Wanna buy books by weight?
23/8/2005 7:29
Joyce Chen/Shanghai Daily news
An ongoing
promotional activity at the Hymart-Hymall supermarket chain that allows locals
to buy books according to weight has failed to spark a buying frenzy though it
has raised some eyebrows.
All books at the promotion are priced at 9.90 yuan
(US$1.22) for 500 grams.
Though there is no mad rush, many residents are
buying books in a steady stream.
A middle-aged woman surnamed Li said she was
choosing books for her son who was in junior high school. "The original price is
too high for me, and now I can buy some world literary masterpieces at bargain
prices."
Hypermarket officials said the books are not stock-in-trade nor have
any quality problem.
Under the hypermarket's price, a Modern Chinese Lexicon
published by the Heilongjiang People's Publishing House is sold at 103 yuan
while its original price is as high as 895 yuan.
And a book with a price of
40 yuan can be bought for just 3 yuan.
But not everyone is in awe of the
hypermarket's action.
Zhu zhiling, an editor with the Shanghai
Lexicographical Publishing House, said that while he could accept the sales mode
of the hypermarket he didn't really appreciate the method.
"The price of a
book should cover the author's credit, printing cost, and some other expenses,"
Zhu said, adding that how to sell books is not as important as the content and
quality of the books.
He pointed out that most of the books at the promotion
are not written by famous authors and seem to be lacking intellectual property
rights.
"So they can be sold at a very low price," Zhu argued.
In addition
to books, some costumes at the hypermarket are also priced at 29.90 yuan per 500
grams and towels are sold for 19.90 yuan per 500 grams.
The promotion, which
began last Wednesday, will end today.
Officials from the Shanghai Price
Bureau didn't find anything wrong with the hypermarket's activity, saying
companies can set the price for such goods themselves.
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