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Update Announcements
by Craig Stark
#127, 14 September 2008
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Something surprising happened last month: ChooseBooks/ZVAB, one of nine bookselling venues I sell on, accounted for 12.2% of my fixed-price sales. No big deal? Well, consider that in August 2007 I didn't sell a single book through this venue. The difference? Every ChooseBooks/ZVAB sale last month headed overseas. International sales, in fact, now account for about 30% of my total sales across all venues. I realize that this is could be a somewhat temporary phenomenon - that is, if the dollar rebounds anytime soon - but meanwhile, if you aren't selling internationally, I strongly urge you to start. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results.
A few more numbers, equally interesting: Last month my eBay Stores accounted for 21.4% of my fixed-price sales. Not too bad, I guess, but compare this to August 2007, when my Stores sales were 29.6% of the total - or August 2006, when they came in at 46.4%! I've received reports that many other booksellers are experiencing this same trend. It may not be time for us to get out yet, but this should inspire you to look for alternate marketing strategies or venues before things get any worse.
July's Top 10 on eBay is here today, and Pamela Palmer notes: "Alcoholics Anonymous monopolized the non-fiction top 10
list in July, filling 8 of the 10 positions. Selling prices ranged from a high of $12,100 to $2,010. One US seller had a winning
month on eBay, selling 3 of the copies. In case you wonder, #11 for the month was yet another copy of Alcoholics Anonymous.
In addition, it showed up as #5 (tie) on the Antiquarian & Collectible list. The fiction list counted its repeat winners as well.
Ian Fleming's James Bond titles came in at #1, #2 and #3. In an unusual twist, the Antiquarian and Collectible category included 4
buy-it-now (BIN) purchases among the 6 listed (tie for #5)."
Also today are new installments of QMR Book of the Month and the Gold Edition Quotation of the month. A second-to-last reminder:
Effective October 1, 2008, new subscriptions and renewals to both QMR and the Gold Edition will no longer be accepted. All current subscriptions will be honored for their duration. To clarify - you may purchase a new subscription or renew an existing subscription until the deadline. You may also piggyback a subscription that doesn't expire until after the deadline, and we'll advance it an additional year. Rest assured, there are no changes contemplated regarding the issue frequency of either newsletter. QMRs will continue to be issued quarterly, Gold Editions monthly. Beginning October 1, current issues will be available for purchase as they appear, and of course back issues, special offers, and back issues packages will remain available as well.
Subscribe here.
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