Okay, so Elizabeth and I, newly inspired from the annual Trade Show, were talking about future educational seminars, and the idea of co-op came up, as always. I thought we could have a session where we go in-depth about what each publisher requires to get co-op. I was thinking a downloadable spreadsheet that had all the publisher contact info requirements. Then Elizabeth said, "Wouldn’t it be nice if the publishers all had the same co-op form? Like the college common application?"
Wow! What a brilliant idea. What would happen, say, if all the major publishers made it easier for bookstores, large and small (especially smalll, who can’t afford to have someone on staff to just do co-op) to claim co-op? I know it’s easy to claim co-op from some publishers, and not so easy from others. I think a universal co-op form would be an outstanding idea, and it would get a lot of stores to order more backlist. It could be a win-win for all involved. I mean, if Harvard and Yale can share an application, why can’t the major publishing houses?
Or how about an even more radical idea? Publishers forget co-op and give independent booksellers a better overall discount so we can spend our time and energy marketing their books and not filling out paperwork to prove we’ve marketed their books. It would also save them a salary or two, plus all the time their reps spend helping accounts with co-op and all the time their credit depts spend chasing down co-op claims that have been taken by accounts but not yet credited by the co-op folk. Definitely could be a win-win.
Hello American Booksellers Association board of directors………are you reading this?
Is there a petition to sign? Sign me up!
Interesting, I`ll quote it on my site later. Saurooon