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1folio_books
Along with my copy of the Edward Thomas LE brochure I received this morning I found (of course) an order form. I don't normally pay too much attention as the bulk of my ordering is done on the phone or through the website but, the form having given details for ordering the Brooke LE alongside the Thomas I was first struck by the difference in the cost of p&p. For two very similarly sized books (this has been discussed elsewhere on this Forum), why the increase from £6.95 (Brooke) to £8.95 (Thomas)? This in turn led me to peer over the page at the p&p costs for other current LEs. For all its bulk The Faerie Queene costs a comparatively measly £6.95, same as when I bought it (I thought it was a bargain then). Japan is another bulky title, p&p £9.75. Door in the Wall, tall but quite thin, £12.95. The Poetic Edda, stocky but no solander, £12.50. Alice in Wonderland a fairly average-sized LE in solander, £15.95.
To me the charges seem quite random. Please note I am not saying the charges are excessive, just inconsistent. Happily, the Letterpress Shakespeares are uniformly priced at £7.95 p&p per volume.
Just saying ...
To me the charges seem quite random. Please note I am not saying the charges are excessive, just inconsistent. Happily, the Letterpress Shakespeares are uniformly priced at £7.95 p&p per volume.
Just saying ...
2EclecticIndulgence
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3Jayked
I haven't received mine yet, but postage to Canada was $45, about 27 pounds sterling. That must be close to the going basic rate for individuals. I recently priced an 8lb parcel at nearly $70 to the UK, over $30 to the contiguous US. At one time there was a special book rate, but in Canada that seems only to apply to libraries now. The $14 quoted by FS for one regular book is well below basic rate.
On the other hand a firm such as Book Depository can send a book "free shipping" in a basic covering for a total price below the usual postage cost. How do they do it?
On the other hand a firm such as Book Depository can send a book "free shipping" in a basic covering for a total price below the usual postage cost. How do they do it?
4Santas_Slave
>3 Jayked:
Huge warehouses and they supply wholesale to almost every physical bookshop in the UK. They're also in a pricing war with amazon (who started charging postage on books).
Huge warehouses and they supply wholesale to almost every physical bookshop in the UK. They're also in a pricing war with amazon (who started charging postage on books).
5affle
>4 Santas_Slave:
Small snag with your theory: Amazon and Book Depository are parts of the same company.
Small snag with your theory: Amazon and Book Depository are parts of the same company.
6Santas_Slave
>5 affle:
You're right - I'm thinking of Wordery which has free worldwide delivery
Sheer volume is what keeps the price low.
You're right - I'm thinking of Wordery which has free worldwide delivery
Sheer volume is what keeps the price low.
7Jayked
>6 Santas_Slave:
Yes, but the price is so low sometimes that it wouldn't cover the cost of normal postage, let alone the book; presumably they get some sort of bulk discount. Does Folio? (There are obvious differences in the quality of packing. BD sends every book individually in the most basic cardboard sleeve, but I've never had a damaged delivery from them.)
Yes, but the price is so low sometimes that it wouldn't cover the cost of normal postage, let alone the book; presumably they get some sort of bulk discount. Does Folio? (There are obvious differences in the quality of packing. BD sends every book individually in the most basic cardboard sleeve, but I've never had a damaged delivery from them.)
8Santas_Slave
>7 Jayked:
I've had damaged orders from them - all quickly replaced mind you. Also, I think they tend to get books straight from the publisher so they are often new and unblemished.
The cost to make one more paperback is incredibly low, especially since they are tax exempt. Folio is a publisher and BD/wordery are wholesalers who also supply books straight to market so they are not directly comparable (BD/wordery gain a chunk of their revenue supplying bookstores across the globe in addition to direct sales).
One of Folios biggest costs is rights acquisition & printing permissions; comparatively small printing runs mean this heavy cost has to be shared between fewer books (the main reason Lolita is pricey is that Nabokov's rights are particularly expensive). Anyway, this results in a higher cost per book for Folio whereas BD sells books in such volume that delivery costs can be absorbed into the price. More volume also means they can negotiate with delivery firms which folio are unable to. And, not only is FS packaging more substantial & the weight is heavier (>1KG makes a big difference as can't fit through letterbox), the cost of staff is higher, London living wage, and they pack less books for their time than the production line in BD's warehouse.
I suspect if you order from a smaller publisher from BD at a discounted rate they are likely to lose money in the transaction w/ free shipping. But they need a wide variety and uniform pricing to attract more customers and make more on the high volume items. The volume of BD is many orders of magnitude higher and the cost many orders lower.
I've had damaged orders from them - all quickly replaced mind you. Also, I think they tend to get books straight from the publisher so they are often new and unblemished.
The cost to make one more paperback is incredibly low, especially since they are tax exempt. Folio is a publisher and BD/wordery are wholesalers who also supply books straight to market so they are not directly comparable (BD/wordery gain a chunk of their revenue supplying bookstores across the globe in addition to direct sales).
One of Folios biggest costs is rights acquisition & printing permissions; comparatively small printing runs mean this heavy cost has to be shared between fewer books (the main reason Lolita is pricey is that Nabokov's rights are particularly expensive). Anyway, this results in a higher cost per book for Folio whereas BD sells books in such volume that delivery costs can be absorbed into the price. More volume also means they can negotiate with delivery firms which folio are unable to. And, not only is FS packaging more substantial & the weight is heavier (>1KG makes a big difference as can't fit through letterbox), the cost of staff is higher, London living wage, and they pack less books for their time than the production line in BD's warehouse.
I suspect if you order from a smaller publisher from BD at a discounted rate they are likely to lose money in the transaction w/ free shipping. But they need a wide variety and uniform pricing to attract more customers and make more on the high volume items. The volume of BD is many orders of magnitude higher and the cost many orders lower.
