Re: Amazon.com Advantage

**"bbmackey" b*@prodigy.net**

As a small independent publisher, I use the Amazon.com Advantage program and 
have been doing so since 1997. For the first few years there was no annual 
fee. The 55% discount to them is standard and is no worse than that given to 
major distributors.

To be in this program you have to be the producer or publisher, or at least 
the owner of the books. If you are an author but not a publisher, you still 
may be able to be in the program but only if you have control of your own 
books. For instance, you may be offered a chance to get hold of all the 
copies of your old book which is about to be taken out of print -- trashed 
or remaindered. If you take your publisher up on this you may be able to 
convince Amazoon to let you be in the program, for that title.

Currently the annual fee is $29.95, which makes little difference to me 
because of the large numbers of books I sell this way on Amazon, far more 
than I can sell on my own website. Being in the program gives me advantages 
and disadvantages, but the advantages clearly win.

Negatives. On the negative side, the discount I must give them is quite high 
so my profit margin is slim.

I have to ship the books as consignment orders, and sometimes the quantities 
are annoyingly small. That leads to mailing Amazon multiple small packages, 
at my own expense of time and cost.

Sometimes Amazon runs out -- they have some kind of formula they use to 
estimate how many to get of each title, and it does not always work because 
of seasonal factors with garden books.

I am taking all the risk and only get paid if someone buys from Amazon.

Positives. On the positive side, being in the Advantage program gives me a 
lot of visibility. My books are featured right up there with the books of 
big name publishers, and sometimes I outsell them too.

Amazon.com seems to supply books to Amazon in other countries, but I do not 
have to ship to those countries myself.

Amazon handles all the paperwork with extreme expertise and efficiency. I 
have never doubted their honesty. I am always paid on time. I do not have to 
generate the invoicing or labels -- Amazon does it.

Unlike big distributors, Amazon almost never returns any books. Very rarely 
some books damaged in shipment are returned for replacement. I don't get old 
shopworn books back for "credit." I refuse to deal with some distributors 
because of their outrageous returns policies, which can bankrupt a small 
publisher.

Any author who works with me can say in an interview that the books are 
available on Amazon.com, so it is less of a problem if the book is not in 
the bookstores of that region.

People trust Amazon but may be reluctant to place an order with me if they 
have never heard of B. B. Mackey Books. So they order from Amazon and 
everyone is happy.

Since Amazon helps me sell more books than I could do without them, I can do 
larger print runs which give me a cheaper cost per book.

In addition to the Amazon Advantage program for publishers, I sometimes 
participate in the Amazon Marketplace, especially if I have a book with a 
scratch or dent in it. Anyone can do this. I describe the damage, take a few 
dollars off the asking price, and someone comes along and buys it and I have 
one less damaged book lurking around. Unlike eBay, you pay commission if the 
books sells but listing it is free.

With best wishes,
Betty

Betty Mackey, Publisher
B. B. Mackey Books
P. O. Box 475
Wayne, PA 19087
bbmackey@prodigy.net
www.mackeybooks.com

I ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Graham Rice" <garden@tiscali.co.uk>
To: "Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum" 
<gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2005 12:52 PM
Subject: [GWL] Amazon.com Advantage

> Has anyone sold their books through the Amazon.com Advantage scheme?
> If so I'd be interested to hear your thoughts - and, in particular,
> is the annual fee and the fat discount they demand really worth it?
>
> Info on Amazon.com Advantage is here:
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/partners/direct/advantage/home.html/ref=adv_ld_advl/104-1810132-5921567
>
> Graham Rice
> Milford, PA

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