Update on Book Markets

Re: [spiers] Re: Update on Book Markets


On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 21:23:14 -0000, "spiersegroups" wrote
:

>
> Jason,
>
> Absolutely not... Amazon will buy from me, compete against me, (or I against
them)
> and I'll sell to anyone I like... and this morning Borders called with a PO
for my book,
> the first time they have ever bought it (I suspect my publisher being a
barnes and
> noble company, borders eschewed them before.)
>
> so today I have been scrambing to set up accounting for Seattle Teachers
College
> press, to procees the Borders order, and it has stopped me from taking my wee
> runabout out on lake washington today to enjoy the sun. (64 and sunny in
seattle).
>
> I'll be lucky if I have time to cover the boat today. Am I to be spared
nothing?!
>
> John
>
>
> --- In spiers@yahoogroups.com, "Jason Carrion" wrote:
> >
> > So I take it that Amazon will now have exlusive access to your book? If
> > that's the case then Amazon will be definately begin selling more copies of
> > the book since it's competition will have limited access to copies.
> >
> > More Amazon sales plus higher royalties per book. Nice!
> >
> > I love Amazon. Can't tell you how much money I have spent with them. :)
> >
> > Jason
> >
> >
> > On 12 Oct 2006 17:31:00 -0000, John Spiers wrote:
> > >
> > > Folks,
> > >
> > > I don't consider myself a teacher, although I do enjoy explaining how
> > > international trade
> > > works, and learning more about it. I do not consider myself a writer,
> > > although I have a book
> > > on Amazon that sells better than hundreds of thousands of other books
> > > there (Amazon
> > > updates sales rates daily (I check occassionally) , and I've seen mine as
> > > high as Amazon's
> > > 3,824th best seller for the day, which means it was a better seller than
> > > millions of books).
> > >
> > > I love lookng at how things work, especially when they are revolutionary.
> > > Clearly Jeff Bezo's at
> > > Amazon has spotted the unfairness in the publishing industry, because he
> > > goes straight at it
> > > and offers remarkably empowering means to writers.
> > >
> > > It is as if Amazon has taken the chief complaints of writers about
> > > publishers, and is working
> > > his way down the list, from top to bottom, solving the writers' problems.
> > > I am wondering if
> > > amazon is not so much a bookstore as a service company, dedicated to
> > > writers (and
> > > musicians, and filmmakers, etc).
> > >
> > > Recently amazon made it easy for writers to become a supplier to amazon,
> > > each writer selling
> > > his own books, with amazon acting as retailer. Publishers and wholesalers
> > > have had such
> > > wretched lock on distribution that writers would get little for their
> > > work. Copyright law
> > > benefits the publishers and the wholesalers, never the writer.
> > >
> > > Amazon has always welcomed people to compete with amazon ON amazon. What
> > > retailer
> > > would allow a competitor to come in and compete on the retailer's
> > > premises? Unheard of,
> > > until amazon. Amazon of course gets a cut of every sale, but what are your
> > > chances of
> > > walking into Saks and saying "let me sell Louis Vuitton luggage with your
> > > luggage, and I'll
> > > give you 10%..." ... ain't gonna happen.
> > >
> > > I see amazon selling my book for $25.95, and other bookstores selling it
> > > for less, on amazon.
> > > Both Amazon and these other bookstores get the book from the exact same
> > > wholesaler, at
> > > the same price, about $15.00. I know this because I get sales reports and
> > > can trace retail
> > > back to wholesale. Amazon charges $25.95, and usually free shipping, these
> > > others charge
> > > around $20, plus shipping. The wholesaler buys my book from the publisher,
> > > who prints it.
> > > These bookstores sell my book on amazon as new, for less than amazon, on
> > > amazon! They
> > > sell quite a few copies, and stock it for quick delivery. Amazon stocks it
> > > as well.
> > >
> > > (And to just make it weirder, Barnes and Noble owns my publisher, but
> > > B&N.com does not
> > > stock my book, they only order against orders!) (My book sells regular
> > > retail as well, with
> > > University Bookstore in Seattle having sold a few hundred copies at
> > > $25.95).
> > >
> > > So, this week I fired my publisher (a B&N subsidiary), became a vendor to
> > > Amazon (they buy
> > > from me for their warehouses instead of from the book wholesalers) I guess
> > > I am now a book
> > > wholesaler too, and I am running this under Seattle Teachers College, Inc,
> > > a corporation I
> > > own.
> > >
> > > Yesterday I received express 20 copies of my book printed in Hong Kong,
> > > pulled out of a
> > > shipment of 1000 books that will eta 6 Nov. These will land warehouse
> > > value at about $3.00
> > > per copy. They are superior in quality of production, paper and ink to
> > > what was made in USA.
> > >
> > > There are reasons for this: one way the government controls the press in
> > > USA is to dictate
> > > paper content and ink composition. the rules are as silly as the EPA
> > > declaring "sand" as a
> > > hazardous material (it's true), but the effect is the price of paper and
> > > ink is far higher in usa
> > > than anywhere else. USA pays the most.
> > >
> > > Labor is not cheaper in hong kong for printing books, because the labor
> > > factor is moot.
> > > Printing is computer and mechanized intensive work. I visited the Hong
> > > Kong plant last April,
> > > and was sorry for America. The expensive part of all this is management,
> > > and Hong Kong has
> > > excess capacity in world class management, therefore management is cheaper
> > > there. (World
> > > class management is in very short supply in USA, so it is too expensive).
> > >
> > > But back to the economics: Amazon will list my book for $25.95, sell it
> > > for something like
> > > $18.00 per copy, and pay me about $12 a copy for my book. As I said, I pay
> > > about $3.00 a
> > > copy. So last week I got about a buck royalty for each copy that sold on
> > > amazon for $25.95,
> > > and next week I'll get about $9 a copy for each book that sells on amazon
> > > for about $18.00.
> > > At the lower price on amazon I suspect I'll be getting more $9.00s than I
> > > was ever getting
> > > $1.00s.
> > >
> > > This is no big deal, it is just an example of how one person, Bezos, acted
> > > on what everyone
> > > knew to be a scam (USA publishing and bookselling) and came up with a
> > > better way. I too
> > > decided it was wrong, and drove a truck thru the opening amazon created.
> > >
> > > Also this week, after topping off the oil in my car at Jiffy-Lube, I
> > > walked into a high end home
> > > furnishings store and blew passed the receptionist alarmed at the carpets
> > > under my arm. I
> > > wandered around until a nicely dressed fellow said "may I help you?" I
> > > dropped the carpets at
> > > his feet and said "an artist has designed these carpets, and had these
> > > samples made in China.
> > > She says stores like your will sell these carpets. Is she dreaming?"
> > >
> > > He replied, "I am not the buyer, just a designer. Here is the buyers name
> > > and number. But if
> > > he will not buy them, I have clients always looking for new and
> > > interesting. Can I take
> > > pictures for them to see." "Sure, and just contact the designer direct if
> > > you want any made..."
> > >
> > > As soon as I can find time, I'll meet the buyer, and let you know what he
> > > says.
> > >
> > > Folks, this stuff is easy... must get going!
> > >
> > > John

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