[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Titlesbooks.jpg” caption=”Titles Bookstore is offering a roaming discount of 20 per cent off general interest books. Photo by Susan Bubak. “]In response to the strong Canadian dollar, Titles Bookstore is offering a roaming discount of 20 per cent off general interest books starting today. The discount will rotate to a different section of books each week.

Canadian retailers have been trying to encourage consumers to shop north of the border. Customers, excited by the strong Canadian dollar, often wait in line for hours at the border to take advantage of lower US prices.

Booksellers, however, have been dealing with vast price differences
between the two countries for years. Publishers set the prices of
books at the time of printing, marking both a lower US price and a higher Canadian price somewhere on the cover of the book.

In the past, this price has reflected a weak Canadian dollar along
with a buffer to cover the publisher's costs of acquisition and
importation. Canadian consumers found this practice frustrating since they were not eligible for the lower price in this country.

However, what book buyers often don't realize is that Canadian booksellers are bound by little-known Bill C-32 which forces retailers to buy books from Canadian distributors rather than allowing them to buy those same books from American publishers at lower prices.

Ultimately, the goal is to get publishers to lower their
costs on books. Recently, a handful of publishers and distributors,
such as Penguin and Scholastic, have announced a shift in that direction.

Due to the long lead times in the publishing cycle, it may be a while before the consumer sees these changes in bookstores since the current stock still reflects the strong American dollar's effect on Canadian prices.

In order to save our customers' money now, Titles Bookstore is
introducing a roaming discount of 20 per cent off all general interest books in a specific section that rotates every week so that customers can take advantage of the savings in every subject area. To find out which area is discounted from week to week, visit the Titles website.

This week, we'll be discounting more than 2,500 titles from our literature wall. Stop by and check out our great selection.