The U.S. Post Office doing away with surface mail is a no-brainer. Only 2.7% of all international mail is sent via surface mail (or sea-mail as it should be called since the mail spends most of its time in cargo ships on the high seas). The “slow boat to china” routine doesn’t really mesh with the new wired world.
The problem is:
The 2.7% is made up of almost 100% of todays independent booksellers. Removing the primary option for delivery of your overseas orders cannot be a good thing. Of course these changes do not impact the major aggregators like Amazon who have chiseled out agreements that have already put the independent bookseller at a disadvantage.
For the higher-end booksellers the hit is less severe. If a customer really wants a book they will have it sent global priority anyway. The difference in cost is not prohibitive. Don’t forget the favorable exchange rate is also on our side.
When you are talking about books that are sold for $1-25 it gets a little more painful. Remember that many of these online sellers look to shipping charges as profit centers.
It is painstakingly obvious that the Amazon’s and the ABE’s are not in tune with or concerned about the independent booksellers who make up the very network that their success depends on. If they had a clue they would be aware that their whole approach to shipping charges, both domestically and internationally, is so out of wack with the shipping reality of their vendors. Just because they can negotiate a better rate for themselves with the USPO doesn’t mean their vendors have to match that price. It is impossible.
And I disagree with Jordon Gordon, ABE’s head of North American bookseller operations, who says:
“Booksellers who specialize in hard-to-find titles will be more heavily affected… “The Da Vinci Code” will ultimately sell domestically, but there are only a few people in the world interested in, say, an obscure book on medical ethics. And at vastly elevated prices, that book simply will not sell.”
Actually I have no idea what he is talking about. Firstly, No one specializes in hard-to-find titles anymore because there aren’t many hard-to-find titles left. His company ABE took care of that. The “few people in the world” that might be interested in an “obscure book” will be much more inclined to pay a higher price to have the book shipped to them.
Then he uses the “Da Vinci Code”as an example of a book that “will ultimately sell domestically”. There are presently over 3000 copies of the Da Vinci Code in 17 countries offered for sale on ABE. Over 100 of those copies are available for a $1. Who in their right mind would order one from another country. Of course it will sell domestically!
Who hired this guy?
How will it all unfold?
Will there be another bookseller shake-out?
Will the post office save the day and come up with a new mode of delivery?
Will Amazon, ABE and the other book Godzillas wake up and finally charge their customers the actual cost of shipping?
The drama is killing me.
Bob Tedeschi’s article for the New York Times started all this
PhiloBiblos post “Another Slap to the Used/Rare Book Trade”
GalleyCat post
Previously on Book Patrol “They Just Don’t Get It”
and “Abebooks -They Just Don’t Get it Part 2“