A Level - Consumer Survey

[AlvlStudent]

I am an A Level Student studying Business Studies.
As my coursework project I am working on a solution for Pearson - the -company who owns publishing groups such as Penguin, Puffin, Dorling Kindersley, Frederick Warne and Ladybird aswell as other publishing sectors like Financial Times and Edexcel.

The title of my project is: 'How could Penguin Books reduce their returns?'
Each year Penguin recieves around £20 million worth of book returns from book selling companies who order to many and cannot sell them. It is much cheaper for Penguin to pulp the books rather tahn repackage them. As my project I am solving this problem.

Part of the specification for my project requires me to construct and carry out a consumer survey.

Please just post back your answers in descending order:

Where do you buy the majority of your books from?

Do you regularly order?

How long would you expect to wait when you order?

How much impact to blogs and word of mouth influences you in buying books?

How do you decide what books to buy?

Does the location of the book printing have an impact on what book you buy?

How many Pearson published books do you own and where were the majority of them bought from?

Do you prefere to physically see a book before purchase?

Are you a member of any groups who buy books on mass? E.G Book Clubs.

What do you do with books once you have read them?



Thanks in advance.

 

[Sleepy]

Where do you buy the majority of your books from?

Internet

Do you regularly order?

Yes.

How long would you expect to wait when you order?

Max. one and a half week.

How much impact to blogs and word of mouth influences you in buying books?

25 %

How do you decide what books to buy?

Topic, genre, author

Does the location of the book printing have an impact on what book you buy?

Rarely.

How many Pearson published books do you own and where were the majority of them bought from?

Dunnno, most of them were swapped before and after my reading.

Do you prefere to physically see a book before purchase?

Only the keepers.

Are you a member of any groups who buy books on mass? E.G Book Clubs.

Yes.

What do you do with books once you have read them?

Keep or swap them for another book.

 

[sparkchaser]

Where do you buy the majority of your books from?

Internet. Amazon to be specific.

Do you regularly order?

Yes.

How long would you expect to wait when you order?

3-15 days.

How much impact to blogs and word of mouth influences you in buying books?

About 30% of the time.

How do you decide what books to buy?

Mood and available money.

Does the location of the book printing have an impact on what book you buy?

None whatsoever.

How many Pearson published books do you own and where were the majority of them bought from?

No idea and I don't rememeber.

Do you prefere to physically see a book before purchase?

Most times, yes.

Are you a member of any groups who buy books on mass? E.G Book Clubs.

No.


What do you do with books once you have read them?[/QUOTE]

Keep them if I like them or if I don't like them it then I pass them off one way or another.

 

[AuntiePam]

I love being asked for my opinion!

Where do you buy the majority of your books from?

***Internet -- Amazon, 100%

Do you regularly order?

*** Yes. Two or three a month, sometimes more.

How long would you expect to wait when you order?

*** 5-7 days. I'm never in a big hurry for a book.

How much impact to blogs and word of mouth influences you in buying books?

*** Very little

How do you decide what books to buy?

*** For authors who are new to me, I look for a sample chapter. If I can't find a sample of the writing, I won't buy the book.

Does the location of the book printing have an impact on what book you buy?

*** No (not sure I understand this question).

How many Pearson published books do you own and where were the majority of them bought from?

*** I have no idea. I don't pay much attention to publishers.

Do you prefer to physically see a book before purchase?

*** No

Are you a member of any groups who buy books on mass? E.G Book Clubs.

*** No

What do you do with books once you have read them?

*** I'll keep it if it's something I might want to re-read. Otherwise, I donate them to the local library or give them to friends. I keep about 25% of the books I read.

 

[Heteronym]

Where do you buy the majority of your books from?

Bookstores.

Do you regularly order?

Once a month.

How long would you expect to wait when you order?

Three weeks

How much impact to blogs and word of mouth influences you in buying books?

How do you decide what books to buy?

Either they interest me for their plot, or a friend or a writer I like recommends them.

Does the location of the book printing have an impact on what book you buy?

No.

How many Pearson published books do you own and where were the majority of them bought from?

More than 50, less than 100. I bought most of them on bookstores.

Do you prefere to physically see a book before purchase?

Yes.

Are you a member of any groups who buy books on mass? E.G Book Clubs.

No.

What do you do with books once you have read them?

I put them on shelves and sometimes reread them.

 

[scullyx101]

Where do you buy the majority of your books from?

from where do i buy the majority of my books? amazon, or ed mckay's used book store

Do you regularly order?

yes

How long would you expect to wait when you order?

week or two

How much impact to blogs and word of mouth influences you in buying books?

blogs - none, don't read 'em, word of mouth - every so often, once or twice a month maybe, i usually find my books on my own

How do you decide what books to buy?

if they're on my 14 page TBR list, i buy them, or if they're crazy on sale

Does the location of the book printing have an impact on what book you buy?

i've never once looked at printing location, it has never occured to me to do so

How many Pearson published books do you own and where were the majority of them bought from?

again, you've ended your sentence in a preposition... ugh
there's really no telling, i have hundreds of books and i dont keep track of who published them

Do you prefere to physically see a book before purchase?

if it's possible

Are you a member of any groups who buy books on mass? E.G Book Clubs.

just bookmooch.com, but i think we do more trading than buying

What do you do with books once you have read them?

keep them

 

[Occlith]

Where do you buy the majority of your books from?
Book Clubs, Ebay, mail order book sellers – in that order

Do you regularly order?
No

How long would you expect to wait when you order?
Two to three weeks

How much impact to blogs and word of mouth influences you in buying books?
10%

How do you decide what books to buy?
Good reviews and topic

Does the location of the book printing have an impact on what book you buy?
No

How many Pearson published books do you own and where were the majority of them bought from?
I do not know.

Do you prefer to physically see a book before purchase?
If possible yes, but I've bought many sight unseen.

Are you a member of any groups who buy books on mass? E.G Book Clubs.
I don't know but am currently with QPB books

What do you do with books once you have read them?
If I like them they are kept. Others are donated or given away, become registered to BookCrossing.com, or sold.

 

[Wells83]

Where do you buy the majority of your books from? Amazon or Barnes and Noble

Do you regularly order? Yes, pretty much

How long would you expect to wait when you order? A week or two.

How much impact to blogs and word of mouth influences you in buying books? I'm somewhat influenced. I like to get new ideas but if a book doesn't seem like it's "up my alley" I won't bother reading it.

How do you decide what books to buy? Subject matter and/or author. I frequent the sale shelves quite often.

Does the location of the book printing have an impact on what book you buy? No.

How many Pearson published books do you own and where were the majority of them bought from? Have no clue if I own any. I rarely, if ever, pay attention to publishing information.

Do you prefer to physically see a book before purchase? It doesn't matter either way.

Are you a member of any groups who buy books on mass? E.G Book Clubs. No

What do you do with books once you have read them? If I've bought them, I keep them. Occasionally I may lend them out.

 

[Leeny]

Where do you buy the majority of your books from?

Bookstores

Do you regularly order?

yes

How long would you expect to wait when you order?

7-10 business days. 15 is about max.

How much impact to blogs and word of mouth influences you in buying books?

maybe about 30%

How do you decide what books to buy?

If I've read other things by that author, if I've heard it was good, if it sounds good

Does the location of the book printing have an impact on what book you buy?

no

How many Pearson published books do you own and where were the majority of them bought from?

anywhere between 50 and 100 I'd say. The majority were from Hastings or Barnes and Noble

Do you prefere to physically see a book before purchase?

yes, to make sure that it's not damaged. I'll send it back if it is even the slightest bit damaged because they are a book company. They should be packing their books properly.

Are you a member of any groups who buy books on mass? E.G Book Clubs.

no

What do you do with books once you have read them?

keep them to read again

 

[AlvlStudent]

*** No (not sure I understand this question).

The question regarding the location of book printing was looking at if customers have a consideration for ethics when buying books. In this case Pearson print there best selling books in China because materials are cheaper their aswell as cheaper labour. I just wanted to know if this had any impact on your willingness to buy a book.

Thanks everybody for your time.

 

[nporter]

Where do you buy the majority of your books from?

Retail and used bookstores

Do you regularly order?

Not regularly

How long would you expect to wait when you order?

2 weeks

How much impact to blogs and word of mouth influences you in buying books?

For the actual purchase, not much. But to get me to look for a specific title, highly.

How do you decide what books to buy?

Honestly, the first impression is the cover. If the cover catches my eye, I pick up the book and read the blurb. If it's still of interest, I'll read the first couple of pages to make my final decision.

Does the location of the book printing have an impact on what book you buy?

No

How many Pearson published books do you own and where were the majority of them bought from?

I'm sure I have many but I wouldn't know the actual count. Not necessarily Pearson specific, but their affiliates.

Do you prefere to physically see a book before purchase?

Yes

Are you a member of any groups who buy books on mass? E.G Book Clubs.

No

What do you do with books once you have read them?

Usually I keep them, but I am trying more and more to pass them along.

 

[Hedwig]

Where do you buy the majority of your books from? Book shops

Do you regularly order? No

How long would you expect to wait when you order? 2-5 days

How much impact to blogs and word of mouth influences you in buying books? Quite a lot.

How do you decide what books to buy? Browsing through shops, internet forums, reviews in magazines, TV shows, recommendations from friends and family

Does the location of the book printing have an impact on what book you buy? No.

How many Pearson published books do you own and where were the majority of them bought from? Oh ... I'd have to look that up at home, but not that many.

Do you prefere to physically see a book before purchase? Not necessarily.

Are you a member of any groups who buy books on mass? E.G Book Clubs. Yes (German book club Bertelsmann).

What do you do with books once you have read them? If they were good, I keep them, otherwise I try to sell them or give them away.

 

[silverseason]

Where do you buy the majority of your books from?

Do you regularly order?

How long would you expect to wait when you order?

How much impact to blogs and word of mouth influences you in buying books?

How do you decide what books to buy?

Does the location of the book printing have an impact on what book you buy?

How many Pearson published books do you own and where were the majority of them bought from?

Do you prefere to physically see a book before purchase?

Are you a member of any groups who buy books on mass? E.G Book Clubs.

What do you do with books once you have read them?


Thanks in advance.

1. Used, from local library and charity sales.
2. I regularly visit sales and also swag sites like Bookmooch.
3. From no time to about 3 days.
4. Quite a bit. In book groups we exchange recommendations.
5. By experience with the author or to pursue a particular topic.
6. No.
7. No idea, but many have passed through my hands.
8. Yes. Condition is important for used books.
9. Yes. Our library buys books en mass for the book group.
10. Recycle them back to the library or to Bookmooch.

 

[Peder]

1. Where do you buy the majority of your books from?
2. Do you regularly order?
3.How long would you expect to wait when you order?
4. How much impact to blogs and word of mouth influences you in buying books?
5. How do you decide what books to buy?
6. Does the location of the book printing have an impact on what book you buy?
7. How many Pearson published books do you own and where were the majority of them bought from?
8. Do you prefere to physically see a book before purchase?
9. Are you a member of any groups who buy books on mass? E.G Book Clubs.
10.What do you do with books once you have read them?

1. Half at the bookstore, half on-line. Don't know which is the majority.
2. Yes, much too regularly.
3. 5 days
4. Almost exclusively.
5. Recommendations, personal browsing. Author, title, mainly of interest.
6. No. The quality of the edition does.
7. Can't answer, don't know.
8. Prefer yes, but not necessary. Half I have seen, half not.
9. No.
10.Keep them all, except the few that I can't stand and totally I give up on.

 

[Ice]

Where do you buy the majority of your books from?
Bookshops - mostly Waterstones and Ottakers

Do you regularly order?
Very rarely, normally only for unusual or hard to get items.

How long would you expect to wait when you order?
It depends on the book, if it is now out of print or I am looking for a particular version then I don't mind waiting. If it was a fiction book then I would only expect a wait of a couple of days.

How much impact to blogs and word of mouth influences you in buying books?
Very little, I sometimes go on word of mouth recommendation but not often.

How do you decide what books to buy?
First I read the blurb to see if the plot/content would appeal, if it does I quickly skim the book to check whether or not the writing style is one I like.

Does the location of the book printing have an impact on what book you buy?
No

How many Pearson published books do you own and where were the majority of them bought from?
A few, mostly textbooks (however as I did not place the order I couldn't tell you where they were ordered from).

Do you prefere to physically see a book before purchase?
Yes, unless as mentioned above it is a rare or hard to get item.

Are you a member of any groups who buy books on mass? E.G Book Clubs.
No

What do you do with books once you have read them?
Put them on the bookshelf (although they are currently full so most of the textbooks are boxed up).

 

[oskylad]

Where do you buy the majority of your books from? Neighborhood locally-owned bookstores.

Do you regularly order? Only if not in stock.

How long would you expect to wait when you order? 5 days.

How much impact to blogs and word of mouth influences you in buying books? Minimal.

How do you decide what books to buy? Browsing in bookstore, internet forums, reviews in magazines.

Does the location of the book printing have an impact on what book you buy? No.

How many Pearson published books do you own and where were the majority of them bought from? 10%, purchased in stores.

Do you prefer to physically see a book before purchase? Prefer, but not mandatory.

Are you a member of any groups who buy books on mass? E.G Book Clubs. No.

What do you do with books once you have read them? Usually keep them.