Selling Direct vs. Distribution questions

Flybikeski

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I am writing a book targeted towards pilots. Good news is that some will almost automatically buy my book, especially around Christmas as it would be a decent gift. Bad news is that it is an obviously very limited market.

I will self-publish, and the good news is that I can promote it myself and reach some pilots with my effort alone (and some money). Thus I can set up an e-commerce site and sell it direct at a very good margin.

However, it would be good for some of the aviation distributors (example is Sporty's Aviation) to carry the book as well as they constantly send out mailers, especially around Christmas. Oddly, I'm not sure I care about Amazon because these other distributors do a better job at reaching my target market.

My question is, do distributors allow you to sell direct? For example, I might advertise in a newsletter, but I would have my website on it, not the distributor's. Do they put any rules on pricing (like you can sell direct, but only at retail?) Is all this negotiable?

Does anyone have any idea what discounts these distributors (they are not book stores, but they carry lots of books) would demand? Around 50%?

Thank you!
 

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I am writing a book targeted towards pilots. Good news is that some will almost automatically buy my book, especially around Christmas as it would be a decent gift. Bad news is that it is an obviously very limited market.

People tend not to buy books because they make a decent gift, or because they are written in a genre those people are interested in: they buy books because they think they are good, useful, or interesting. If your book is all of those things then yep, people who are interested in aviation might buy your book: but first they have to find out about it; and even once they have, they might instead buy one written by a well-known name, or one with better production values than yours. Don't assume you have a built-in market because of the genre you've written in: that's a dangerous path to follow.

I will self-publish, and the good news is that I can promote it myself and reach some pilots with my effort alone (and some money). Thus I can set up an e-commerce site and sell it direct at a very good margin.

Cold selling like this has a very low rate of success. It's in the single percentage points.

However, it would be good for some of the aviation distributors (example is Sporty's Aviation) to carry the book as well as they constantly send out mailers, especially around Christmas.

Do you mean this Sporty's?

They're not a distributor. They're an online shop. "Distribution" involves a lot more than selling online.

Oddly, I'm not sure I care about Amazon because these other distributors do a better job at reaching my target market.

But you wouldn't ignore Amazon, would you? It's free to upload your book there: why not do it? Any sales you get would be extra money in your pocket.

My question is, do distributors allow you to sell direct? For example, I might advertise in a newsletter, but I would have my website on it, not the distributor's. Do they put any rules on pricing (like you can sell direct, but only at retail?) Is all this negotiable?

You're not talking about distribution here, I don't think: just retailers.

In either case, the answer is yes, of course you can sell elsewhere if you want to. It just depends on what you agree with the companies you sell your books to, who plan to resell them.

Some might want an exclusive arrangement. In my experience, the ones who do want to be the only source for your products are rarely the ones who will sell the most. They're only worth dealing with if they give you something in return for that exclusivity, such as a commitment (detailed in a contract, which you can enforce) to a big marketing push, or a minimum order quantity from you (watch out for returns).

Does anyone have any idea what discounts these distributors (they are not book stores, but they carry lots of books) would demand? Around 50%?

Thank you!

Again, I'm pretty sure you're talking about retailers, not distributors: can you clarify?

If they do ask for exclusivity they should commit to a high number of sales, but they will want a strong discount for those sales. It's not unusual for discounts of 55 to 60% off RRP to be made in such cases. But that's for distributors, not retail outlets like Sporty's: a distributor getting 55% would sell to retail outlets for 45-48% off RRP, perhaps, depending on what they'd agreed with them.

I doubt they'd want exclusivity, though (and I doubt it would be a good deal for you to give it to them). You could always ask them what discount they'd expect, and see what they say. You might be pleasantly surprised. Do also ask them if they'd expect your books to be returnable, and ask what stock levels they'd want to hold, because those points are important.
 

Flybikeski

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Don't assume you have a built-in market because of the genre you've written in: that's a dangerous path to follow.
Thank you. I have something unique and I hope interesting, but of course I will not know until the market speaks. (all pilot's guides to date have been small little handbooks with frequencies, list of hotels, etc. I'm writing a large format "Classic airports" book with nice photos, adventures and stories.)

Cold selling like this has a very low rate of success. It's in the single percentage points.
Ouch. I'll keep this in mind and since it sounds like I can use other channels at the same time, I will.

Yes, I was wrong - I meant retailers. Um, Newbie. Besides online Sportys constantly sends out catalogs, so it is a good place to be to reach pilots.

But you wouldn't ignore Amazon, would you? It's free to upload your book there: why not do it? Any sales you get would be extra money in your pocket.
OK. I noticed the other pilot's guides are not there, so I figured it must not be worth it.

Thank you for the help!
 

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(this is just my opinion, but) From the language you're using, it sounds like you're putting faith in a 'build it and they will come' model, which might not necessarily work. I don't know. Maybe it will. But don't assume that anyone will automatically buy anything.
 

Flybikeski

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(this is just my opinion, but) From the language you're using, it sounds like you're putting faith in a 'build it and they will come' model, which might not necessarily work. I don't know. Maybe it will. But don't assume that anyone will automatically buy anything.

Yes, I came across as arrogant and naïve. I think I'm only naïve.

However, I actually do believe there will be some pilots that will buy a large format "Classics Airports" guide should one become available. However I don't plan to just throw something out there. I've spent fifteen years and 2,500 flying hours with a passion for photography and adventure collecting stories so I'm trying as hard as I can to put together a compelling book.

I am taking the PR aspect seriously too. I'm not planning on sitting back. I do plan on spending a lot of time and energy with the aviation publications with advanced copies, sending copies to famous pilots, getting attention in the pilot's forums, etc. Last year I was a presenter at AirVenture Oshkosh, the biggest aviation event in the country, talking about aviation adventures, and I'm pretty sure I can get invited back to talk about adventures / promote the book.

My questions, being a newbie, is how to do all that and not have "channel conflict" if I also use retailers.

At the end of the day, the fact is that my market is quite small, so really this is a labor of love. Still, I realize that without substantial effort it will be a labor of love with a dozen readers instead of one with a few hundred.