Knowledge (XXG)

Net Book Agreement

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As the agreement did not cover books that were damaged (or second hand), shops that wished to sell "new" books below cover price for any reason (for example to get rid of obsolete stock or titles that were not otherwise selling) adopted a simple strategy which meant that they were still sticking to
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However, market concentration and a demise of independent bookshops also took place in economies such as Germany and France where a fixed book price agreement is still in place. The loss in business was smaller than predicted by many commentators. The number of titles published in the UK briefly
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decided to take no part in the case. In March 1997 the Restrictive Practices Court ruled that the Net Book Agreement was against the public interest and therefore illegal. The adoption of this new procurement discipline by academic libraries since the demise of the NBA is the focus of "Managing
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were to be sold to the public. The agreement was concerned solely with price maintenance. It operated in the UK from 1900 until the 1990s when it was abandoned by some large bookshop chains and was then ruled illegal. It also operated in Ireland until shortly before its final demise.
70:, The Publishers Association introduced the practice of deeming school books 'non-net' allowing schools discounts that were not available on other books. There were also agreements in place to allow public libraries to receive discounts of up to 5% on the net books they purchased. 56:
It came into effect on 1 January 1900 and involved retailers selling books at agreed prices. Any bookseller who sold a book at less than the agreed price would no longer be supplied by the publisher in question. In 1905,
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suppliers for collection development: the UK higher education perspective." The collapse of the Agreement strengthened large bookstore chains and reduced book prices. It also paved the way for the large
151:, but the failure of the changes was demonstrated by the rapid bankruptcy of Borders, as the supermarkets rapidly dominated the market with loss-leading price discounting, wiping out the competition. 77:, which decided that the NBA was of benefit to the industry, since it enabled publishers to subsidise the printing of the works of important but less widely read authors using money from bestsellers. 143:
had closed since the demise of the agreement. An early example of the changes in the book publishing markets following the termination of the agreement was the entry of the US-owned booksellers
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increased when the NBA was dissolved in 1997; the volume of books sold in the UK increased temporarily by about 30% compared to 1995, but the retail prices collapsed.
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chains to take a chunk of the book business, typically offering a small number of best-selling titles at deeply discounted prices. As of 2009, 500
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Ball, D., 2012. "Managing suppliers for collection development: the UK higher education perspective." In: Fieldhouse, M. and Marshall, A., eds.
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refused to license the NBA, on the grounds that UK publishers' market share was high enough for the NPA to distort competition in Ireland.
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the terms of the agreement: they deliberately defaced or damaged the book(s). The two methods most commonly used were to either use a
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decided that the Restrictive Practices Court should review the agreement. In September 1995 several major publishers (including
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applied the NBA in the Republic of Ireland until 1992, after the Competition Act 1991 came into force. In June 1994 Ireland's
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to mark the edge of the pages. The marker pen method was the most common as it took the least effort.
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tried but failed to challenge the agreement by setting up a low-cost book borrowing club.
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An evaluation of the impact upon productivity of ending resale price maintenance on books
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Problems of a Fixed Book Price Agreement under European Competition Law
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Collapse of Net Book Agreement `within months' collapse' - UK ...
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into the British high street, following their purchase of
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The Benefits from Competition: some illustrative UK cases
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In the UK in August 1994 the Director General of the
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to punch a hole in the cover of the book or to use a
73:In 1962 the Net Book Agreement was examined by the 226:The Organisation of Knowledge in Victorian Britain 188: 195:. London: Cambridge University Press. pp.  8: 496:1997 disestablishments in the United Kingdom 259:UK Publishing global information partnership 88:, began to offer some books at a discount. 363:Collection Development in the Digital Age. 491:1900 establishments in the United Kingdom 229:. Oxford University Press. p. 275. 461:The Economist: Blood on the Bookshelves 179: 16:Book price system in the UK and Ireland 304:"Written Answers - NET Book Agreement" 130:) withdrew, and in September 1996 the 7: 329:Daniel, McCarthy (9 February 2010). 235:10.5871/bacad/9780197263266.001.0001 191:The Publishers Association 1896-1946 282:Cassidy, Suzanne (7 October 1991). 14: 80:In 1991 the large bookshop chain 506:Regulation in the United Kingdom 481:Publishing in the United Kingdom 223:(2005). Daunton, Martin (ed.). 486:United Kingdom competition law 43:which set the prices at which 1: 166:United States v. Apple Inc. 75:Restrictive Practices Court 522: 476:Anti-competitive practices 187:Kingsford, R.J.L. (1970). 109:The Publishers Association 37:The Publishers Association 25:fixed book price agreement 435:UK Government Web Archive 336:The American Conservative 365:London: Facet, 111-124. 132:Booksellers Association 424:Office of Fair Trading 410:29 August 2011 at the 331:"Politics and the NBA" 120:Office of Fair Trading 104:Dissolution of the NBA 141:independent bookshops 113:Competition Authority 451:Politics and the NBA 433:2 April 2014 at the 308:Dáil Éireann Debates 379:The Money Programme 66:In 1905, following 381:, 12 February 2009 289:The New York Times 21:Net Book Agreement 68:The Education Act 513: 438: 421: 415: 401: 395: 388: 382: 372: 366: 359: 353: 352: 350: 348: 343:on 20 April 2010 339:. Archived from 326: 320: 319: 317: 315: 300: 294: 293: 279: 273: 272: 255: 249: 248: 217: 211: 210: 194: 184: 521: 520: 516: 515: 514: 512: 511: 510: 466: 465: 447: 442: 441: 422: 418: 412:Wayback Machine 403:Davies/Wilson, 402: 398: 389: 385: 373: 369: 360: 356: 346: 344: 328: 327: 323: 313: 311: 302: 301: 297: 281: 280: 276: 269: 257: 256: 252: 245: 221:Daunton, Martin 219: 218: 214: 207: 186: 185: 181: 176: 161: 106: 54: 17: 12: 11: 5: 519: 517: 509: 508: 503: 501:Price controls 498: 493: 488: 483: 478: 468: 467: 464: 463: 458: 453: 446: 445:External links 443: 440: 439: 416: 396: 383: 367: 354: 321: 295: 274: 267: 250: 244:978-0197263266 243: 212: 205: 178: 177: 175: 172: 171: 170: 160: 157: 105: 102: 84:, followed by 53: 50: 29:United Kingdom 15: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 518: 507: 504: 502: 499: 497: 494: 492: 489: 487: 484: 482: 479: 477: 474: 473: 471: 462: 459: 457: 454: 452: 449: 448: 444: 436: 432: 429: 425: 420: 417: 413: 409: 406: 400: 397: 393: 387: 384: 380: 376: 371: 368: 364: 358: 355: 342: 338: 337: 332: 325: 322: 309: 305: 299: 296: 291: 290: 285: 278: 275: 270: 268:0-85021-283-9 264: 260: 254: 251: 246: 240: 236: 232: 228: 227: 222: 216: 213: 208: 206:0-521-07756-7 202: 198: 193: 192: 183: 180: 173: 168: 167: 163: 162: 158: 156: 152: 150: 146: 142: 138: 133: 129: 125: 124:HarperCollins 121: 116: 114: 110: 103: 101: 99: 95: 89: 87: 83: 78: 76: 71: 69: 64: 62: 61: 51: 49: 46: 42: 38: 34: 30: 26: 22: 419: 399: 386: 370: 362: 357: 345:. Retrieved 341:the original 334: 324: 312:. Retrieved 307: 298: 287: 277: 258: 253: 225: 215: 190: 182: 164: 153: 128:Random House 117: 107: 90: 79: 72: 65: 58: 55: 23:(NBA) was a 20: 18: 347:26 February 314:27 February 137:supermarket 86:Waterstones 41:booksellers 470:Categories 390:Kaufmann, 174:References 98:marker pen 94:hole punch 149:Books Etc 60:The Times 431:Archived 408:Archived 159:See also 35:between 414:, 43 f. 394:, 1998. 145:Borders 82:Dillons 52:History 33:Ireland 27:in the 265:  241:  203:  437:, 42. 45:books 349:2021 316:2018 263:ISBN 239:ISBN 201:ISBN 126:and 39:and 31:and 19:The 375:BBC 231:doi 197:209 472:: 426:, 377:- 333:. 306:. 286:. 237:. 199:. 351:. 318:. 292:. 271:. 247:. 233:: 209:.

Index

fixed book price agreement
United Kingdom
Ireland
The Publishers Association
booksellers
books
The Times
The Education Act
Restrictive Practices Court
Dillons
Waterstones
hole punch
marker pen
The Publishers Association
Competition Authority
Office of Fair Trading
HarperCollins
Random House
Booksellers Association
supermarket
independent bookshops
Borders
Books Etc
United States v. Apple Inc.
The Publishers Association 1896-1946
209
ISBN
0-521-07756-7
Daunton, Martin
The Organisation of Knowledge in Victorian Britain

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