Hardcover Sales War: How Low Will Book Retailers Go?

How much cheaper can books get? The retail giant Target announced that it would lower prices for many books sold online to $8.99 according to the Associated Press. Last week, Walmart, and Amazon both lowered their prices on many books in anticipation of holiday sales to $9.99 and lower.

According to the New York Times' Motoko Rich, some of the books with experiencing price cuts include Sarah Palin's Going Rogue and the latest from John Grisham, Stephen King, Barbara Kingsolver, and James Patterson. As Reuters notes, selling Palin's book for even $10 represents a 66 percent discount off her publisher's, HarperCollins, suggested a price of $28.99. How soon till publishers actually decide to just give books away?

John Grisham's agent, David Gernert, is somewhat predictably displeased by the retailers' race to the bottom: "If readers come to believe that the value of a new book is $10, publishing as we know it is over," he told Rich.

It's been a decent few months for the book business with the blockbuster success of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, Ted Kennedy's True Compass, Oprah Winfrey's latest book club selection, and presales of Palin's memoir, which is due to be released November 17.

Palin's book will not be available on Amazon's Kindle until after the holidays, but at $8.99 (plus shipping, of course), you can practically get the hardcover for the price of the digital version.

So much for that brilliant marketing idea.