The workers are busy on the production line, producing batches of palm-sized books continuously. Such a workshop can produce 100,000 dime series books every day.
Li Jie's first batch of printings was only three series of mathematics, physics and chemistry. He did not plan to publish books on the remaining language subjects. Like English, Chinese requires more accumulation over time. Pure thinking training is not useful for improving performance.
big.
There are a total of 10 primary school mathematics books, 4 junior high school algebra books, 2 geometry books, 2 physics books, and 2 chemistry books. Each book is printed with 100,000 copies, and the total number of printed copies in the first batch is 2 million.
Based on the production capacity of Xinmin Printing Factory, one month is enough to bind 2 million volumes.
Because the production volume is so huge, the cost of each book is compressed to the extreme, with the average cost of a book being only 5 cents.
Although the production cost is only half of the list price, it seems that the profit can be 50%, but after deducting the channel fee, the profit per book is not as high as imagined.
In the early 1980s, the number of private bookstores was very small, and the entire book sales market was almost monopolized by Xinhua Bookstore. When private bookstores were still operating on a small scale, Xinhua Bookstore had more than 70,000 employees nationwide, and it was definitely the leader in the book market.
of giant companies.
Similar to it is the post office, which is said to exist wherever there are people, even in remote places.
From 1979 to 1982, Xinhua Bookstore withheld more than 20 million yuan in profits from bookstores in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai to develop outlets in border areas. It traveled across the country several times. Only Xinhua Bookstore had the ability to spread its sales network across the country.
Because the price of the dime series is cheap enough, it has not only entered the book sales recommendation catalog of Xinhua Bookstore, but also ranked quite high.
At the same time, Li Jie also had a certain say in the price negotiation. In the end, the supply price of each book was one cent higher than originally expected. The supply price of seven cents left Li Jie with two cents.
profit.
According to the national primary and secondary school student data released by the Bureau of Statistics last year, the number of primary school students across the country in 1981 was as high as 140 million, while the number of junior high school students was only over 40 million, only a fraction of primary school students.
The number of high school students is even smaller, with only more than 7 million left. The number of college students is even more exaggerated. All college students in the country combined only have more than 1 million.
The statistics very intuitively show the current situation of education in the country. The higher the education level, the smaller the number of students. The vast majority of students drop out after finishing elementary school. The number of students who are promoted from primary school to junior high school is more than half. Only 18% of junior high school students will choose to graduate from junior high school to junior high school and pass the exam.
The number of people in college is roughly the same as the number of people in junior high school.
However, even so, as long as 10% of primary school students buy books for a dime, the sales volume will be extremely terrifying. Taking into account repurchase, the sales volume will be tens of millions of copies.
Two months later, a set of extremely cheap teaching aids became popular among primary and secondary school students across the country. In just one month, it set a sales record with the highest single volume sales exceeding one million.
The dime book series triggered an overwhelming buying frenzy among parents of primary and secondary school students across the country!
How much is a dime worth?
Two eggs, a pound of rice, a pack of Fengshou brand cigarettes, two fried dough sticks, and 5 boxes of matches.
But now, knowledge can be bought with a dime. With Chinese people generally expecting their children to succeed, the emergence of the dime book series is like manna falling from the sky. Parents who were reluctant to spend money on books before have donated generously.
Xinhua Bookstores in various places kept sending telegrams of inventory emergency to the main store!
Print!
Print!
Crazy printing!
Xinmin Printing Factory changed from the original two workshops to the full production of the whole factory. With the encouragement of banknotes, the workers were divided into three shifts and ran at full power 24 hours a day.
Three shifts and full production 24 hours a day are a very rare phenomenon in this era. This phenomenon can only be seen on emergency tasks assigned by superiors.
The production of the dime book series is simply not up to par.
The main reason why workers are willing to work overtime is because of their honor. Dime Books are popular across the country, allowing primary and secondary school students across the country to use tutoring materials, and these books are all produced by them.
It is precisely because of this sense of honor that they are willing to work overtime.
The popularity of the Dime Book series has also attracted the envy of countless people. The monthly sales of a single volume exceed one million. Which publishing house would not be jealous.
But it sells too cheaply, only a dime. Even if the cost is strictly controlled, the profit from selling a book is only one or two cents.
Piracy and plagiarism only exist when it is profitable, but this is not the case with the Dime Book Series. Publishers with strength, connections, and capital look down on such small profits and work hard to earn more than a year.
Two to three hundred thousand yuan.
Why bother?
Wouldn't it be nice to have a few more foreign masterpieces in that time and earn the same or even more money with less work?
The booksellers who are interested in it have no funds, no strength, and no channels, so they can only sigh in despair and watch eagerly as the dime series continues to become popular all over the country.
The exaggerated sales volume of the Dime Series shocked countless people, and the first one to bear the brunt was the Xinhua Bookstore General Administration. When the general store received sales statistics from various places, the statistician's first reaction was disbelief.
Then, this exaggerated sales volume quickly alarmed general manager Wang Yian.
Wang Yian has been engaged in book publishing for decades. Before the sample book of the Dime Series was sent, he was sure that this book would be popular, but he did not expect that it would become so fast and so fierce.
Judging from the feedback from outlets across the country, outlets that carry the Dime Series have basically cleared out all their inventory within a week, regardless of the quantity in stock.
After the General Administration confirmed the authenticity of the information, the urgent sales quickly spread to Shuimu University Press, and then to Li Jie's ears.
Li Jie was also surprised when he learned that the inventory was out.
Two million copies were sold out within a week.
This is equivalent to making 40,000 yuan in one week by selling books priced at a dime.
Although he knows that this situation will not last long, the profits are amazing enough. From this alone, he will make one million this year.
One million in the 1980s was so impressive.
With the popularity of the dime book series, it will definitely attract the attention of the media. As long as you are willing, it is not difficult to figure out this account.
If he is exposed, he will definitely become the target of public criticism.
Li Jie thought carefully for a long time and finally made up his mind. After the first round of replenishment, production must be controlled from the source.
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PS: There are only two updates today, any outstanding ones will be made up tomorrow.