How a Century-Old Price-Fixing Pact Nurtured Literary Culture, Saved Bookshops, and Vanished Overnight
- David Salariya
- Jun 23
- 6 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
The Gentlemen's Pact That Defined British Bookselling
For nearly a century, buying a book in Britain meant paying the price on the cover. There were no discounts, no BOGOF deals. This wasn’t just a quirk or a tradition. It stemmed from a powerful publishing pact known as the Net Book Agreement (NBA). Introduced in 1900 and abolished in 1997, it was one of the last surviving retail price maintenance agreements in the UK.
Was it an outdated relic of pre-digital elitism? Or was it a visionary safeguard for cultural diversity, small businesses, and serious literature? In this post, I will explore how the NBA emerged, why it survived for so long, and what transpired when it finally fell. More importantly, I'll consider whether its abolition was a triumph of competition or a quiet cultural tragedy.
What Was the Net Book Agreement?
The Net Book Agreement was a crucial agreement between publishers and booksellers. It stipulated that new books had to be sold at a fixed retail price. This “net” price represented the lowest legal sale price. Any bookseller that discounted below this price faced potential repercussions, including being cut off from supply by the publisher.
The primary aim of the NBA was to ensure a fair profit margin for all booksellers, both large and small. It sought to prevent big retailers from overshadowing their rivals and dominating the market. The NBA was not government legislation; rather, it was an industry-wide voluntary agreement. However, it wielded significant power.
When The Times initiated a discount book club in 1905, publishers responded by ceasing supply. Ultimately, The Times backed down, affirming the NBA's authority.
Why Was It Introduced?
During the late 19th century, discounting was rampant. Department stores and book clubs sold popular titles at reduced prices. This practice placed immense pressure on smaller bookshops and diminished author royalties. Frederick Macmillan, yes, that Macmillan, proposed the idea of a fixed-price system to level the playing field. His vision focused on cooperation: every player in the supply chain, from printer to publisher to shop assistant, should have a financial stake in the sale of every book.
"If it is permissible for the majority of the nation to impose its will on the minority…it can surely be no less permissible for the large majority of a trade such as ours to make it impossible for a few recalcitrant members to nullify a movement for the general well-being of the trade."
— Frederick Macmillan: Speech to British publishers ahead of the 1900 Net Book Agreement
Publishers accepted this idea. Booksellers, who were weary of being crushed by larger competitors, embraced it. Thus, the NBA was born in 1900 and largely remained unchanged for the next 90 years.
Bumpus was one of the few booksellers who supported Macmillan’s proposal in the press. He believed only price maintenance could restore vitality to the book trade:
"[He] thinks that nothing but charging the full published price for books will put the trade in a flourishing condition again."
— John Bumpus (bookseller, 1890)
William Glaisher (bookseller, 1890), a prominent London bookseller, dismissed the fixed-price scheme as misguided:
"Mr. Macmillan’s proposal is an absurd one. You cannot alter the existing state of things, and what we must strive to do is to keep the discount where it is."
— (Response given to the Pall Mall Gazette during debates leading up to the Net Book Agreement’s introduction, reflecting free-trade opposition to any resale price maintenance)
How the NBA Shaped the British Book Trade
Under the Net Book Agreement, Britain developed one of the most vibrant and varied bookselling cultures worldwide. This stability allowed for several outcomes:
Bookshops in Every Town: Independent shops thrived under the NBA. From Hebden Bridge to Hampstead, local bookstores maintained diverse inventories without the fear of being undercut by larger entities.
Literary Diversity: Publishers could take creative risks. Bestsellers subsidized poetry, translations, radical politics, and experimental fiction.
Long Tail Publishing: With steady margins, books could remain in print for extended periods. Backlisted titles gained importance.
Books as Cultural Goods: The NBA elevated books beyond mere merchandise. The price represented intrinsic value rather than just an access barrier.
As noted by the Restrictive Practices Court in 1962, the NBA was “in the public interest” - not in spite of its constraints, but because of them.
The Cracks Begin to Show: 1980s–1990s
By the 1980s, Thatcherite economics were reshaping British life, making price-fixing feel increasingly like an economic relic. Supermarkets began seeking entry into the market. Large chains like Dillons and Waterstones started testing the waters with discounts. Publishers like Reed and Hodder Headline exited the agreement in the early 1990s, allowing their books to be sold below cover price. The NBA began to fray.
In 1997, the Office of Fair Trading brought a case to court. Even the Publishers Association had lost faith. The court ruled the NBA illegal and against the public interest.
Just like that, one of the most influential agreements in publishing history vanished.
What Happened Next? The Post-NBA Market
Once fixed pricing ended, competition surged. Here’s how it unfolded:
The Positives
Bestsellers Became Cheaper: Customers often enjoyed discounts of 50% or more.
Supermarkets and Online Retailers: Chains like Amazon gained substantial market share.
Overall Book Sales Rose: In the short term, the industry witnessed increased book quantities and readership.
The Negatives
Independent Bookshops Closed: Over 500 independent stores shut their doors between 1997 and 2009.
Retail Consolidation: A few large players now dominate the market.
The Midlist Shrank: Publishers pivoted their focus to sure-fire hits.
Cultural Centralization: A narrower range of titles garnered promotion and stocking.
A bookseller in 1985 might carry 60,000 titles. Today’s supermarket shelf or algorithm only showcases the top 60.
Was the NBA a Monopolist Dinosaur or a Cultural Shield?
Let’s Examine Both Sides
The Case For the NBA
It protected bookshops, particularly in rural or marginalized areas.
It fostered literary risk-taking and prolonged successful titles.
It established a trusted, stable supply chain, ensuring that everyone—publishers, sellers, readers—knew what to expect.
The Case Against the NBA
It hampered competition and kept prices artificially elevated.
It insulated publishers from modernization.
It was anti-consumer, restricting choices for price-sensitive buyers.
In hindsight, both arguments hold merit. The NBA was a product of its time—a logical compromise in a pre-digital, print-only landscape. However, by the 1990s, it was starting to buckle under new realities.
Terry Maher (bookselling executive, early 1990s), head of the Dillon’s bookstore chain, led the campaign to bring the NBA to an end. He believed that independent booksellers:
"Would remain in good stead” without price-fixing, and claimed abolition would “widen the market for almost all kinds of book."
— Public remarks from trade press and articles circa 1995.
John Calder (publisher, 1997), the independent publisher who fought to preserve the NBA in court, criticized the publishing establishment after the agreement's collapse. He labeled the Publishers Association:
"Craven, foolish, ignorant, and] suicidal” for surrendering on fixed [pricing.
— Comments reported in The Independent and The Guardian during the 1997 court case.
Is There a Middle Path?
Other countries believe so. Nations like France and Germany still enforce fixed book price laws, boasting thriving independent bookshop cultures as evidence of success.
Could Britain have opted for reforming the NBA rather than abolishing it? Some suggest a soft-price maintenance scheme, where publishers set recommended prices but allow modest discounts. Others advocate for public policy assistance for independents, such as rate relief or local grants.
It’s evident that pure market forces haven’t resolved everything. If anything, they’ve narrowed the funnel through which most books are discovered and sold.
A Smart Mistake?
The Net Book Agreement may have appeared as a cartel, but it was a benevolent one. It supported culture, diversity, and local economies. Its abolition yielded some advantages—lower prices, bigger markets, new channels. Yet, it also destabilized a delicate ecosystem developed over decades.
In this light, the NBA may just have been Britain’s smartest publishing mistake. It was economically flawed but culturally insightful—a model of restraint that produced abundance. Once it was dismantled, recreating it proved nearly impossible.
The Cost of Choice: What the Market Gained and Readers Lost
If you’ve ever strolled through a Waterstones and wondered where all the unique, quieter titles went—or if you’ve missed finding rare gems in hidden corners of a bookshop—you’re experiencing the aftereffects of the Net Book Agreement’s fall.
While we may not revert to fixed prices, we can contemplate the kind of book trade we desire. We should also reflect on whether some past ideas still hold relevance for the future.
David Salariya is a recovering publisher and amateur time traveller who still mourns the loss of the Net Book Agreement. Born in a bookshop (emotionally, if not literally), he was raised to believe that books were sacred objects, not two-for-one commodities with a sticker slapped on the cover. The founder of a small-but-stubborn independent publishing house, he now writes, illustrates, and occasionally rants about the absurdities of the book trade, past and present. When not muttering about books, he can be found alphabetising his own blacklist. He believes in fairness, good margins, and the noble tradition of judging a book by its cover price.
He established The Salariya Book Company in 1989, now part of Bonnier UK, and continues to advocate for creative integrity in children’s publishing.
Read more at davidsalariya.com.
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