Differences Between Book Distributors and Wholesalers

Also check out a list of Black-Owned Book Distributors and Wholesalers

• Function:
  • Book Distributor: Distributors often handle the sales, marketing, and logistics for publishers. They act as intermediaries between publishers and retailers, ensuring that books reach the retail outlets. Distributors might represent multiple publishers and will actively market and promote the titles they carry.
  • Book Wholesaler: Wholesalers (not wholeseller) primarily focus on bulk buying and selling. They buy large quantities of books from publishers (often at significant discounts) and then sell them to retailers or other buyers, typically without the added layer of marketing and promotion that distributors might provide.
• Relationship with Publishers:
  • Book Distributor: Distributors often have a closer relationship with publishers. They might offer services such as storage, fulfillment, returns handling, and even sales representation. This close relationship can sometimes mean that they have exclusive rights to distribute certain titles or publishers in specific regions.
  • Book Wholesaler: Wholesalers might not have as close a relationship with publishers as distributors do. Their primary concern is usually to keep a broad inventory that retailers might need, rather than representing specific publishers or titles.
• Inventory:
  • Book Distributor: Distributors might not always keep a large inventory on hand. Instead, they might focus on efficiently moving books from publishers to retailers as orders come in.
  • Book Wholesaler: Wholesalers typically maintain a large inventory, allowing retailers to quickly restock popular titles.
• Clients:
  • Book Distributor: Distributors usually serve a wider range of clients, including bookstores, libraries, schools, and other organizations, providing them with tailored services based on their needs.
  • Book Wholesaler: Wholesalers primarily cater to retailers, providing them with bulk orders of books.
• Pricing:
  • Book Distributor: Distributors might offer varying pricing models based on the services they provide, the relationship with the publisher, and the specific needs of the retailers they serve.
  • Book Wholesaler: Wholesalers typically work on a standard discount model, buying books at a substantial discount from the list price and selling them to retailers at a smaller discount.