Everything You Need to Know about Remainder Marks

July 12, 2017

“Is it necessary to mark your books?” “Why are the marks so big?” “Can they be a different color or shape?” “Why do you put that mark on your books?” These are just a few of the questions we regularly receive in regards to the infamous remainder marks that can be found on many publisher overstock books. At Book Depot, we are conscious of feedback from our partners and wanted to take a moment to help explain the process for these often misunderstood marks.

These marks serve a purpose in the publishing world, dictated and added by the publishers themselves. When a book first goes to the retail channel, the balance of unsold stock is returned to the publishers for credit. At that time the publisher marks each book to signify it has previously been through the retail channel. Without that designation, publishers would not be able to distinguish the proper life-cycle of their inventory, forcing them to treat all books as new.

So, ultimately, what do remainder marks mean to you?

In a nutshell, it means deeper discounts, a better sell-through rate, and higher retail margins for your store. Book Depot leverages its strong publisher relationships to garner a huge assortment of categories and titles, which we then make available to you for up to 90% off of the original retail price. Usually, the remainder mark is barely noticeable to the end consumer, and some books do not even have one at all. However, if your customers do ask, you can tell them it is there so they may purchase fantastic books at incredible prices.

To help illustrate our point, we have compiled an infographic to walk you through the remaindering process and why it is significant to your business.