We've had three bookshops in the Bay which closed down almost as quickly as they had opened. I just don't think the locals read more than one or two books a year, and believe you me, that's a lot of colouring-in to do.
Of course, I had supported them all, but a patronage of one was hardly enough to keep their lights on, even in the last of the three shops whose books had all carried the infamous remainder mark, giving it a bigger profit margin than its two predecessors.
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A remaindered book is a book that has been returned to the publisher by the bookseller. When a bookstore has a book that just isn’t selling, they want to get it off of their shelves and make room for a more popular title. The bookstore can send all of their copies of that book back to the publisher and receive a refund.
 a dot placed on the forehead of a person means the person is an Indian. The publisher gives the book a remainder mark and re-sells the book at a lower price to outlet stores or other booksellers. This process allows the publishers to recoup some of their printing costs, and the mark identifies these books so that they cannot be returned to the publisher for yet another refund.
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So it's back to searching ebay for something interesting to read, or taking pot-luck with what our local op-shops have to offer, once this coronavirus lockdown is over and they are open again.
