While the primary purpose of this blog is to chronicle the innovations and business model changes of independent bookstores as the publishing world moves into the digital age, occasionally other related issues come to my attention. As I've previously mentioned, I often travel for work. This leaves me plenty of time to wander around airports, buying ChexMix and checking out the bookstores.Recently, thunderstorms forced me into a three hour layover in Charlotte, where I had the chance to check out the New York Times Bookstore. This store, like many other airport retailers, is owned and operated by The Paradies Shops. I went in to purchase Catching Fire and the woman behind the counter told me that once I finished reading, I could return the book to any airport bookstore run by The Paradies Shops and receive a 50% refund. She placed a bookmark in my purchase that declared "Buy it, Read it, Return it!"
Now I have no plans to return my purchase, but I would be interested to see how successful this program has been at generating revenue. I can see why this particular business model might be appealing for airport bookstores, or other bookshops in travels hubs.
As a side note, when I walked around the store, I didn't see any books marked as "used" being sold. I'm not certain what ultimately happens to the books that are returned. I assume those that are in good condition are simply placed back on the shelves with no indication that they have been previously purchased. As for the others, I can only speculate.
