In recent weeks, there has been a
fair bit of local (Vancouver ) news
coverage on the price differences between Canadian and American goods. Many
British Columbians head south of t he border to
buy significantly cheaper gas and dairy products, for example. Readers who’ve
purchased books in both countries are well aware that books cost
significantly more in Canada .
A recent article from
ca.finance.yahoo.com states that a Senate report released this week has
analyzed these price differences and come up with recommendations about closing
the gap, which is good news for Canadians.
In the late 1990s the Canadian
government amended a law which helped U.S.
publishers adjust to the currency imbalance at that time and to cover the
costs of shipping and distributing books in Canada .
Canadian exclusive distributors were allowed to add a 10% markup on the sales
price from the country of origin and adjust for current exchanges. Apparently,
the rules were supposed to act as a price ceiling, however, it doesn’t appear
to have worked out that way.
Times have changed. The Canadian
dollar is now at par, however, the markup still exists under the Border
Importation Regulations, which is linked to the Copyright Act. The bottom line
appears to be that Canada
is still a relatively small market and the cost of doing business here is still
high for American publishers. Whether the Senate recommendations will
eventually mean cheaper prices at Canadian bookstores remains to be seen.
You’ll find links to the Senate
report and other info in the Yahoo article, http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/blogs/insight/why-books-cost-more-canada-205637376.html
No comments:
Post a Comment