As a result of Amazon’s new POD policy, another publisher’s books are no longer available directly through Amazon. Instead of having the gold “add to cart” button and qualifying for free shipping, their books now are only available through the Amazon marketplace through third-party sellers. I’ve not heard an official statement from Whiskey Creek Press on this. I suspect other e-publishers who use POD for sales of print editions will run into this issue at some point.
I have heard, and I don’t have verification on this, that one way publishers can avoid using BookSurge instead of their current printer is to become an Amazon Advantage member. However, at least a couple of publishers have told me that although the signup fee is only $29.95, the “standard 55% commission” on sales makes this an unworkable option for them.
(ETA: More on the affiliate program is located in the comments. Thanks for the info!
Amazon Advantage
The trouble with Amazon Advantage over POD is that Advantage members must ship product to Amazon whenever Amazon asks for it and in whatever quantity they demand. The member pays the shipping, of course, and the materials are held in the Amazon warehouse on consignment — meaning you’re sending them the materials and not getting a dime until they sell them. So, if they order ten copies of your book, you BUY ten copies from your printer and ship them to Amazon. You’re out the money until they sell — if they sell. A huge and ugly change from the current arrangement that, say, LightningSource publishers have. We ship nothing. When Amazon gets an order, LightningSource prints the book and ships it on Amazon’s behalf. No inventory in the warehouse. No publishers paying shipping to get the books to Amazon.
Re: Amazon Advantage
Thanks for that info! As you can tell from the post, I wasn’t sure how that worked. I’ll link to this comment to make sure people understand more clearly.