1. Is it a socially responsible (legal? ethical?) practice for a bookstore to purchase and then resell these books that were given out as free copies?
While attending college, I spent a few years
working at a used-textbook store. The
majority of the books we sold were purchased from
students, individuals, and used-book wholesalers.
Sometimes, when putting books out on the shelves, I
would encounter books with phrases like “Instructor’s
Copy” or “Sample Copy—Not for Resale” printed
on the covers. When I asked my boss about these
books, he told me that they were free copies given
out to instructors, but it was perfectly legal for us to
sell the books because we had purchased them from
another person. This made sense to me and satisfied
my curiosity.
Later in the day, my boss showed me a pile of
these sample-copy books and said that we should
take colored tape and cover up the areas that
contained the phrases such as “Sample Copy.” When
I asked why we did this, he told me that, although
we were legally able to sell the books, the phrases
sometimes discouraged customers from buying these
copies even though the content was identical to the
standard copies. I then asked how we got these
books if they were instructor copies and were not
supposed to be resold.
I was told that the publishing companies sent
free copies of books to professors to let them read
and evaluate them in the hope that they would order
the book as material for their classes. We got some of
these books when professors sold their sample copies
to us or a used-book wholesaler, but the majority
came from individuals who went around college
campuses (calling themselves book-buyers) buying
these books from professors and then selling them to
a used-book store or a used-book wholesaler.
My boss also stated that, because the content
inside was the same, we really did not care if they
were the standard copy or a sample copy and,
therefore, we bought and sold these books for the
same prices as the standard copies.
1. Is it a socially responsible (legal? ethical?)
practice for a bookstore to purchase and then
resell these books that were given out as free
copies?
2. Is it an ethical practice for the bookstore to
conceal the fact that these books are, indeed,
instructor’s or sample copies?
3. Is it an ethical practice for book-buyers to roam
the halls of college campuses and buy these free
books from professors who no longer want them?
4. Is it an ethical practice for professors to sell
books that were sent to them as free sample
copies?
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