Just wondering if Ingram is a legit distributor and if they get books into the stores. Someone told me that they do not take returns so stores do not want to deal with them.
thanks dond
thanks dond
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Ingram is a distributor, yes. They're one of the largest.
Whether they take returns ... is determined by the publisher, not by the distributor. The discount rate that bookstores get is set by the publisher, not by the distributor. Price is set by the publisher, not the distributor.
Ingram is a wholesaler. They're a set of warehouses. Bookstores can order books from many publishers with one order to Ingram's rather than a number of orders to separate publishers.
Ingram does not have a salesforce. Selling books is up to the publisher.
One division of Ingram is Lightning Source International, which prints books POD for a variety of publishers. It's a plant filled with digital printing machines. Again, discount and returnability is set by the publisher, not by Ingram. (Few bookstores want to stock POD books, but that's another story altogether.)
Whether they take returns ... is determined by the publisher, not by the distributor. The discount rate that bookstores get is set by the publisher, not by the distributor. Price is set by the publisher, not the distributor.
Ingram is a wholesaler. They're a set of warehouses. Bookstores can order books from many publishers with one order to Ingram's rather than a number of orders to separate publishers.
Ingram does not have a salesforce. Selling books is up to the publisher.
One division of Ingram is Lightning Source International, which prints books POD for a variety of publishers. It's a plant filled with digital printing machines. Again, discount and returnability is set by the publisher, not by Ingram. (Few bookstores want to stock POD books, but that's another story altogether.)
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POD?
James,
If Ingram produces the POD book for a publisher then isn't it Ingram that must decide if the book can be returned? It does not seem that Ingram would print the book, send it to store, and if returned it would go to the publisher. I assume that publishers that use Ingram for POD do not have any place to store returned books.
James,
If Ingram produces the POD book for a publisher then isn't it Ingram that must decide if the book can be returned? It does not seem that Ingram would print the book, send it to store, and if returned it would go to the publisher. I assume that publishers that use Ingram for POD do not have any place to store returned books.
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It depends, Dond. Lightning Source and Ingram are NOT publishers. Ingram is a distributor and Lightning Source is a printer.
Lightning Source is capable of runing print runs just like any other printer.
Lots of major publisher will pod a run of books to keep it in print when they suspect it is not worth another large printing.
POD is a technology first, a business model waaaaay second.
Lightning Source can run 2,000 copies of a book and ship them to the publisher to warehouse, it doesn't have to warehouse those books FOR the publisher.
The publisher sets terms of sale, not the printer or the distributor.
Regards,
Scott
Lightning Source is capable of runing print runs just like any other printer.
Lots of major publisher will pod a run of books to keep it in print when they suspect it is not worth another large printing.
POD is a technology first, a business model waaaaay second.
Lightning Source can run 2,000 copies of a book and ship them to the publisher to warehouse, it doesn't have to warehouse those books FOR the publisher.
The publisher sets terms of sale, not the printer or the distributor.
Regards,
Scott
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Gosh I hope we dont have another potential Rockway author here. Dond? Have you surfed through the threads here to find out if the publisher you are considering is listed here? Or checked at P and E? This sounds suspiciously like a thread here. If the publisher is telling you Ingram is going to distribute and shelve your books in bookstores, they are not being honest with you.
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dond said:
No. That's entirely the publisher's call.
Ingram has lots of warehouse space.
Publishers set the terms.
Here's a post I wrote a while back about reserve against returns: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=633211&postcount=5244
Here's another which, amidst much extraneous material, has a pretty good (IMHO) overview of publishing:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=118783&postcount=3100
priceless1
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Jim, back when were still looking for distribution, we talked with Ingram at the BEA. They were launching a distribution service at that time, and invited us to be a part of it. We noticed several indie publishers whom we knew that were set up in the Ingram section. We didn't get the chance to talk to them, as the place was a zoo.James D. Macdonald said:
What turned us off immediately was their lack of information. Here they were trying to pitch a new distribution company, but they wouldn't give us pricing, their sales force numbers, or their success rates. We didn't pursue it any further, and went elsewhere.
I have no idea whether this leg of Ingram is still in existence or how how it's doing. All I know is that they were trying to break into the distribution end of the market. Maybe others know more.
Dond, the publisher and their distributor are the ones who set the pricing, discounting and returnability. It's our product, not Ingram's. They're simply there to be a warehouse.
