Dear Amazon.com,
Please help me understand
In the era when corporate greed is being exposed (Please believe I am a FIRM supporter of the free market and capitalism, just not the greed we’ve seen recently) I wish you to explain to me how you consider your book selling arrangement equitable. Amazon demands ( no room or place for negation ) 55% of the cover price of my book to sell it on the Amazon site. How is nine years of my time (not nine years steady, but a nine year span only worth 45% of the price.
Book Started in Sept 1999
Completed and the printer Jan 2009
Book cost to print Per Copy $5.58
Printer setup up fee $75.00
Shipping to my location. Approx $135.00
Graphic Artist for Cover $800.00
Editor 1 $750.00
Editor 2 $950.00
ISBN Number $50.00
Library of Congress Registration $35.00
Total $2800.58
Price per copy @ 100 copies for first run $28.01
Now I am a realistic person and I realize most of these expenses come with the costs of production and are recouped as I sell and print more copies. Just to make sure that I am fair to anyone who reads this I will have you know that to print more book on a run drops the price per copy. For example, a run of 250 book cost about $5.00 per copy the real price break doesn’t come until you hit over 1000 copies per run.
Now comes your part I do not understand.
I apply to advertise my book at advantage.amazon.com. I input all the information about the book into your system(Yes it's you system and a large one) on my time. I am required to create the graphic for the book cover, label it properly, assure it is in the correct size and format for your database and I have to upload to your system. I have plenty of computer experience so I am fairly sure that the book info is pretty much an automatic process to show up on the website. Making sure the proper graphic goes with the proper book may or may not be automatic. Since you request that the graphic file have the ISBN number as the file name I suspect that this is an automatic process also.
Now My book sells for $16.97
Amazon’s Cut $ 9.33
Left for Author $ 7.64
Amazon expects me to pay for shipping it to them (Media Mail) $ 3.63
Book Cost + Shipping- what Amazon pays
Profit per Book @ 100 copies 5.58 + 3.63 = $9.21- $7.64 -$ 1.57
Profit per Book @ 250 copies 5.00 + 3.63 = $8.63 - $7.64 -$ 0.99
Profit per Book @ 500 copies 4.83 + 3.63 = $8.46 -$7.64 -$ 0.82
Profit per Book @1000 Copies 3.12 + 3.63 = $6.75 - $7.64 $ 0.89
I don’t know about others but at the present time I do not have $3120 to print 1000 copies plus the cost of shipping 1000 books to my residence. Approx $1100.00 shipping. Though I would drive to the next state and pick them up, but that still occurs some expense on my part.
On top of this, if one of your customer order only my book then you charge them the shipping so you make out on the book coming and going. Thought I expect that most people areintelligent enough to spend more then $25.00 so no shipping cost to them under some circumstances.
Now I understand that you have a business to run, a profit to make and expenses to cover. IT cost would probably be among the biggest. It cannot be your help line. (I don’t believe one exists) Advertising is minimal as you are a huge presence on the web. Building and warehouses cost and all other expenses but please how is paying you 55% of the cover price and costing me $1.57 per copy is helping me. I’m also in business to make a profit. Maybe you should cover the shipping to your warehouses. As one of thousands of self- published authors, I’m tired of everyone but the writer/author making out on our work.
I would appreciate you explaining the economics of me showing my book on your website. Unless someone searches for the exact title, my book is just one of thousand and thousands in you database. So, please explain this to all of us who you take advantage.
Maybe that’s why you call the account site ADVANTAGE.AMAZOM.COM
Because it’s a BIG ADVANTAGE FOR AMAZON