| This is
a consignment operation, which means that the publisher
will: |
| a) |
own the stock and controls the rights
to the books at all times |
| b) |
have last say on stocking and pricing
levels |
| c) |
receive a much better return on UK
sales than by selling rights, or from an arrangement
which only repays at a fixed discount off the retail
price |
| |
| The overall cost of
sales and distribution is covered by a charge on
a percentage of net turnover (that is, total invoice
value of sales, less the value of any credits).
This charge is deducted from the publisher’s
revenue. |
| |
| The charge
includes: |
| • |
all sales commissions |
| • |
sales management costs |
| • |
distribution and warehouse costs |
| • |
carriage costs on all despatches in
the UK |
| |
| Additional charges are
only made for certain ancillary services, which
are usually carried out at the publisher’s
instruction, or (if not) which the publisher can
easily avoid: |
| |
|
| • |
at the warehouse: despatch of free
copies (for review, samples, consignment stock movements
back to the publisher or to third parties), price
or bar-code stickering, re-packing, shrinkwrapping,
pulping, storage of large overstocks, etc |
| |
|
| • |
at the sales office: printing/photocopying
sales material when advance covers and jackets have
not been provided by the publisher. A summary of
optional advertising, cataloguing and exhibition
opportunities is listed in the Advertising &
Exhibitions page of this website. |
| |
| The “total invoice
value of sales” is the retail price of the
books, after the booksellers’ discounts have
been deducted. Discounts vary from customer to customer,
from 35% to 55% depending upon volume and the type
of book being sold. Some books are sold at full
price, and the publisher benefits from that high
revenue. |
