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Online Booksellers: France To Introduce Minimum Book Delivery Fee
The French government is set to introduce a new law imposing a €3 minimum delivery fee on online book sales. The law, which covers books costing less than €35, is designed to protect independent online booksellers from competition from large online sellers, including Amazon and Fnac.
Existing laws prevent online booksellers from offering free shipping on books. However, until now, retailers like Amazon have largely circumnavigated this law by offering 1-cent delivery. Meanwhile, independent booksellers in France typically charge upwards of €7 for book delivery.
Online shoppers cannot avoid the €3 minimum charge by bundling books with other products or participating in customer loyalty programmes. However, online booksellers will still be able to offer 1-cent delivery on orders more than €35.
According to media reports, French independent booksellers are not satisfied with the law and believe large retailers will still have an unfair advantage (bolstered by an additional $2.99 shipping change). In addition, the French bookstores association SLF believes the €3 fee is insufficient and has called on the government to lower French post office fees for shipping books by bookstores.
