MSGID: 1:229/426.67 61383638   
   PID: Hotdoged/2.13.5/Android   
   TID: jNode/Android   
   CHRS: UTF-8 4   
   REPLY: 2:221/1.58@fidonet ea9176e4   
   Hello, August Abolins.   
   On 11/19/20 12:10 AM you wrote:   
      
    AA> Hello Charles! ** On Wednesday 18.11.20 - 21:45, Charles Pierson    
    AA> wrote to August Abolins:   
    CP>> I know the price is from the publisher. I understand how all of    
    CP>> that works. I have been on enough writers mail lists to pick up    
    CP>> on that. My point is still valid. They set the price because    
    CP>> there are people that will pay that price.   
    AA> The retail price for the new vanity book by Barack Obama is   set    
    AA> at $55CDN.  I have people resisting to pay the full price      
    AA> because they boast that Amazon is selling for $20.  Are you      
    AA> suggesting that it is therefore poor business choice to stock      
    AA> the book if I am not willing to sell at the same loss as   Amazon?   
      
   I would guess that you have had your business for a while, and that you know   
   your customers and their buying habits.   
      
   So I am pretty sure, minimum order quantities and the like aside, you don't   
   stock more than you believe you will sell in a reasonable time frame, nor an   
   amount that will leave you stuck with a ridiculous inventory tax when that   
   comes due.   
      
    AA>>> shops have simply given up - and far too early IMHO - when the    
    AA>>> the ereader was introduced around year 2006.   
    CP>> Here, I think B&N chased everyone off.   
    AA> I think if some of the independents had rallied together (for      
    AA> support and promotional ideas) they might still be around.   
      
   It's possible. It's also possible other factors might have affected things.   
       
    AA>>> ..The total startup cost   is substantial - for me. There are    
    AA>>> yearly fees to keep the system going.   
    CP>> I've looked into online stores. It's painful.   
    AA> The covid lockdown has not helped the matter. It has driven me      
    AA> into 5-figures of debt - instantly.  It is not an easy peasy      
    AA> solution to just pay for and configure an online presence      
    AA> overnight.   
      
   I know it isn't.  As I've said, I have looked into it some for my own   
   purposes, and there is no way I could manage it in the current environment.   
       
    AA>>> Explain to me how could I sell at below cost (to compete with    
    AA>>> the 4-letter companies) and maintain the fees for an online    
    AA>>> ordering system.   
    CP>> You can't you can't do their volume.   
    AA> Ah.. there is another misconception.  I *can* do the volume of      
    AA> the big guys if I wanted. First, I would need extended   storage.     
    AA> Then, I can send back the copies that do not sell   (within a    
    AA> deadline set by the publisher.)  In truth, Amazon is   making    
    AA> money from other products, not the books. They are   simply    
    AA> undercutting the traditional independent book store,   upselling    
    AA> memberships for their music/movie streaming, the   yearly fee    
    AA> membership for even more apparent discounts and   free shipping,    
    AA> and simply returning unsold copies to the   publishers.   
      
   Not so much a misconception, as an oversimplification.   
      
   Currently, as your business stands, you aren't equipped to do the volume of   
   the big guys.  That's what I meant.  Not that you could never do so.   
      
   And yes Amazon and the like do a huge range of goods and services to offset   
   selling items at a loss that for the most part independent stores can't do.   
      
      
      
   --   
   Best regards!   
   Posted using Hotdoged on Android   
   --- Hotdoged/2.13.5/Android   
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