The current system of fixed book prices is old-fashioned and ineffective and so should be scrapped, the Dutch consumer authority says in Thursday’s NRC.

The fixed book price means that books have the same price wherever they are sold. The publisher chooses what this should be. But in an opinon piece in the NRC, the consumer watchdog ACM says the system keeps prices high and leads to fewer book sales.

The idea of the fixed book price is to encourage retailers to also sell less popular books. It also allows specialist book shops to compete against shops which only focus on best-sellers.

E-books

The ACM also argues that the fixed book price has become outmoded in a time of e-books, which do not have fixed prices, and self-publishing.

Supporters of the fixed price system say they worry publishers and bookshops will focus on best-sellers.

A spokesman for the book sellers’ association Koninklijke Boekverkopersbond told the NRC that Canada, Denmark and South Korea are now considering introducing fixed prices.

The Dutch arts and culture council is currently looking into fixed book prices and culture minister Jet Bussemaker is due to take a decision after the summer, the Volkskrant says.