Brick & Mortar Vs Online (again)
Posted by: WordVixen in blog response, I need advice, not meA few days ago, I asked whether it was better to buy from a brick and mortar store, or order online. Well, I stumbled across the post where Miss Snark explains it all (I knew she talked about it!).
First, authors aren’t paid based on where their books are sold, they are paid on the basis of cover price OR net proceeds. Net proceeds is used when big volume retailers (think BN, Borders, WalMart, Costco) buy the book at a steep steep discount (often 60% off cover prices). Author royalty rates for those buys are less than they are for other buys made by people who get a smaller discount (ie indie stores, libraries).
So, if you buy a book online from BookSense, you’re contributing more to the author’s bottom line than if you buy it online from BN. Same place, different vendor, different discount, different result.
Same for online preorders – from whom you order is the key.
Ahah! So, my favorite authors will benefit more from orders placed elsewhere than they will if I buy from the convenient source. But, I don’t have to feel guilty about not buying in a brick and mortar store (as we don’t have any indie book stores around here). Yay!
Entries (RSS)
I think most authors would say, I don’t care where, please, just buy the book! (And read it, and tell your friends, and buy it for Christmas presents…)
That is pretty damn interesting. Did not know.
thanks for the info!
-L.
Britta- I think you’re right! I just try to make sure that new novelists get the most bang for my buck. At least, the ones I like.
Lisa- You’re welcome! I’m going through the Snarkives, and keep running across valuable information that I didn’t see before.
This was German to me. I get so confused at the thought of royalty rates and percentages. Stupid math.
*lol* I’m not good at advanced math- but if it’s related to money (specifically mine), I’ll figure it out!
I have to say I like the Web because it is fast.
Tracy- Oh yeah baby! And no driving involved! The book I was after is The Big Picture; I’m probably going to order it through the store you guys have on TitleTrakk (just forgot the name of it). I was surprised that their price is even lower than Amazon’s! It’s either that or check out Berean’s this weekend. I haven’t read On The Loose yet though (I’m in the middle of Hollywood Nobody- you’re right, it’s great!), so I’m not in a rush.