**** I just learned that Amazon ISN'T setting prices on my books. They actually ordered four of my POD non-returnable copies of Never Ceese and couldn't sell them and were attempting to get rid of them. Read my newest blog to learn more. I'm sure the price will go straight back up to retail now as I bought the books myself. My work there is done. LOL However I stand by the Small Publisher Abuse claim. Amazon could care less about that.******
Looks like Small Press Publishers will continue to be abused at Amazon in 2012 as the only changes being made are for "big mouth" large publishers who are sinking fast under the weight of ignorance and Amazon's fine attitude that "we break the rules because we can unless you have more money than us."
Oh, you want an example? Sure.
My book Never Ceese, published by Black Bed Sheet Books, distributed by Lightning Source Inc, Ingram's POD publishing arm, retails for $16.95. LSI demands that you give folks like Amazon a 55% discount. And that's EVEN IF you make your books non-returnable so you at least don't have books floating around out there that LSI claims they destroy when they are returned-from-the-bookstore after one or two large bookstores decides to "take a chance" and ordered a few copies (why not. They don't have to pay for the books if they return them. That's what that crappy Industry Standard Return Policy states.) For the record, I don't believe LSI ever sees the "returned-from-the-bookstore books again to destroy then. When I asked to come visit the site where the destruction is done, they wouldn't tell me. Just said, "take our word for it, they're destroyed." Bogus!
Anyway, at a 55% discount Amazon gets the books for $3.00. I have three books on Amazon. All are listed for sale by Amazon at retail or a bit less. At this particular moment, Never Ceese is listed at *drum roll please* $3.00!!!! Hmmmm . . . I recall a similar incident where large publishers were peeved because Amazon was selling their e-books for waaaaaaay less than what they wanted to sell them for. And oh MY, the big publishers got their way, threw out their money and brought their lawyers in. Oh well good for them. Small Publishers barely have enough money to breath much less time to deal with Amazon's maze of operators put in place to baffle and confuse.
So you say, "But Sue, you'll sell more books." Since my books are non-returnable, I know each and every time a book sells and to whom. Would you like to know how many have sold through Amazon at $3.00. None. You can tell this because Black Bed Sheets version has no sells ranking on Amazon. Would you like to guess which book of mine on Amazon does have a sales ranking? The hardback of Never Ceese that Amazon won't take down even though it is no longer available through Baker & Taylor, my first publisher's distributor, and even though I, Sue Dent, the legal rights holder has asked them to remove it. I have the official documentation to prove the reversion of rights and have supplied it to Baker & Taylor at their request and yet Amazon still sells the hardback for retail and "AS NEW." The only place Amazon can get the book is through those liquidators my first publisher sold over 4000 copies to -- for like ONE DOLLAR or less!! Amazon is selling books that they are acquiring for probably less than a dollar for RETAIL and they won't pull the book at MY request. So don't any of you tell me that if you don't like Amazon, pull your book!!!!! You can't. And the reason, I suspect, is that without small publishers, Amazon would go down fast and hard. Yes, I could work and work to get my books off Amazon but unless it is a mass exodus, it won't matter one bit. Well, it will matter to me, one of the many starfish on the beach that perhaps saved myself. But what's the point in that?
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