Future of Online Bookselling is a Bleak Prospect

It is quite difficult to come out with a clear answer to the question of prosperity of online book selling. Though it started its journey few years back, lots of problems still persist. On the other hand, till now, this very industry has not been an admired one that is comprised of highly reputed publishing houses throughout the globe. The chief reason behind this is people do not even care to visit the online publishers since they can satisfy their demands from the nearby retail stores or by any other possible means. Apart from this the appeal of books is on wane and for that millions of unsold books, even after one year of their publications, continue to wait in the warehouses of the publishers. Theses reasons are simply enough for the publishers to establish print on demand facilities. This innovative system makes it possible for them to avoid the cost of printing thousands of copies for inventory with the associated inventory, distribution, middle-man, and over producing/remainder costs. We must remember, if any publisher fails to sell his books over years, it can jeopardize his business and may also denote the final shutting down.

Now, as far as the online booksellers are concerned, the situation is indeed very tough for them. Why? There is estimation that throughout the world more than a hundred thousand independent booksellers do operate and this number is also increasing rapidly. There have been also several extensive studies in the international market to assess the success and failure of this very industry. These studies do estimate that over 250,000,000 books are sold annually. If there are 150,000 booksellers supplying these books, they are averaging over 135 sales per month. Where is then the prospect of online bookselling? Definitely it is true that through the websites like Amazon.com, Alibris.com and others on an avail the books but still there is a long way to go. Undoubtedly the industry of online bookselling industry is becoming competitive, but the others are also pursuing the same track, at the same time.