Editing Encyclopædia Britannica (section)

=== Sales and marketing ===
Although prior to 1920 the ''Britannica'' was primarily sold by [[mail-order]],<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Gilmore |first=Nicholas |date=2017-08-30 |title=Death of a Sales Scheme: Encyclopedia Shysters of the Door-to-Door Age |url=https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2017/08/death-sales-scheme-encyclopedia-shysters-door-door-age/ |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=The Saturday Evening Post |language=en-US}}</ref> after that time the ''Britannica'' was almost exclusively sold by [[Door-to-door salesman|door-to-door salesmen]],<ref name="Barnett">{{Cite news |last=Barnett |first=Laura |date=2012-03-14 |title=Death of a salesman: no more door-to-door Britannica |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/shortcuts/2012/mar/14/britannica-death-salesmen-door |access-date=2025-01-21 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> who often used [[high-pressure sales]] tactics or outright deception in order to secure purchases of the expensive work,<ref name=":2" /><ref name="brit-myth">Einbinder, Harvey ''[[iarchive:mythofthebritannica|The Myth of the Britannica]]''. New York: [[Grove Press]], 1964 (OCLC 152581687)/ London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1964 (OCLC 807782651) / New York: Johnson Reprint Corp., 1972. (OCLC 286856)</ref><sup>317-330</sup> from which they gained a significant commission, which in the United States in 1971 was $120–200 (around ${{Inflation|index=US|value=120|start_year=1971|r=0}}-${{Inflation|index=US|value=200|start_year=1971|r=0}} adjusted for inflation) per sale.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Lichtenstein |first=Grace |date=1971-09-26 |title=Encyclopedia Sale Abuses Go On Despite New Laws |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/26/archives/encyclopedia-sale-abuses-go-on-despite-new-laws-abuses-by.html |access-date=2025-01-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> These high-pressure sales tactics resulted in high levels of turnover among ''Britannica'' salesmen, with the company often exaggerating the ease of making a sale to employees, as well as engaging in deceptive job advertising in order to entice people to become salesmen.<ref name="brit-myth" /><sup>317-330</sup> The ''Britannica'' was sued several times by the American [[Federal Trade Commission]] for deceptive practices.<ref name="brit-myth" /><sup>317-330</sup> These practices were common among American encyclopedia companies.<ref name="brit-myth" /><sup>317-330</sup><ref name=":3" /> The development of the significant sales force began in 1932, with most senior leadership of the company by the late 20th century coming from the sales division.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Greenstein |first=Shane |url=https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/greenstein/images/htm/research/cases/encyclopaediabritannica.pdf |title=Crisis at Encyclopaedia Britannica |last2=Devereux |first2=Michelle |date= |publisher=[[Kellogg School of Management]] |year=2006 |archive-date=25 June 2008 |access-date=21 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625000654/https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/greenstein/images/htm/research/cases/encyclopaediabritannica.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

While early on the ''Britannica'' was marketed to adults and in particular during the 19th and early 20th centuries, to an elite educated audience,<ref name="brit-myth" /><sup>152-153</sup> by the mid 20th century, the ''Britannica'' (as well as other American encyclopedias<ref name=":3" />) were primarily marketed to middle-class parents who wished to seek a good education for their children, despite the text not being aimed at a child's reading level.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="brit-myth" /><sup>317-330</sup><ref name=":3" /> During the 20th century, the ''Britannica'' differentiated itself from other encyclopedias by using its long pedigree to present itself as a premium brand.<ref name=":4" /> Once the encyclopedia was purchased, it was often little read by its buyers.<ref name="Barnett"/>