Double Counting. Since the List takes into account both wholesalers and retailers, there's a potential for a book to be double counted. If a wholesaler counts a book it purchased from the publisher at the beginning of the week, and that book is then forwarded to a retailer and sold, if both the wholesaler and retailer are one of the List's sources, that book would be recorded as two sales for the week instead of one.

Manipulation. Where double counting is more of an unintentional error related to the format of the List, there are plenty of examples where publishers, authors, and interested third parties have deliberately tried to influence the list. Ranging from bribing booksellers to fudge numbers to authors buying large quantities of their own books, there are plenty of examples of people who have tried to manufacture a best seller. One company, ResultSource, even centers its business around campaigning for specific results, such as getting a book on the NYT Best Seller List. Pastor Mark Driscoll, for example, paid $200,000 to guarantee his book a spot on the best seller list. ResultSource then arranged to have 11,000 copies of the book purchased in one week from strategically-selected retailers and wholesalers, which were enough weekly sales to ensure a No. 1 debut for Driscoll's book, Real Marriage.