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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

2003 book sales down markedly from previous year

Hillel Italie Associated Press

Not even Harry Potter could prevent a big drop in book sales in 2003.

Against a struggling economy and competition from other media, 23 million fewer books were sold last year than in 2002, according to a new report by the Book Industry Study Group, a non-for-profit research organization.

Sales fell to 2.222 billion books, down from 2.245 billion in 2002. The decline was in both hardcovers and paperbacks, in children’s books and general trade releases. Even sales of religious titles, often cited as a growing part of the publishing industry, were flat.

Thanks to higher prices, net revenues did rise to $27.8 billion in 2003, a 2.5 percent increase.

Albert N. Greco, an industry consultant and a professor of business at the graduate school of Fordham University, said the growth in the used book market was the biggest reason for the sales decline.

“People are looking for bargains, especially in college textbooks, where we believe millions of used books are being bought,” he said. “Also, books are competing with magazines, cable, radio, music and movies.”