#13 - The only way that bookstores can profitably sell books

[LSAT2020]

Would really appreciate an explanation to this question. Thank you in advance!

[Luke Haqq]

Hi!

Happy to address this question. Absent knowing a particular answer choice that seemed tempting, I'll just focus on explaining the correct answer.

Answer choice (C) states, "A bookstore that profitably sells books at below-market prices gets discounts from publishers."

We know this is true from one of the statements we are given in the passage. Namely, we are told that "The only way that bookstores can profitably sell books at below-market prices is to get the books at a discount from publishers," or:

sell profitably at below-market price discount from publishers

This is what answer choice (C) reflects. We know that if a bookstore is profitably selling at below-market prices, then it must be getting discounts from publishers. The words "only way" seem critical to diagramming this sentence, which indicate (much like the words "only if") a necessary condition is going to follow those words.

Hope that helps!

[simonsap]

Profitably sell books below market price get @ discount from publisher generate high sales volume cater to mass tastes OR have access to mass specialized market

A) mistaken reversal
B) mistaken reversal
C) yes
D) not necessarily, stimulus says "ONLY way store can profitably sell @ below-market prices". Maybe the store gets it at a discount but chooses to sell it at or above market prices
E) why not? doesn't reflect our chain

[alex.r.berson@gmail.com]

Hi there,

I'm confused with the conditional nature of the first sentence - I put "profit" as the necessary condition and "discount" as sufficient. Being that the discount is enough for bookstores to make a profit.

Are there any real tips/tricks to figuring this relationship out right? I've heard that you look at what "only" is modifying, but that doesn't seem to make much sense to me.

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Alex,

Yes, in this case the phrase "only way" tells us what is necessary. We know "only" modifies the necessary condition, which in this case is "way." But what is that way they are talking about? Discounts. So it is diagrammed as: Profitably sell Discount.

Here's some more resources on how "only way" works:

• https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid-28 ... with-only/

And then from our forum (look for my responses to questions about this):

• viewtopic.php?t=7614
  
  viewtopic.php?t=4564

Thanks and good luck!