The Book Distribution Quagmire

 

The popularity of navigational systems for cars tells us that people are in frequent need of direction. These systems are supposed to be helpful, but they can be as imprecise as plotting a route spanning several blocks, ultimately leading you to the ‘nearest’ gas station located on the same block on which you started. Unclear or complicated routes can be frustrating, and when a navigational tool cannot give you the direction you seek, you are likely to hit a dead end.

 

Point being, we recently learned this to be the case with booksellers and publishers seeking information about their product through distributors. We explored the frustrating route leading publishers to a dead end while asking (what we thought) was a simple enough question: who bought the book?

 

We were very surprised at the answer we received at the end of our route.

 

Ingram: According to the company website Ingram “…offers a wide variety of services that provide suppliers with the tools they need to stay close to the sales activity and the markets that we jointly serve.” Sound promising? Sure, but we wondered how close can you stay to the activity when you aren’t given the right directions, or all the information?

     

Rumor has it; Ingram won’t offer information directly to the publisher. Furthermore, the information that Ingram makes available for publishers to “stay close” to the selling process does not include the purchaser of the products and the location at which the products will be distributed.

 

The Scenario that played out: We contacted Ingram and inquired about information questioning such allegations, the response was an indirect affirmation.

 

When first requesting sales information as an author, about a product being sold through Ingram the response was, “Your publisher is responsible for letting you know your sales information.”

 

The company website also supports this saying, “For authors whose titles are currently distributed by Ingram Book Company, please contact your publisher directly for information regarding sell-through promotion, stock or other questions related to your book.” Based on these statements the author should seek information from the publishers.

 

So, we went back to the publisher and asked the question: “Who bought our book?” As we suspected, the publisher let us know that Ingram does not supply this information: they can only tell us how many books were sold, not who bought them.

 

In response, we reported to Ingram that the publisher did not have access to such information because supposedly Ingram did not offer any. Ingram’s only response, “We can only provide sales information to your publisher, not who actually we sold it to.” An answer!

 

Privacy: While we understand the need for privacy, shouldn’t there be an opt-in disclosure for bookstores to let publishers and authors know that they have been buying their books? Shouldn’t the distributor be providing this information?

 

In terms of privacy, Ingram is adamant about maintaining user confidence and protecting user privacy. They ensure confidentiality promising in their privacy policy, “…Ingram does not disclose a user’s specific information to third parties.” Evidently Ingram is not the only company who practices the ‘we will not disclose information policy.’ When we contacted Baker and Taylor with the same question the response was similar, “…we do not provide you with our customer information. You can however get a report that can identify the market that your books were sold into.”

 

It is understandable to desire privacy and to guarantee that any user’s personal information will be secured, but if bookstores don’t mind their information being shown and finding out who your books’ are selling to is such an integral part of the industry, then why do we have to go through so much hassle to get a straight answer? publishers and authors industry members are discounting books how does information as to the location of sales invade user privacy? Although Baker & Taylor is a little more helpful in revealing the market (but not specific locations) to help the seller with efficient product marketing- wouldn’t most sellers consider location a vital piece of information in terms of marketing?

 

An exception:  Not every company screens this information from the bookseller. Atlas Book Distribution responded differently than Ingram and Baker and Taylor when queried about the same issue. “When the bookstore orders directly from our company, then yes, we can track the bookstores and their location. If the order does come through Ingram, then, like you, we do not have that information to pass on, but again, we do for the direct orders.”

            We would assume, for booksellers, that revealing the location of a product is a good thing, considering it means free advertisement for the bookstore. Not to mention the fact that sales information is necessary to book sales, advertising, and promotion of a product and is essential to effective marketing. If we are so heavily discounting our books for distributors, aren’t authors and publishers entitled to an answer when asking: who bought the book? According to Ingram, they are not.