I recently stumbled across this article complaining about how a bargin bin table at Costco had books like the DaVicni Code in which the myths of Christianity are critically analyzed. The author claims that this is an inappropriate way for Costco to greet its Christian customers.
However, as the very first commentor points out, 5 of the 7 books are in the top 300 sellers list on Amazon. Thus, perhaps, instead of wanting to piss off their Christian customers, they're simply offering books that are known to sell well at a time when interest in the topic is likely to be high. But that can't be right. It must be a deliberate attempt to mock Christians.
And amazingly enough, the author points out that the seven anti-Christian books he was able to find were an a 40 ft long table full of books. I'm wondering how many more books were loaded with pro-Christian rhetoric. I know at my local groceries, the check out aisles are full of books proclaiming the goodness of God. Only in a small note at the end does the author admit that this Costco carried the American Gospel and NIV bibles as well as study companions.
Costco's religion selections in books is rather extensive, probably about 1/5th of the non-kids section of the table (and bible stories run about 1/10th of the kids section, more during religious holidays like easter and christmas), ranging from the mostly secular "Chicken Soup" collection up to the occasional Dobson book.
ReplyDeleteCostco's policies are simple. They don't (and won't) take sides. They carry the books that they can get on the cheap (and high quantity for volume supplier discount) and still expect to sell, just as with every product they carry.
The DaVinci Code sold (and sold well; Costco's sales don't even figure into the NYT listings) and was being made available cheap, so they carried it.
As for "bargain bin"? Well, CostCo only has the one book table (I've been to 4 of them; they're all the same), so if one book is in the "bargain bin", every book they carry is in.
On the other hand, TDC doesn't actually investigate or criticize "myths of Christianity" - its whole premise is presenting supposed evidence for an alternative story of Christ that the Bible doesn't describe (except in rare hints that only show up if you look at it through near-Baconesque glasses). Nothing in the book (that i've heard of) specifically looks at a biblical claim with any sort of objective eye.
Costco not taking sides is what I'd presumed. Aside from bookstores that explicitly market their material to certain groups, I can't imagine any store intentionally picking sides just to piss their customers off. But that's what Christians want to think so they can feel persecuted. Just like Jesus.
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