AT THE end of the week I’m heading off on a much-needed holiday. I’m intent on reading fiction while I'm gone. I’ve chosen parts two and three of the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. For those who unfamiliar, imagine Harry Potter, minus Quidditch, plus a plot.
Having visited a bookstore to obtain said books, I walked to the counter and inquired about their location. "They’re in teen fiction on the second floor", I was told by the assistant. The manager then put in, "The adult copies are in science fiction, first floor", to which I responded, "Are they the same book?". "All except the cover", he answered. "Same price?" "No the children’s books will be cheaper", came the reply.
Sure enough, the children’s books were cheaper in both hardcover and paperback, by 17%. The logic of having two separate editions is simple enough; by targeting two markets, teen and adult fiction, the publisher may increase sales. But how to explain the different prices?
One might suspect that production costs vary enough to justify different sticker prices. The teen edition has a bright mysterious cover, for instance, while the adult version looks like something I could knock together. Yet the adult version is the more expensive.
On average teen fiction is cheaper than adult fiction, suggesting that price discrimination may be at work. By selling two editions in two places, the publisher may be better able to extract more surplus by getting buyers to reveal their consumer-type. People shopping in the teens section are likely to be teens, to therefore have less income, and to therefore be more price sensitive. If there is little overlap between customers browsing the teen and adult section, this kind of price discrimination might be possible.
But consumers are pretty savvy. The internet makes price discovery incredible easy. This can hardly be the whole story.
The shop assistant offered yet another explanation: "Adult readers are prepared to pay a premium so that strangers on the train don’t think they’re reading children’s books." I like this because it allows us to put a price on people’s self-image, or at a minimum shows they’re willing to pay more to appear more intellectual.
If I’ve missed a good explanation for the price difference, economic or otherwise, put it in the comments. Out of interest I bought the teen version, either because I’m price sensitive or because I know trying to hide my childish tastes is futile.
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