookstores in Shanghai, and it has always been a publishing town, and there is no shortage of artists. Therefore, the supply of "selling bookstores by the catty" is sufficient. There is also an inevitable factor in the development of such bookstores in Shanghai.

Of course, with the growth of the domestic stock book market and the establishment of online marketing pattern, the bulk sales of some stock books can also be completed online, and the supply of goods is no longer a problem. This may also be the reason why "selling bookstores by the catty" has appeared all over the country in recent years.

[account]

A game of "consumer psychology"

According to an official data, at present, there are 370,000 kinds of new books published every year in China, and the ratio of book storage to sales has reached 1.77: 1, which means that for every 1 book sold, 1.77 books cannot be sold. In this way, it is estimated that tens of millions of books will be added to the national inventory. This is a very amazing number. And these stock books are undoubtedly striving for "secondary sales" to avoid being turned into pulp. So even though the bookstore is small, Lao Zhang still has a sense of honor for his work. He felt that he was "saving people from danger".

Judging from the situation in recent years, "characteristic bookstores" have shrunk year after year, while the market of "selling by the weight" is growing. "Books must not be sold" has become the choice of more and more bookstore operators.

It should be said that the rapid growth of "selling bookstores by the catty" cannot be simply explained by readers' mentality of "seeking novelty". There are deeper reasons. During the investigation, the reporter of Youth Daily saw a large-scale picture book "The Picture of the Sea", which was priced at 380 yuan. In Lao Zhang's shop, art books are 20 yuan per catty, and this album weighs 6 jins. 120 yuan. The same photo album reporter once saw it sold at a 30% discount in a "specialty bookstore", 1 14 yuan. Moreover, China's books are generally not made of lightweight paper commonly used in western countries, so the books are very heavy, and those big picture books are "as heavy as bricks". In other words, "selling by the catty" is generally more expensive than discounted books.

Even so, selling by weight is better than selling at a discount. The insider told the reporter the truth. In fact, bookstore operators are playing a game of "consumer psychology". A 50% discount on "special bookstores" may be too expensive for readers, because after all, they are unsalable stock books. But according to the weight, 20 yuan a catty is not expensive, because readers think that a book is not a few kilograms. "It is these' consumption illusions' of readers that make them choose' weighing books'. Of course, this also makes Lao Zhang and these people earn a lot of money.

Although he is secretive about his income, Lao Zhang also admits that this bookstore, which can produce 500 kilograms of books every day, can make the family live a well-off life. Informed sources told reporters that the purchase price of stock books is generally extremely low, some as low as 1 discount, while the delivery price of some large book markets may only be 0.5 to 0.7 discount. Take "The Picture of the Sea" as an example. If Lao Zhang is imported at a discount of 1 (equivalent to 38 yuan) and sold at a price of 1.20 yuan, a picture book will have profits for 82 yuan. In this way, you can earn at least a few thousand dollars a day.

This kind of income far exceeds some other commercial fields. In the face of huge benefits, many booksellers have made up their minds to "carry out' weighing by weight' to the end".

[tricky]

By-product: pirated books took the opportunity to enter the room.

If we say that bookstores selling books by the pound have made some proud contributions to the movement of "eliminating books in stock"; I played the game "Consumer Psychology", although I made a lot of money, but it was fair. However, in the investigation, the reporter accidentally discovered a real trick-the most shameful thing in the bookstore, pirated books.

In a bookstore in Pudong, the reporter saw a complete work of Yang Lan. These four words are printed on the spine of the book, showing a suspicious look. But the problem is that anyone who pays a little attention to Yang Lan knows that Yang Lan has never published the complete works. This Complete Works is obviously a masterpiece of pirates for those who are not familiar with Yang Lan but want to know him. There is also a book that is a collection of "Health of Famous Doctors" and "Great Consultation of Famous Doctors".

Anyone who knows a little about the market knows that there is a competitive relationship between columns, and this kind of gathering is the most taboo.

The clerk in this bookstore is very alert to the reporter's questions. They said they didn't know the source of these pirated books, but they were in the goods sent by the wholesaler of stock books. According to informed sources, if publishing houses, private bookstores, stock book trading markets and "selling bookstores by the catty" are regarded as an industrial chain, pirated books are the "by-products" of this industrial chain. "Generally speaking, publishers don't sell pirated books. Pirated books are mixed into this industrial chain, and most of them should be in the trading market. "

In some bookstores, the reporter saw that pirated books accounted for at least 20% of the sales supply. Compared with the books in stock, the purchase price of pirated books is lower. When pirated books are regarded as genuine stock books, bookstore operators obviously have greater profits. "Semi-genuine and semi-pirated" has become an open secret of "selling bookstores by the catty".

Compared with those illegal vendors whose tricycles are full of pirated books and peddle them in the corner of the city, the bookstore's model of "you have me and I have you" is obviously more concealed. This also allows pirated books that everyone shouts to enter the room and enjoy the same treatment as genuine books.

But in any case, the appearance of pirated books has made the reputation of "selling bookstores by the pound" questioned as never before. This kind of questioning can be devastating. At first, people may regard bookstores selling by the catty as a novelty in the bookstore industry and a great creation to solve the problem of stock books, but at first glance, they find that they are just mercenary vendors selling knockoffs, just changing their grades.

[abacus]

Sample: large-scale picture album "Sea Painting Collection"

Price 380 yuan

Shopkeeper purchase price: Generally, the delivery price of book market is only 0.5% to 0.7%. Even if it is launched at 1%, the purchase price is 38 yuan.

● Discounted sales (calculated according to the usual discount in the market):

380 yuan× 3 fold = 1 14 yuan (pieces)

Psychoanalysis: Generally speaking, if the "special bookstore" offers a 50% discount, readers will think it is too expensive, because they think these books are unsalable after all.

● Weigh and sell:

20 yuan× 6kg per kg = 120 yuan (b)

Psychoanalysis: A catty of 30 yuan is not expensive, because the reader's impression is that a book doesn't weigh a few catties.