After quite a while resting on my more or less laurels (past listings) it's time to get a move on and put up some more listings. My goal is five books every day from now on. This should be achievable, but not according to my past performance.

These books get listed in three places: on Amazon, Biblio, and Half. Books without ISBNs (older books) generally will not be listed on half. My prices might vary between these three places. Amazon and Half tell me competing prices, so I peg mine on them. Thus, if the lowest price for Deadly Percheron is $98 on Amazon, I might peg mine at $95. If it weren't my only copy maybe I'd be more reasonable. In fact, I think my Biblio listing is more reasonable.

Going forward (and possibly backward), links to titles of books will send you to the main Amazon listing. My listing will be somewhere amidst the other maybe 237 listings. This is where my photo of the book can be seen, which will probably be a better one than the one Amazon features. Half doesn't let me attach my own photo—at least I don't think it does. Photos are also at biblio. Lots of older listings still don't have photos. Nor updated prices.

I've been lousy at selling direct via email. Sorry about that, if you've tried me. Listing through the major portals keeps me honest—also prompt and reliable.

Monday, August 11, 2003

07/01/03 TUES:
---I got my order in to Greenwood Press just under the wire yesterday. The sales rep says she will be running these promotions periodically, so if you missed the deadline, feel free to help me start my stockpile for another order some time, who knows when.

---Email rec’d from England:
“Hi Chris,
I'm really sorry to hear that you have had problems with Subterranean
Press.
While Subterranean do direct sales through their web site they do not
have any kind of constant discount to customers on their e-mailing list,
just intermittent special offers and competitions.
And then there is the added cost for international pre-orders of paying
postage in advance separately on each book. So you provide a much better
value service.
Please could you phone [(810) 232-1489 -- 10am-10pm E.S.T. (Mon.-Sat.)]
or email [subpress@earthlink.net or Publisher@Subterraneanpress.com]
William K. Schafer and see if you can sort out the problems.
By the way does this mean that you will not be able to supply:
Waldrop THE SEARCH FOR TOM PERDUE (Subterranean) -- now called HEART OF
WHITENESSE
Simmons ILIUM (Subterranean)
de Lint A HANDFUL OF COPPERS (Subterranean)
Lansdale MAD DOG SUMMER (Subterranean, deluxe )
Lansdale DUCK-FOOTED (Subterranean)

I'll e-mail William K. Schafer myself but I'm not sure if it will
help any.”

---My reply:
“I appreciate your response regarding Subterranean. I hope I do hear from them again some time. Maybe it is a case of their being pre-occupied. I could understand that quite easily. Until then, however, I would say that it does not look like I will be getting their books any more. Indeed, their latest emailing gives a 30% discount to direct customers--something I can't compete with; not when I don't get a better discount than that myself. (Cemetery Dance just came through with a 50% discount offer for direct customers--far better than what I was getting when I carried their books.) Of course, I still carry their extant books--the ones I still have in stock.”

---Music played:
- IT’S A WEIRD WORLD AFTER ALL (EMusic compilation)
- Mamani Keita & Marc Minelli ELECTRO BARNAKO (Xgau: A Minus) - speaking of cultural synthesis

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