European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 17, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The Book merchants part4 buying lunch today a file by George Eberl staff writer n average markup on merchandise in the retail world per that if an item costs a store it will sell it to customers for about that takes care of overhead and leaves the merchant a reasonable but in the world of direct such As another Factor enters the scene to make the Normal 40 per cent markup look like that Factor is once the books leave the publishing every one gets a piece of the and the customer it int Only the salespeople who get their the regional managers pick up a piece of the and the Overall manager gets his oftentimes there is yet another tier a Middle company which has bought the package of books from the publishers at a wholesale Price and resold them to a firm which is Little More than a sales Organiza there Are Many variations on the profit making but to look at the  business in there Are two Baste ways to see the Money game when it comes to cutting up the the method for slicing the pie is a closely guarded secret it might outrage prospective Here is How the slicing i done among the pm  Field enterprises world and Grolier interstate encyclopedias Ameri Cana and and Book of knowledge the average unit Price to the customer is about cafes gets its six per or the salespersons commission will run around the regional manager normally will get a Cut at least equal to the the Man Ager picks up the Tab for phone main Taining some kind of office set up and lays out Money for so the regional manager picks up about in he normally would get and pay the commission of those sales people under finally theres the european hell take a smaller Cut per despite his overhead but it is necessary to re member that this sales Structure resembles a and he is picking up shares of All those sales made beneath his personal sales Are pure excepting cafes it is estimated that the Europe chief would skim off about per this Means that of the is going out in that May look like just a touch Over 40 per cent until it is realized that this Cio should be measured not against the final Sale Price but against the Cost Price which is More than 70 per cent if a comparison to average retail Mark Ops is to be at these percentages become modest when compared to the pricing for several of the of Post the Federal Trade in pre paring its Case against Grolier for various kinds of alleged sales came up with revealing figures relating Cost to final sales even though the figures go Back to estimates by experts in the business Indi Cate the ratio of wholesale Cost to final Sale Price Hast changed at that wholesale Cost for the 20 volume new age encyclopedia was while the Price to the consumer averaged about Bui encyclopedias Are Seldom sold without an assortment of bound Odds and ends Art classics and the the Etc compilation included the Fol lowing Basic Home Library Grolier classics new age encyclopedia Book of Art childrens hour modern reference encyclopedia modern reference Library and Best loved total wholesale Cost for the entire assortment came to but retail prices toted up to or 5vi times slicing the pie is More complicated for of Post companies setting up a sales business May borrow Money through what is known As a the firms take this Money and place orders for sets of books bought at the wholesale arranging that the sets be shipped to a designated address As sales Are using that representative figure for a Many of the off Post outfits charge to including financing the markup Over wholesale Cost May be several Hundred per for if was paid wholesale for the books and they Are sold for the markup is 400 per the Factor who originally loaned the i continued on Page a2i