Waterstone's 3-for-2 books dropped

Waterstone's 3-for-2 books dropped NEWS

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After 10 years of the 3-for-2 book offer, Waterstone's will be dropping the deal this month due to poor sales.

The withdrawal of the deal synonymous with Waterstone's is expected to be replaced by a new pricing structure, seeing books sold individually for cheaper than their recommended retail value.

Many publishers have welcomed the change, chair of the Trade Publishers' Council, Ursula Mackenzie, has said the decision is 'a good thing'.

'I'm not sure that the 3-for-2 is what people are looking for. They want one book, at the cheapest possible price.' Mackenzie told The Bookseller.

While thriller author Charles Cumming shares his concerns, telling the BBC News: 'My worry is that without the presence of a 3-for-2 deal, established authors will still be sold at an attractive price, but that emerging writers will no longer have a platform.'

Cumming argues that the deal allowed new or lesser-known writers to gain more exposure by having their work placed amongst the best-sellers such as JK Rowling. He then went on to say he believes more obscure authors 'may suffer'.

Waterstone's, which was bought by Russian businessman Alexander Mamut earlier this year, has faced heavy competition from online stores offering better deals on books. As a result, the sales have suffered but Managing director, James Daunt, is said to be hoping for sales to pick up over the Christmas period.