This article uses bulk pricing in referring to the wholesale model. I never thought about it like that, but it makes even less sense, because bulk discounts were given to ensure inventory was sold in advance. When there is no physical product that model is useless.
Not really. Wholesale is basically buying a certain size lot for a better discount. For non-physical products it simply means you're committing to paying as if you've sold that lot. A lot of licensing deals work the same way, where you have a certain minimum guarantee of payment. The more you commit to, the better deal you get per piece. If a publisher gets Amazon to prepay for 100 000 copies sold and the product tank and they sell 20 000, the only real difference is that the retailer isn't stuck with 80 000 paperweights.
Many of those "greedy publishers" are on the edge of bankruptcy and Amazon's policies are driving them further under. As a result, publishers are reducing the already low advances they offer to most writers and avoiding books that aren't sure moneymakers.
It's easy to lump every company into the "greedy corporation" bucket. But Random House and Knopf are about as far from Exxon and Monsanto as you can get. And acting like all corporations are the same just hurts the writers who are trying to get by in their chosen profession.
And that's their own fault for not taking their houses under control and into the digital age with their own direct distribution or whatever.
Just like Kodak. Either adapt or bye, bye.
Too bad.
No tears shed.
Comments
This article uses bulk pricing in referring to the wholesale model. I never thought about it like that, but it makes even less sense, because bulk discounts were given to ensure inventory was sold in advance. When there is no physical product that model is useless.
Not really. Wholesale is basically buying a certain size lot for a better discount. For non-physical products it simply means you're committing to paying as if you've sold that lot. A lot of licensing deals work the same way, where you have a certain minimum guarantee of payment. The more you commit to, the better deal you get per piece. If a publisher gets Amazon to prepay for 100 000 copies sold and the product tank and they sell 20 000, the only real difference is that the retailer isn't stuck with 80 000 paperweights.
That's illegal and then I get sued. No thanks.
And that's their own fault for not taking their houses under control and into the digital age with their own direct distribution or whatever.
Just like Kodak. Either adapt or bye, bye.
Too bad.
No tears shed.