Buying Bestselling Books

Book prices generally depend on the demand for a given book, the number of copies available for purchase, and the condition of a given copy. As with other collectibles, prices rise and fall with the popularity of a given author, title, or subject. Bestsellers are usually separated into fiction and non-fiction categories. Different list compilers have created a number of other subcategories. Bestsellers also may be ranked separately for hardcover and paperback editions. Typically, a hardcover edition appears first, followed in months or years by the much less expensive paperback version. Hardcover bestseller status may hasten the paperback release of the same, or slow the release, if hardcover sales are brisk enough. Bestseller lists may vary widely, depending on the method used for calculating sales and the weight and price of a book may affect its positioning on lists. Category structure affects the positioning of a book in other ways. A book that might be buried on the Book Sense hardcover fiction list could be positioned very well on the New York Times hardcover advice list or the Publishers Weekly religion hardcover list. Some books have sold many more copies than contemporary ‘bestsellers’, but over a long period of time. A book that sells well in gift shops and grocery stores may hit a New York Times list without ever appearing on a Book Sense list.

Today, many lists come from automated sources. Booksellers may use their POS (point-of-sale) systems to report automatically to Book Sense. As consumer bestseller lists generally do not detail specific criteria, such as numbers sold, sales period, sales region, and so forth, a book becomes a bestseller mainly because an ‘authoritative’ source says it is.  A book that is identified as a “bestseller” greatly improves its chance of selling to a much wider audience.

Buying bestselling books at times is great because you get to read an unforgettable novel and at times you should go out there and find something new on your own and discover for yourself if it is a great novel or not.