“Waterstone’s is selling titles online at above recommended retail prices, despite cheaper deals being offered by other online retailers including Amazon and Borders,” reports The Bookseller. “Some instore titles are also being sold above r.r.p.”
The books being sold at above RRP are from publishers that don’t print the recommended retail price on their books. They include Osprey, Taschen, Ordnance Survey and Michelin.
“OS Land-ranger maps have an r.r.p. of £6.99, however, Waterstone’s charges £7.50 both instore and online. Meanwhile, Amazon is advertising OS Landranger Map Sheet 190 for £6.29 while Borders is selling it online for £5.24,” says The Bookseller. “Waterstone’s has also upped the price on Michelin maps by between 50p and £1, while Amazon and Borders are selling the range up to £1 below r.r.p.”
A Waterstone’s spokesperson told The Bookseller that “Waterstone’s reviews its prices on a regular basis and we aim to offer the best range of titles on the high street, with a huge amount of them discounted or available as part of a promotion at any one time. We have changed the prices on a very limited number of products and are now looking at how customers respond to the changes within the context of wider promotional activity.”
You can read the full findings of the investigation on The Bookseller’s website.
