A story which is not for the faint hearted!
In the world of Ultimate (oops, sorry) Amazon, my books have a magic power. The cloak of invisibility. Because, dear reader, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but to get 'discoverability' you have to pay to play. It's not enough that selling via Amazon means they take 55% of costs, they also want to be able to get the books off me for free, hold onto them for as long as they like and then hand them back to me in a 'used' state, 'unsold' leaving me mightily out of pocket. And my pockets aren't that deep. So, you'll find, if you try to buy via Amazon, that little tricks like quoting one month to three months delivery time, or 'book unavailable' are designed to put you off. [do they think you'll buy a more 'acceptable' book otherwise?] There's lots of 'tricks of the trade' like this if your face doesn't fit the correct publishing algorithm. I am here to tell you that the distribution chain from printer (Ingram) to Amazon is quite simple: Ingram will print books as soon as the order comes in, and have them delivered to Amazon (or you) forthwith. There's no need for any wait or unavailability. But I can't 'fight city hall.' So I set up my own online bookstore - called Unco Books. See me, the cheek to rival Amazon! The good news for you is that the books from Unco come in a timely manner, either from my small stock at home or direct from Ingram but we cut out the 55% that Amazon (or a 'real' bookstore if you order from them) demand for being the middleman. I mean, they're not even offering increased 'visibility' for their 55% so it's hard to work out why one would pay them? The point is, that for you, the books will probably be cheaper via Unco because that 55% is no longer payable. So the book which would cost £14.99 from Amazon costs £9.99 from Unco. (Note, IF my books sold hundreds or thousands of copies on Amazon the price would come down but only then.) You may baulk at the postage costs. but my recent purchases on Amazon suggest that unless you are part of 'Prime' or pay over £20 then you don't get free postage anyway. Unco postage costs are the REAL cost of sticking the book in an envelope and putting a stamp on it.
It's up to you how you choose to purchase, if indeed you DO choose to purchase, and I respect that. But research suggests that some people are frightened of the idea of a small independent online bookstore. You should be more frightened of Amazon (in my opinion!) I certainly am.
In the world of Ultimate (oops, sorry) Amazon, my books have a magic power. The cloak of invisibility. Because, dear reader, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but to get 'discoverability' you have to pay to play. It's not enough that selling via Amazon means they take 55% of costs, they also want to be able to get the books off me for free, hold onto them for as long as they like and then hand them back to me in a 'used' state, 'unsold' leaving me mightily out of pocket. And my pockets aren't that deep. So, you'll find, if you try to buy via Amazon, that little tricks like quoting one month to three months delivery time, or 'book unavailable' are designed to put you off. [do they think you'll buy a more 'acceptable' book otherwise?] There's lots of 'tricks of the trade' like this if your face doesn't fit the correct publishing algorithm. I am here to tell you that the distribution chain from printer (Ingram) to Amazon is quite simple: Ingram will print books as soon as the order comes in, and have them delivered to Amazon (or you) forthwith. There's no need for any wait or unavailability. But I can't 'fight city hall.' So I set up my own online bookstore - called Unco Books. See me, the cheek to rival Amazon! The good news for you is that the books from Unco come in a timely manner, either from my small stock at home or direct from Ingram but we cut out the 55% that Amazon (or a 'real' bookstore if you order from them) demand for being the middleman. I mean, they're not even offering increased 'visibility' for their 55% so it's hard to work out why one would pay them? The point is, that for you, the books will probably be cheaper via Unco because that 55% is no longer payable. So the book which would cost £14.99 from Amazon costs £9.99 from Unco. (Note, IF my books sold hundreds or thousands of copies on Amazon the price would come down but only then.) You may baulk at the postage costs. but my recent purchases on Amazon suggest that unless you are part of 'Prime' or pay over £20 then you don't get free postage anyway. Unco postage costs are the REAL cost of sticking the book in an envelope and putting a stamp on it.
It's up to you how you choose to purchase, if indeed you DO choose to purchase, and I respect that. But research suggests that some people are frightened of the idea of a small independent online bookstore. You should be more frightened of Amazon (in my opinion!) I certainly am.
And for any real geeks who want to delve more into the 'costs' of this endeavour. Here goes: SOME FACTS OF PUBLISHING LIFE in 2020.
I have to set the price at £14.99 as retailers demand 55% simply to list ‘product’. Cutting out that middle man, via Unco I can offer the same book to you at £9.99 (plus standard postage UK) so that you’re likely to pay around £12.
Where does your money go?
£3 per book goes to Royal Mail (that's the postage costs you are charged)
£1 (or more) goes on packaging materials and petrol costs
£1 (at least) goes in various ‘fees’ associated with banks and online payments
£5 goes to the printers
£1 goes to maintaining website
And oh, the remainder, usually around £2, goes to keep me in the style to which I am accustomed - in accordance with a quote from S.R.Crockett 'In Scotland literature begins on the premise that hungry dogs hunt the best.'
The extra £5 you pay Amazon goes directly to Amazon... so that you'll see when I sell on Amazon I'm actually giving them more than double what I get myself. So if you'd rather give Amazon £5 than me £2 that's your privilege.
You’re right, for that paltry sum of £2 per book, I might as well give them away for free, and believe me, I'd love to… except that if you do that maths you’ll see that giving it away for free actually costs me around £10! And I can't afford that level of philanthropy.
I have to set the price at £14.99 as retailers demand 55% simply to list ‘product’. Cutting out that middle man, via Unco I can offer the same book to you at £9.99 (plus standard postage UK) so that you’re likely to pay around £12.
Where does your money go?
£3 per book goes to Royal Mail (that's the postage costs you are charged)
£1 (or more) goes on packaging materials and petrol costs
£1 (at least) goes in various ‘fees’ associated with banks and online payments
£5 goes to the printers
£1 goes to maintaining website
And oh, the remainder, usually around £2, goes to keep me in the style to which I am accustomed - in accordance with a quote from S.R.Crockett 'In Scotland literature begins on the premise that hungry dogs hunt the best.'
The extra £5 you pay Amazon goes directly to Amazon... so that you'll see when I sell on Amazon I'm actually giving them more than double what I get myself. So if you'd rather give Amazon £5 than me £2 that's your privilege.
You’re right, for that paltry sum of £2 per book, I might as well give them away for free, and believe me, I'd love to… except that if you do that maths you’ll see that giving it away for free actually costs me around £10! And I can't afford that level of philanthropy.