Troy Posted August 25, 2020 Report Share Posted August 25, 2020 I just got a box of Chancellor Williams's classic book, the The Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D. The book, published by Third World Press (another large Black owned publisher @Pioneer1) has been hard to get the last couple of months. I just updated my site to show the book is back in stock. I also decided to check out what Amazon was doing with the title, and discovered that they were selling the book at almost 50% over retail (as of August 25, 2020) Why does Amazon continue to have a reputation for having the best prices on books? I find many examples of them hiking the price of a book up, often substantially, when there is a whiff of scarcity. Amazon can even get to people to pay for the privilege of being overcharged with that "Prime" membership! If you care about Black books, and by extension Black people, just skip Amazon. They are not just over charging for books either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniellegfny Posted August 29, 2020 Report Share Posted August 29, 2020 It’s a great book. It discusses the roots of colorism. I am not sure why it’s a bad thing the charge more? Please explain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Posted August 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2020 You are not sure why it is a bad thing to overcharge for a book? The explanation is self explanatory. You said it is a great book. If you truly believe that, then you should also believe getting into the hands of readers is important ... right? Think about this for a few minutes. Not as a greedy capitalist, but as a Black man who loves his people ... presuming that you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniellegfny Posted August 30, 2020 Report Share Posted August 30, 2020 But every time they over sell can you under sell and get more sales? Spoiler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Posted August 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2020 Sure, if I wanted to sell products on Amazon, which obviously I don't. But your question ignores the practice of over charging. Again, your motivation appears to be purely monetary. @daniellegfny what was your reason for publishing a children's book? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniellegfny Posted August 30, 2020 Report Share Posted August 30, 2020 My reason is to delight millions of children worldwide and receive financial compensation from those efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Posted August 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2020 If your primary goal is to delight children, wouldn't someone raising the price reduce the number of children you would delight while not increasing the amount of money you made? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slaise Posted August 30, 2020 Report Share Posted August 30, 2020 I would pay to hear the opinion of the author, Chancellor Williams, regarding the surcharge. Obviously, price gouging hits the most underserved communities hardest; the cities where “little free libraries” are nowhere to be found. We have this convo each week; the message is clear and abhorrent. However, if the author saw fit to sign the contract with price point surge projections, all hands involved are a bit soiled. The only way that this will cease is if the author intervenes or wishes to change course. This is the same author who wants to entertain readers and receive financial compensation. My stance isn’t placing the onus on the creator, rather teaching people to build their own platforms for complete creative control. If I give my basketball to a bully and they take over the court and start charging people to play pickup games, can I really be mad? Well, yes, because they have my ball, but no, because the culture just shifted and new rims, courts, etc are in the making. The problem arises when the bully exploits the community, fails to beautify the courts/city and just leaves everyone dusty, thirsty and agitated. This position can be countered with Amz employment data; yet, this is a literature sight, so, in Rome. Interestingly enough, I initially wished to produce EA as a free ebook, due to the fact that the stories were from the people in my environment. However, a bug got into my ear and said “no one respects free,” a sentiment that I’ve heard for decades. To this, I say... Capitalism is what it is, however, if the community, as a whole does not benefit, how can that possibly be advantageous to anyone other than the invisible bully, aka ‘The Gooch’? *show ya age Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniellegfny Posted August 30, 2020 Report Share Posted August 30, 2020 54 minutes ago, O.W. said: However, a bug got into my ear and said “no one respects free,” a sentiment that I’ve heard for decades. It can even be worse. People can have a diminished opinion if they don’t think you have value. Hence the expression Rare is Dear. People who grow are those who face a challenge and rise to them. The higher price increases the value of the book in their minds. Our first mission is to sell books. That means exploiting any weaknesses the competition presents. As you amass your fortune and influence you gain the power to mold the world to your liking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurice Posted August 31, 2020 Report Share Posted August 31, 2020 @Troy. Slightly off topic, I'd dearly love to buy books from your shop or indeed any other black owned your side of the pond, but the problem I have is not so much the price of the books but when combined with shipping it workouts overall a little too expensive for ME. I DO buy from indies over here but out of the three I really like only one is black run and that's New Beacon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Posted August 31, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2020 Yeah the shipping would cost almost as much as the book. I sent a buddy the pin below cost me almost $14 USD and it took 10 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slaise Posted August 31, 2020 Report Share Posted August 31, 2020 You misunderstood, I don't ask permission nor opinion for ANYTHING in the way of creativity after conducting business hours with God; it was employed as a colloquialism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now