The only way that bookstores can profitably sell books at below-market

Question

The only way that bookstores can profitably sell books at below-market prices is to get the books at a discount from publishers. Unless bookstores generate a high sales volume, however, they cannot get discounts from publishers. To generate such volume, bookstores must either cater to mass tastes or have exclusive access to a large specialized market, such as medical textbooks, or both.

Which one of the following can be properly inferred?

Which one of the following can be properly inferred?

(A) If a bookstore receives discounts from publishers, it will profitably sell books at below-market prices.

(B) A bookstore that caters to mass tastes or has exclusive access to a large specialized market will have a high sales volume.

(C) A bookstore that profitably sells books at below-market prices gets discounts from publishers.

(D) A bookstore that does not sell books at below market prices does not get discounts from publishers.

(E) A bookstore that not only caters to mass tastes but also has exclusive access to a large specialized market cannot profitably sell books at below-market prices.

shashankism · Accepted Answer

Short Story : 1. The only way that bookstores can profitably sell books at below-market prices is to get the books at a discount from publishers.
2. Unless bookstores generate a high sales volume, publishers are not going to give discounts.
3. To generate high sales volume, bookstores must either cater to mass tastes or have exclusive access to a large specialized market, such as medical textbooks, or both.

Conclusion : To sell books at below-market prices, the bookstore should get discount which is possible only by high volume sales of books which is in turm possible when bookstores either cater to mass tastes or have exclusive access to large specialized market.

(A) If a bookstore receives discounts from publishers, it will profitably sell books at below-market prices. 
This might not be the case, a bookstore may or may not profitable sell books at below-market prices though they can.

(B) A bookstore that caters to mass tastes or has exclusive access to a large specialized market will have a high sales volume. 
This is a required condition but not sufficient. There might be a possibility that even after catering to mass tastes or having exclusive access to large specialized market, high sales volume might not be generated.

(C) A bookstore that profitably sells books at below-market prices gets discounts from publishers. 
This is surely correct. If a bookstore is selling books profitably at below-market prices, it must be getting discounts from publishers.

(D) A bookstore that does not sell books at below market prices does not get discounts from publishers. 
A bookstore might be getting discount from publishers, but not selling books at below-market prices.

(E) A bookstore that not only caters to mass tastes but also has exclusive access to a large specialized market cannot profitably sell books at below-market prices. 
This is totally opposite to what has been described in the passage.

So, My Answer is C (Earlier I marked B. but now I feel B is wrong) . Waiting for the original answer.

sadikabid27 · Answer

GMATNinja  can you help with this one?

bluetrain · Answer

broall · Answer

(A) If a bookstore receives discounts from publishers, it will profitably sell books at below-market prices.
 If could A then B. However, "if B then A" isn't true. The correct logic is "if not B then not A".

(B) A bookstore that caters to mass tastes or has exclusive access to a large specialized market will have a high sales volume.
 To do A then need B or C. However, "if have B or C then A" isn't true.

(C) A bookstore that profitably sells books at below-market prices gets discounts from publishers.
 This choice just restates the first sentence.

(D) A bookstore that does not sell books at below market prices does not get discounts from publishers.
 If A then B. However, "if not A then not B" is wrong.

(E) A bookstore that not only caters to mass tastes but also has exclusive access to a large specialized market cannot profitably sell books at below-market prices.
 This choice logically opposes to the argument above.

atomicmass · Answer

Can you please provide more details such as what problem you are facing or what option you did not understand? I might be able to help you?

pkm9995 · Answer

C looks like the premise itself.How can we call it an inference?

nightblade354 · Answer

Hi  pkm9995109794 ,

An inference HAS to be true. We are looking for the one answer that is 100% true. Given that the question stem states the actual answer, as pointed out above, that means it has to be true. Hence, this our answer. We are not necessarily looking for a conclusion, but simply the correct answer.

For an assumption question, this would be incorrect as assumption cannot state any information in the paragraph.

Does this help?

gmatexam439 · Answer

The only way that bookstores can profitably sell books at below-market prices is to get the books at a discount from publishers. Unless bookstores generate a high sales volume, however, they cannot get discounts from publishers. To generate such volume, bookstores must either cater to mass tastes or have exclusive access to a large specialized market, such as medical textbooks, or both.

Which one of the following can be properly inferred?

Which one of the following can be properly inferred?

(A) If a bookstore receives discounts from publishers, it will profitably sell books at below-market prices. - If the seller gets discount then he might make profits depending on the sales. The inverse is true as per the passage. 
(B) A bookstore that caters to mass tastes or has exclusive access to a large specialized market will have a high sales volume. - Again it is the opposite of what is stated in the passage. 
(C) A bookstore that profitably sells books at below-market prices gets discounts from publishers. - Correct 
(D) A bookstore that does not sell books at below market prices does not get discounts from publishers. - It is not 100% true 
(E) A bookstore that not only caters to mass tastes but also has exclusive access to a large specialized market cannot profitably sell books at below-market prices. - Opposite of what is stated in the passage.

Doer01 · Answer

Hi Experts,
 Below is how I processed given argument. Could you please verify that my line of thought is correct?

Discount from publishers -- will lead to  --> Below-market price sale --will lead to--> Profitablity
High sales volume -- will lead to --> Discount from publishers
Either Exclusive or a large specialized market or both -- will lead to --> High sales volume

Since its clear that "Discount from publishers" is the only thing in the argument that will enable sellers to sale books at below-market price, Option C is correct? ( A bookstore that profitably sells books at below-market prices gets discounts from publishers.)

Arro44 · Answer

The answer to our question is can be found straight in the text:

"The only way that bookstores can profitably sell books at below-market prices is to get the books at a discount from publishers" , every other answer choice makes assumptions based on information we do not have.

sayiurway · Answer

I agree with  pkm9995109794 . Answer C is clearly stated in the first sentence, therefore it is the premise rather than an inference.

nightblade354 · Answer

sayiurway , inference questions, as I stated above, only need to be true. They do not need to be conclusions. The fact that you point it out in the sentence means it has to be true and means that that is, indeed, an inference. Do not confuse an inference for a conclusion.

If I say, for example, bananas are yellow solely because of the sun. The conclusion = bananas are yellow; the premise: because of the sun. Now, if I say, for an answer choice, "bananas get their color from the sun", this has to be true. It does not matter that it is a premise. It is 100% true, albeit stupid.

unraveled · Answer

The only way that bookstores can profitably sell books at below-market prices is to get the books at a discount from publishers. Unless bookstores generate a high sales volume, however, they cannot get discounts from publishers. To generate such volume, bookstores must either cater to mass tastes or have exclusive access to a large specialized market, such as medical textbooks, or both.

Which one of the following can be properly inferred?

Which one of the following can be properly inferred?

(A) If a bookstore receives discounts from publishers, it  will profitably sell  books at below-market prices. - WRONG. May or may not be so.

(B) A bookstore that caters to mass tastes or has exclusive access to a large specialized market  will have a high sales volume . - WRONG. Causality is reversed. IF A ----> B then it can be so that Not B ---> Not A but no so that B ----> A.

(C) A bookstore that profitably sells books at below-market prices gets discounts from publishers. - CORRECT.

(D) A bookstore that does not sell books at below market prices does not get discounts from publishers. - WRONG. If not A then not B is wrong.

(E) A bookstore that not only caters to mass tastes but also has exclusive access to a large specialized market cannot profitably sell books at below-market prices - WRONG. Straight goes against the argument.

Answer C.

agrasan · Answer

Hi  KarishmaB   MartyMurray   DmitryFarber   GMATNinja   IanStewart

I am a bit confused with option A, the passage says " The only way that bookstores can profitably sell books at below-market prices is to get the books at a discount from publishers..."

(A) If a bookstore receives discounts from publishers, it will profitably sell books at below-market prices.

X = Discount from publishers
Y =  bookstores bookstores  can  profitably sell books at below-market prices profitably sell books at below-market prices 
 X is necessary for Y to happen (given)

Is option A wrong because: 
 1. Even if X happens then Y might not happen due to other unknown necessary conditions?  
 2. There is a jump from  "can"  to  "will"

Overall, option A is presents a sufficient condition which we can't infer from the given passage.

Please let me know if my reasoning is wrong somewhere.

bb · Answer

Hi. A is a typical "reverse" logic on LSAT questions and is the reverse/opposite of C so to speak.

In this case, A cannot be inferred since we do not know if a bookstore would choose to sell books below market price. We know nothing about selling strategy, we just know that to sell below the market price, they have to get discounts. A bookstore may choose not to sell books below market price is the bottom line.

IanStewart · Answer

bb's answer above does not capture the important logical point here (and I don't think you should even read answer A as a prediction of what the store will do, as he does, though the meaning of A is ambiguous -- I would read answer A to say "selling books at below-market prices will be profitable for the bookstore").

The issue with answer A is that. it confuses necessary and sufficient conditions. The passage says, roughly, "a bookstore needs a discount to sell cheap books profitably". So the discount is necessary. But it is not sufficient, at least from what we learn from the passage -- perhaps the store also needs some customers, or a downtown location, say. bb is correct when he says this is an issue you see more on the LSAT than on the GMAT.

divyutdebbie · Answer

The passage explicitly says that the only way to profitably sell below-market is by getting discounts. Hence, C is the correct answer.

The only way that bookstores can profitably sell books at below-market

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The only way that bookstores can profitably sell books at below-market

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