The December 1, 2008, issue of Publishers Weekly includes an interesting Soapbox column on the exchange of information between booksellers and publishers/distributors.

“So the current situation is something like this: essential information is going both ways. Booksellers send publishers and distributors their sell-through data; publishers and distributors send booksellers comprehensive title information and comparative analysis. But here’s the bad news: the major booksellers and wholesalers insist on selling their information to publishers and distributors—and expect to get information from us for free.”