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Remainders (bargain books)
What Are Remaindered Books?
Remaindered books are books that are no longer selling well and whose remaining unsold copies are being liquidated by the publisher at greatly reduced prices. While the publisher takes a loss on the sales of these books, they're able to make some money off the sale and clear out space in the warehouses (wikipedia).
At Politics and Prose we are particularly proud of the quality and selection of our Remainder Room:
The unending flow of distinguished and unusual remainder/sale books into Politics & Prose is an exciting dynamic. We are proud of these quality, diverse selections. Unfortunately, like significant but temporary apparitions, the books will quickly be consumed, and rarely can we get these titles again due to limited supply. Do make a point of browsing this section (on the first floor, across from the coffeehouse) as often as possible--we guarantee the rich rewards! Markdown books, or “remainders,” can be found in lower level of the store. These books are often only available for a short time, so come in soon to find what you want.
Remainder highlights from the week of 3/5/08
•Laurie Greer |
The number of birdwatchers in this country is estimated to be over 80 million. Audubon was one of the first to study North American birds, and is still one of the biggest names in ornithology. In 
If you’re looking for some good fiction, we have it in all varieties. 
Louis Bayard, whose Mr.Timothy followed Dickens’s Tiny Tim into adulthood, turns to history for his second novel, 
Also based in history, but enhanced by imagination and narrative skills, Frederick euss’s 
Easter is around the corner, and we have
What are Remainders?
by Gerry Wartofsky
Politics & Prose carries a fantastic variety of sale or bargain books. In publishers' terms these are "remainders," loosely defined by the OED as "copies of a book left unsold when demand has fallen."
I wish to think of a more positive and likely figurative definition, stemming from the Latin ramenere or Old French remanoir meaning "continuing to exist or stay," that is, quality literature is timeless, and not necessarily based on the vagaries of the general public.
Years ago, in combing a trove of reduced price books, I instinctively happened upon the title Auto Da Fe by Elias Canetti. Finding the work wondrous, I was stimulated to collect his other works. I was excited to learn that the author became a Nobel Prize recipient. So good work "continues to exist, stay and be cherished, albeit entering the realm of 'remainderdom'," and an author, happily, is revisited and his work revived.
Publishers' overstock takes on different configurations. A title may be relinquished to a distributor, or temporarily reduced in price to sell off overstock. The latter is known as a "white sale;" the title will eventually return to its original price.
Book clubs, such as the Book-of-the-Month Club, sell the overstock of their versions of titles (often they will print a paperback version before the book has been issued in paper by the publisher) to distributors who then make them available to booksellers as remainders. Also, the overstock of an overseas version (for example, British) of a title that is no longer available in the U. S. may be remaindered.
We have carefully chosen titles that we believe in, representing a wide range of subjects in fiction and non-fiction. The discerning reader will be delighted to find both hardback first editions and paperback frequent sellers at a fraction of the price. Titles are generally in limited supply, thus a precaution to those who hesitate!
