As the "618" promotion is approaching, dozens of publishing institutions have issued statements not to participate in the promotion plan of a certain e-commerce platform's "618" full variety book at a 20-30% discount, which has attracted the attention of the industry and readers. In the eyes of industry insiders, the conflict between publishers and channels in book pricing has a long history, and the publisher's boycott of the 618 promotion is a concentrated outbreak. Multiple publishing institutions have withdrawn from a certain platform "618". Recently, 10 publishing institutions, including Tsinghua University Press and Peking University Press, stated in a joint statement that they will not participate in the promotional activity required by a certain e-commerce platform "618" to sell all kinds of books at a 20-30% discount. The reason is that "in order to maintain the long-term healthy development of the market, we believe this is a necessary measure.". Another statement issued by the Shanghai Publishing House Management Association shows that "maintaining the stability and prosperity of the book market and opposing disorderly competition", 46 publishing institutions in Shanghai will not participate in the "618" promotion of a certain e-commerce platform. "A 20-30% discount can be said to be breaking through the bottom line." A staff member from Peking University Press said. At present, other publishing houses have issued separate statements stating that they will not participate in the above-mentioned promotional activities. In response, the book procurement and sales staff of the e-commerce platform stated that they only want to sell cheaper books, expand sales through small profits and high sales, and create profits for their partners. On the reader side, the discussion is intense. Some people say that cheaper books are a good thing; Some people believe that "bottomless low prices" will ultimately kill publishers who hope to make good books; Some people also point out that channel merchants offering discounts can force publishers to set high prices, creating a vicious cycle. What is the confidence in resisting major promotions? "We participated in the big promotion of the e-commerce platform, and even if we sold a lot, we couldn't make much money. We just joined in the fun." Ms. Yu, a marketing editor at a publishing house in Anhui, said that discounts during major promotions are determined by the platform, and publishing houses are forced to participate in activities. A major promotion can indeed boost book sales, and for some inventory books or books that have already been returned, it is still appropriate to sell them at a lower discount. "But this time the requirement is for 'all varieties', and it's 20-30% off, which is close to the cost price. The publishing house really can't accept it," Ms. Yu said. It is worth mentioning that the current national book retail market has undergone changes. According to market research data from Beijing Open Book Company, short video e-commerce accounted for 26.67% of the nationwide book retail market in 2023, second only to traditional platform e-commerce and ranking second among all channels. "The rise of live streaming platforms has also made many publishing houses unwilling to be controlled by these traditional e-commerce platforms, and the bargaining 'dominance' of large platforms in the past is declining." In the view of Mr. Zhang, who has been engaged in the publishing industry for many years, the discount offered by platform e-commerce this time is lower than before, which is not unrelated to the impact of short video platforms. Nowadays, many publishing houses have opened their own live streaming rooms or entered the live streaming rooms of various influencers and book bloggers, and the sales channels for books are increasing. The "lowest price on the entire network" has become a selling gimmick in many live streaming rooms. "Platform e-commerce usually offers discounts, and influencers' live streaming rooms may have exclusive gifts with different gameplay," Ms. Yu said. Who the final say book pricing? Mr. Zhang told reporters that a few years ago, e-commerce platforms began to sell books at a 50% discount, leading to a "normalization of discounts" in the book market. Many regular books can be purchased at a 50% discount, and the pricing of publishing house books has gradually increased as a result. The price increase is mainly to cope with this normalized discount. "We have already considered discounts when pricing our books." Mr. Chen, a book planning editor at a publishing house in Beijing, said that apart from labor costs, the cost of a book mainly includes two aspects: typesetting, design, and printing, and the author's fees. If books are discounted by 20-30%, most publishers may lose money. The publishing house where Ms. Yu and Mr. Chen are located has not withdrawn from the promotion of platform e-commerce. They all believe that publishers who dare to challenge the platform have "a good variety of books to support them, and their products have the confidence to resist without worrying about selling.". Another book blogger pointed out that publishing houses used to rely too much on platform e-commerce and abandoned physical bookstores in the process, and now they are expected to be subject to price control by the platform. In addition, some books have low quality and reader reading habits have changed, leading to a decrease in book prices. However, low prices and vicious price wars are definitely not conducive to the long-term development of the industry. Who the final say the price of books? Industry insiders have analyzed that books belong to special commodities, and some countries may intervene in the price of cultural products such as books, and regulations prohibit arbitrary discounts. Designing a book price policy that is suitable for China should be put on the agenda. (Lai Xin She)