A while ago I wrote a post on Ingram Spark returns. Today I want to give you two stories of authors who had to deal with returns. If you want to know more about how returns work, read my article on that.
This is the tale of two authors. Both used Ingram Spark and sold books on consignment to bookstores, through Ingram Spark’s service.
Books Signings and Building Relationships
The first author does a lot of book signings along with her daughter, who is also an author. Together they do book signings in local stores and anywhere they might travel. They forge relationships with stores and when they are there, they are proactively talking to people, engaging with store patrons. The stores love them!
When they are actively promoting their books in stores, their sales do well. Patrons meet them; store employees and managers meet them. The employees may then recommend their books and sometimes they get premium bookshelf space because of their dedication and ability to build these relationships. It helps sales.
When Your Book is in the System
Sometimes they have had books returned through Ingram Spark, and they had to pay for them to be destroyed because Ingram Spark doesn’t want books to take up space. Sad, but that was part of the deal, and they knew it. Eventually, some local stores started buying their books outright instead of buying them on consignment because they knew they would sell. The stores would buy a few at a time and keep them on the shelves. These stores no longer returned books, and this was because of the relationship that the authors had developed with the store.
When It Hurt
Now, here is where it really hurt them. And this is a direct quote from my exchange with this author,
“And let me tell you when COVID came out and the 2 years following, stores were getting rid of a lot of books.”
The author went on to say, “Now, we are in the system and haven’t done consignment for years. So, there is a difference here as the stores order our books in. However, being in the system makes it easier for both the bookstore and the author. Stores like when you are in their system. It is very frustrating as why can’t they (Ingram Spark) just keep the books and send them with another order that is made. Only reason given is the space so they can’t keep them all. However, what a waste and disservice to the books and environment. But that is how it is.”
The stores that were buying their books, kept the books. The stores that still had them on consignment, returned the books! Ouch!
Author One, Closing Thoughts
She closed her thoughts with this, “I will say though when we were doing book signings, we never had this happen, never paid for any books being destroyed, however, for the past 2 years we have never been able to do signings and that is when it started happening.”
Wow! The lesson here: do book signings. Build relationships with bookstores. Because being in the system is a whole other ball game.
Author Two: Promotion Strategies
In the second story, the author was trying different ways to promote her books. We all need to test promotion ideas to figure out which ones work best.
Success to Disappointment
When she published her first book, she paid for a distributor to put a poster in a US trade show. Over 300 books were ordered by stores. Wow! She was over the moon. Several months later 250 were returned. She bought them at cost plus shipping but then she was over stocked and lost serious money on them. She landed up giving many of them away.
Lesson learned. She didn’t do that type of promotion again.
Learning as You Go
She continued with Ingram Spark, and sales were going well. Then suddenly this year, she received a bill for 113 books. She did not know what she did that some stores ordered them in, but thinks maybe it was a chain store, ordering a few for each outlet.
This is what she said about the situation, “What’s even crazier is when I reached out to ask who, they said they never share that information. The stores doing it, do it without any repercussions in total anonymity. When you get bit, it’s really discouraging.”
If you are selling your books on consignment through Ingram Spark or any distributor, read the fine print. Make sure you are ready to deal with the consequences of their system and the choices you make within that system.
Have you had to deal with book returns? What is your story!
– Keep writing
Melody Ann
Author Nation is your go-to resource for becoming a successful nonfiction author, from planning to promotion and everything in between. Download the resource for the stage you are in.