Re: Amazon.com Advantage

**Graham Rice g*@tiscali.co.uk**

That was my thinking, Betty, to sell copies of remaindered titles (of 
which I have a number of boxes... says he vaguely...!). I can offer 
the advantage that they'll be signed and listing them will give me 
the opportunity to move on some books, make space in my basement, 
make a little extra income, enhance my profile and, as you say, 
ensure that books are available without having to go through the 
business of packing and mailing them myself one by one. But with 
amazon needing a 55% discount I have to have bought them at a 
knock-down price to make it worthwhile.

One the good things about this program seems to be "Advantage gives 
you the ability to include bibliographic data, descriptions, 
editorial reviews, artwork, etc.--all at no charge. We'll even scan 
your cover art." Have you made use of this facility? I see they've 
scanned your cover art for Creating And Planting Alpine Gardens.

C.L. - It sounds as if you're sending books to amazon as they're 
ordered by customers while Betty is sending boxloads... Have you 
tried selling them through the Marketplace and perhaps getting a 
better percentage? Or will that mean selling fewer copies?

I'm going to look into this some more and will report back.

Graham Rice
Milford, PA

>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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