WSJ.com – Study Reveals Used Books Are a $2 Billion Industry: “According to the Book Industry Study Group, used-book sales topped $2.2 billion in 2004, an 11% increase over 2003. Much of that growth can be credited to the Internet. While used sales at traditional stores rose a modest 4.6%, they jumped 33% online, to just over $600 million.
‘I think consumers are increasingly starting to notice that they can get used books in good condition, in a timely manner,’ says Jeff Hayes, a director at InfoTrends, a market research firm that served as the principal analyst for the BISG study.
More than 111 million used books were purchased last year, representing about one out of every 12 overall book purchases. By the end of the decade, the percentage is expected to rise to one out of 11, a troubling trend when sales for new works are essentially flat; authors and publishers receive no royalties from used buys.”
