Attention, shoppers: Walmart and Amazon are in a price war

Not sure how WE win as authors since to sell at Walmart, the publisher has to give deep discounts, which affects the writers percentage unless the contract specifies list price...

As a consumer, of course I am always looking for better deals, but I try to support the mom and pop brick and mortars or chain stores where possible. I stay away for grocery stores, walmart and even Amazon when possible. In other words, even as a consumer, I try to support the same arts I want to be a part of...

Nick Anthony

thothguard51 said:

Not sure how WE win as authors since to sell at Walmart, the publisher has to give deep discounts, which affects the writers percentage unless the contract specifies list price...

Click to expand...

Most royalties are based on list, not net. At least from major publishers which are what Wal-Mart sells anyway.

Is it just my imagination, or does Stephen King's new novel have the same hook as the Simpsons movie?

maestrowork said:

Most royalties are based on list, not net. At least from major publishers which are what Wal-Mart sells anyway.

Click to expand...

Have yet to sign a contract, but from what I have read, most major publishers have the contracts worded in such a way that even list is not list once the deductions for book clubs and such are listed.

Nick Anthony

I'm moving this to Roundtable, though I'm not certain that is the proper for this conversation, either. Office Party? P&CE?

thothguard51 said:

Have yet to sign a contract, but from what I have read, most major publishers have the contracts worded in such a way that even list is not list once the deductions for book clubs and such are listed.

Nick Anthony

Click to expand...

Yes. There's usually a special proviso in contracts that allows for reductions to royalties in the case of "special purchases", IE, high discount purchases by, say, WalMart, for example.

willietheshakes said:

Yes. There's usually a special proviso in contracts that allows for reductions to royalties in the case of "special purchases", IE, high discount purchases by, say, WalMart, for example.

Click to expand...

Can they increase sales enough to make up for the cut?

If not, I'm against it. I know it's not my call to make if I'm just the writer, but in spirit I'm against it.

We're not rakes or snow blowers.

If by 'we' you mean writers, no, we don't actually win. There's a real danger here that lowering the prices on bestsellers will reset buyer expectations to lower prices overall. And that isn't good for writers. Not saying I think readers should be gouged, just that there needs to be a balance point between what's fair to readers and what's fair to writers, and $10 is NOT it.

Terie said:

Not saying I think readers should be gouged, just that there needs to be a balance point between what's fair to readers and what's fair to writers, and $10 is NOT it.

Click to expand...

10$ sounds fair to the reader, me. Course, don't want those low prices attracting new and more vigorous readers... F4T

Cheaper isn't always better...

If people expect that hardcovers should only cost $9 (because most people don't understand loss-leaders, anyway) then they're even LESS likely to buy a hardcover of an author not deeply discounted by Wal-Mart. Now, sure, the best sellers are fine, but there are many more authors out there who may get less sales because a reader will think, "Author B's book is overpriced" instead of "Author A's book is being sold at a loss because the seller hopes I'll buy more while I'm there."

People already have skewed expectations of what things should cost, without understanding production cost, etc. As a writer, I'm appalled that the only thing that matters is the price on the cover (and the Name Brand) not the quality of the material inside. As a reader, I'd rather spend $13 bucks for a soft cover copy of the completely fabulous Baby Shark series of books rather than another churned out "best seller" that is light even on it's formulaic plot (like some of the recurring authors who write a variation of the same thing every couple months.)

If price is all that matters, than with libraries, few people have ANY excuse not to be reading. But library circulations are FALLING, even though library books are FREE to patrons. Price isn't making for greater numbers of readers in that case... why?

An interesting article/blog post about it from an industry insider: http://antickmusings.blogspot.com/2009/10/british-style-book-price-wars-come-to.html

Obviously, this is good for consumers in the short run -- lower prices are always good for consumers. But it's bad for publishers, and will be bad for the ecology of books in general; a world in which Wal-Mart sets priorities for bookselling is not a healthy one. As everyone in the business knows, prices that low either mean the retailer is selling at a loss (likely in this case, for now) or that the retailer is pressuring the publisher for ridiculously high discounts (which I expect to see soon, as has happened in the UK).

Click to expand...

Wal Mart is evil. I go to stores that are higher in price, and I don't have the money to spare. Proof of evilness. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6958916/rssuserland

http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=65

http://en.maquilasolidarity.org/currentcampaigns/Bangladesh/walmart?SESS89c5db41a82abcd7da7c9ac60e04ca5f=mrdvpcufw

I wouldn't buy the cure for cancer from them.