Hi Charles!

18 Nov 20 08:13, you wrote to All:

I saw this ad and almost choked on my coffee.

 GRAPHIC NOVELNature of the BeastBy Adam Mansbach, Douglas
Mcgowan, Owen Brozman$1.99ORIGINALLY $9.99

Electronic version at that price?

Go for it.. It is Published Mar 16, 2012
$23.95 US / $35.95 CA list price | Ctn Qty: 28

action-packed graphic novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling-author of Go the F*ck to Sleep.

The F*ck to Sleep books (there are about 3 titles now) are resonable sellers, but for a rather short (few pages) they are a tad pricey IMHO.

 Amazon    Apple Books    Google    Kobo      

Those are all four-letter words in my world.





---
* Origin: ----> Point Of VeleNo BBs (http://www.velenobbs.net)

Hello, August Abolins.
On 11/18/20 4:43 PM you wrote:

Hi Charles! 18 Nov 20 08:13, you wrote to All:

I saw this ad and almost choked on my coffee.  GRAPHIC
NOVELNature of the BeastBy Adam Mansbach, Douglas Mcgowan, Owen
Brozman$1.99ORIGINALLY $9.99

Electronic version at that price? Go for it.. It is Published Mar
16, 2012 $23.95 US / $35.95 CA list price | Ctn Qty: 28

I was laughing at the story description actually. Florida Gator Wrestler saves the world?

action-packed graphic novel from the #1 New York
Times bestselling-author of Go the F*ck to Sleep.

The F*ck to Sleep books (there are about 3 titles now) are
resonable sellers, but for a rather short (few pages) they are a
tad pricey IMHO.

I believe it. But if people are willing to pay it, why not?

 Amazon    Apple Books    Google    Kobo      

Those are all four-letter words in my world.

Convenient isn't 4 letters. ;)

--
Best regards!
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Re: Graphic Novel
By: August Abolins to Charles Pierson on Wed Nov 18 2020 04:43 pm

The F*ck to Sleep books (there are about 3 titles now) are resonable sellers, but for a rather short (few pages) they are a tad pricey IMHO.

Baby's books, word for word, are a lucrative gig.

Brian Regan does a skit about it. He's reading a book and pantomiming flipping pages, something like this:

The Clock
<flip>

The Big Clock
<flip>

Tick Tock
<flip>

The End
<flip>

$12 Bucks.
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Hello Charles!

** On Wednesday 18.11.20 - 10:52, Charles Pierson wrote to August Abolins:

The F*ck to Sleep books (there are about 3 titles now) are
resonable sellers, but for a rather short (few pages) they are a
tad pricey IMHO.

I believe it. But if people are willing to pay it, why not?

The reality is, that people are often NOT willing to pay full
price. The spontaneous discounts that the a four-letter places
apply attests to that; they can't rid of those books unless
they are discounted.

 Amazon    Apple
Books    Google    Kobo      

Those are all four-letter words in my world.

Convenient isn't 4 letters. ;)

You must be reading a foreign dictionary! :O

People are welcome to email or call my shop at anytime and I
can order what is required. I could even field emails
overnight. I could be persuaded to even use Telegram. ;)

I often match or come very close to the unfair-competitor
price. I don't have lucrative gov't contracts for building
projects that have nothing to do with my main business. :/

http://pics.rsh.ru/img/shop-independent_uxfnt7se.jpg

--
../|ug

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Hello, August Abolins.
On 11/18/20 6:33 PM you wrote:

Hello Charles! ** On Wednesday 18.11.20 - 10:52, Charles Pierson
wrote to August Abolins:

The F*ck to Sleep books (there are about 3 titles now) are
resonable sellers, but for a rather short (few pages) they are a
tad pricey IMHO.

I believe it. But if people are willing to pay it, why not?

The reality is, that people are often NOT willing to pay full
price. The spontaneous discounts that the a four-letter places
apply attests to that; they can't rid of those books unless they
are discounted.

Then they either learn better pricing, or hold too much inventory.

 Amazon    Apple Books    Google    Kobo      

Those are all four-letter words in my world.

Convenient isn't 4 letters. ;)

You must be reading a foreign dictionary! :O People are welcome
to email or call my shop at anytime and I can order what is
required. I could even field emails overnight. I could be
persuaded to even use Telegram. ;)

I was joking of course. I PREFER local shops when available, but you've seen yourself an idea of especially with bookshops, that is near me.


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Hello Charles!

** On Wednesday 18.11.20 - 19:36, Charles Pierson wrote to August Abolins:

Then they either learn better pricing, or hold too much inventory.

Charles.. the price is "fixed" by the publisher. Stores, like
mine, pay for stock according to THAT price. When Amazon or
Indigo sell at 40% or more off, they are not earning anything.
I have seen Amazon/Indigo invoices sent to me in error. I
know what "deals" they may be getting.

Convenient isn't 4 letters. ;)

I was joking of course. I PREFER local shops when available, but you've seen yourself an idea of especially with bookshops, that is near me.

Local book shops are not ubquitous in every town. They are
often more successful in larger communities. But many of those
shops have simply given up - and far too early IMHO - when the
the ereader was introduced around year 2006.

I use online shoping when it is best too.

I have explored building an online ordering/shopping system
for my shop. The only tool that makes the most sense is the
one at Bookmanager. (I'll avoid the link, because that would
break "Fidonet being Fidonet".)

If/when you find it, explore the pricing. To gain the web
storefront requires mandatory modules. The total startup cost
is substantial - for me. There are yearly fees to keep the
system going.

Explain to me how could I sell at below cost (to compete with
the 4-letter companies) and maintain the fees for an online
ordering system.
--
../|ug

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Hello, August Abolins.
On 11/18/20 9:42 PM you wrote:

Hello Charles! ** On Wednesday 18.11.20 - 19:36, Charles Pierson
wrote to August Abolins:

Then they either learn better pricing, or hold too much
inventory.

Charles.. the price is "fixed" by the publisher. Stores, like
mine, pay for stock according to THAT price. When Amazon or
Indigo sell at 40% or more off, they are not earning anything. I
have seen Amazon/Indigo invoices sent to me in error. I know
what "deals" they may be getting.

I know the price is from the publisher. I understand how all of that works. I have been on enough writers mail lists to pick up on that.

My point is still valid. They set the price because there are people that will pay that price.

Convenient isn't 4 letters. ;)

I was joking of course. I PREFER local shops when available, but
you've seen yourself an idea of especially with bookshops, that
is near me.

Local book shops are not ubquitous in every town. They are
often more successful in larger communities. But many of those
shops have simply given up - and far too early IMHO - when the
the ereader was introduced around year 2006.

Here, I think B&N chased everyone off.

I use online shoping when it is best too. I have explored building
an online ordering/shopping system for my shop. The only tool
that makes the most sense is the one at Bookmanager. (I'll
avoid the link, because that would break "Fidonet being
Fidonet".) If/when you find it, explore the pricing. To gain the
web storefront requires mandatory modules. The total startup
cost is substantial - for me. There are yearly fees to keep the
system going.

I've looked into online stores. It's painful.

Explain to me how could I sell at below cost (to compete with
the 4-letter companies) and maintain the fees for an online
ordering system.

You can't you can't do their volume.

--
Best regards!
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Hello Charles!

** On Wednesday 18.11.20 - 21:45, Charles Pierson wrote to August Abolins:

I know the price is from the publisher. I understand how all of that works. I have been on enough writers mail lists to pick up on that.

My point is still valid. They set the price because there are people that will pay that price.

The retail price for the new vanity book by Barack Obama is
set at $55CDN. I have people resisting to pay the full price
because they boast that Amazon is selling for $20. Are you
suggesting that it is therefore poor business choice to stock
the book if I am not willing to sell at the same loss as
Amazon?

shops have simply given up - and far too early IMHO - when the
the ereader was introduced around year 2006.

Here, I think B&N chased everyone off.

I think if some of the independents had rallied together (for
support and promotional ideas) they might still be around.

..The total startup cost is substantial - for me.
There are yearly fees to keep the system going.

I've looked into online stores. It's painful.

The covid lockdown has not helped the matter. It has driven me
into 5-figures of debt - instantly. It is not an easy peasy
solution to just pay for and configure an online presence
overnight.

Explain to me how could I sell at below cost (to compete with
the 4-letter companies) and maintain the fees for an online
ordering system.

You can't you can't do their volume.

Ah.. there is another misconception. I *can* do the volume of
the big guys if I wanted. First, I would need extended
storage. Then, I can send back the copies that do not sell
(within a deadline set by the publisher.) In truth, Amazon is
making money from other products, not the books. They are
simply undercutting the traditional independent book store,
upselling memberships for their music/movie streaming, the
yearly fee membership for even more apparent discounts and
free shipping, and simply returning unsold copies to the
publishers.

I told my agents that I can do the same thing - if they want
to process a whole pile of returns every month for every book.

I asked them.. compared to me and other independents, from
whom do they process the majority of overstock? The answer
was not surprising.

Amazon orders overstock. That makes them look like a good
customer to the publisher for an order. But the quantities of
returns gets little scrutiny.
--
../|ug

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Hello, August Abolins.
On 11/19/20 12:10 AM you wrote:

Hello Charles! ** On Wednesday 18.11.20 - 21:45, Charles Pierson
wrote to August Abolins:

I know the price is from the publisher. I understand how all of
that works. I have been on enough writers mail lists to pick up
on that. My point is still valid. They set the price because
there are people that will pay that price.

The retail price for the new vanity book by Barack Obama is set
at $55CDN. I have people resisting to pay the full price
because they boast that Amazon is selling for $20. Are you
suggesting that it is therefore poor business choice to stock
the book if I am not willing to sell at the same loss as Amazon?

I would guess that you have had your business for a while, and that you know your customers and their buying habits.

So I am pretty sure, minimum order quantities and the like aside, you don't stock more than you believe you will sell in a reasonable time frame, nor an amount that will leave you stuck with a ridiculous inventory tax when that comes due.

shops have simply given up - and far too early IMHO - when the
the ereader was introduced around year 2006.

Here, I think B&N chased everyone off.

I think if some of the independents had rallied together (for
support and promotional ideas) they might still be around.

It's possible. It's also possible other factors might have affected things.

..The total startup cost is substantial - for me. There are
yearly fees to keep the system going.

I've looked into online stores. It's painful.

The covid lockdown has not helped the matter. It has driven me
into 5-figures of debt - instantly. It is not an easy peasy
solution to just pay for and configure an online presence
overnight.

I know it isn't. As I've said, I have looked into it some for my own purposes, and there is no way I could manage it in the current environment.

Explain to me how could I sell at below cost (to compete with
the 4-letter companies) and maintain the fees for an online
ordering system.

You can't you can't do their volume.

Ah.. there is another misconception. I *can* do the volume of
the big guys if I wanted. First, I would need extended storage.
Then, I can send back the copies that do not sell (within a
deadline set by the publisher.) In truth, Amazon is making
money from other products, not the books. They are simply
undercutting the traditional independent book store, upselling memberships for their music/movie streaming, the yearly fee
membership for even more apparent discounts and free shipping,
and simply returning unsold copies to the publishers.

Not so much a misconception, as an oversimplification.

Currently, as your business stands, you aren't equipped to do the volume of the big guys. That's what I meant. Not that you could never do so.

And yes Amazon and the like do a huge range of goods and services to offset selling items at a loss that for the most part independent stores can't do.



--
Best regards!
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August Abolins wrote to Charles Pierson <=-

I have explored building an online ordering/shopping system
for my shop. The only tool that makes the most sense is the
one at Bookmanager. (I'll avoid the link, because that would
break "Fidonet being Fidonet".)

If this is a dig at my earlier comments, you misunderstood - or
you're blowing it out of proportion to make a point.

A Fidonet post including a link in context to the post is one thing.

A post where you're directed to a link for the content, or a posting
that consists entirely of a link with no subject and no context is
something completely different.



... Abandon normal instruments
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Hello Kurt!

** On Thursday 19.11.20 - 17:00, Kurt Weiske wrote to August Abolins:

one at Bookmanager. (I'll avoid the link, because that would
break "Fidonet being Fidonet".)

If this is a dig at my earlier comments, you misunderstood - or
you're blowing it out of proportion to make a point.

It *is* a reference to your earlier comment. But this medium
does not communicate the smile on my face that I had when I
wrote it. I could have probably included a link to a picture
of me, but that wouldn't be fidonet. ;)

A post where you're directed to a link for the content, or a posting
that consists entirely of a link with no subject and no context is
something completely different.

I totally agree. Infact, several earlier messages of mine
(maybe they were in another echo that I think you also read)
share the same concern.

But the TgM/Fido link is still rather new on the english-
speaking group of echos carried in Z1. There is a learning
curve from the TgM app for a user on usage - especially when
providing an image or a file with a message at the same time.
The android app on my Blackberry likes to attach an image
*before * it allows a caption. (The caption is treated as the
message body by Stas' bot and does a pretty good job of doing
it.) But if I forget to type a caption and habitually press
Send, then poof it's sent and I can nolonger undo that.

The desktop app however allows adding an image either before
or after starting a message. That makes it easier to insure
that some context can be provided with the pic.

Alternatively, the TgM desktop user can use the "--subj:
###--<cr>" command on the first line of the message and upto
40 chars could accompany the message to provide some
description or comment about the subsequent link.

As more and more people start to post from TgM, perhaps a
netiquette can be voiced to help avoid *just* posting links.

--
../|ug

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August Abolins wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-

As more and more people start to post from TgM, perhaps a
netiquette can be voiced to help avoid *just* posting links.

Or maybe (hopefully), more and more people *WON'T* post from TgM, and
avoid the issue that way.



... He does the work of 3 Men...Moe, Larry & Curly
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718.fido_coffeekl@1:123/115 241db6f9

August Abolins wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-

As more and more people start to post from TgM, perhaps a
netiquette can be voiced to help avoid *just* posting links.

Or maybe (hopefully), more and more people *WON'T* post from TgM, and avoid the issue that way.

... He does the work of 3 Men...Moe, Larry & Curly
=== MultiMail/Linux v0.52

--Subj: nntp/telegram - same issues--

Ah.. Sounds like something people said in the good ol' days when fido was first gated to support users with nntp readers. Same difference today, except that Telegram is more accesible and fun to use.


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