Baker & Taylor has made it official: it is leaving the wholesale retail book market. The move was hinted at when it became public late last year that the company was in talks to sell its retail operations to Ingram and then in the departure over the last few months of key retail staff members. B&T will focus on its traditional core business of servicing libraries, as well as publisher services…
Paul Swydan, owner of the Silver Unicorn Bookstore, West Acton, Mass., wrote on Twitter, “It means I will make less money when I fill special orders for customers, because Baker & Taylor’s sole competition offers a much lower discount.” He added, “In the larger sense, it’s another example of how Amazon is crippling this country in their mostly unchecked quest to monopolize any business they choose to focus on.”
