Monday, March 29, 2010

Don't like the read? Get your money back

The red sticker says "Love it or your money back." Sounds faintly like a threat but it's actually a promise. The book on which the sticker appears can be returned with receipt and a refund claimed if the reader doesn't like it. The first deal of its kind in India, it is being offered by publishers Hachette India on Krishan Pratap Singh's Delhi Durbar.

The Publisher's Promise is singularly daring. And it smacks of over-confidence. But Singh, 34, is nonchalant. "It's the height of arrogance to write a book in the first place," he says laughing, "And if you're going to chicken out at the end, there's no point to this," he says. Plus, he thinks it a good marketing strategy.

Anup Bamhi of Khan Market bookstore, Faqir Chand, agrees. "It's something unusual. People may buy for the heck of it. Then it's discussed among friends." Faqir Chand has sold 35 copies since its release on March 1 and none have been returned. "People like it. Or they are embarrassed to return a Rs 195 copy," says Bamhi chuckling. More seriously, he argues that people may have considered recouping the amount if the title was, say, for Rs 795.

Full report here The Times of India

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