Purchasing directly from creator vs. Amazon or other retailers

[Ephemeridae]

I have a purchasing question for you all

 

I am looking to buy The Wild Unknown in the near future (maybe in March when the companion Oracle deck is re-released).

 

You can purchase the deck & guidebook on The Wild Unknown's website for $40 (+7 in shipping) but it is also available on Amazon for $23 (+ free shipping), that's nearly 50% of the creator's price!

 

Is there any advantage to buying directly from The Wild Unknown that would make up for the difference in cost? Does the creator get ripped off by the Amazon deal?

 

If anyone has any experience in these matters I'd appreciate the input :)

[Raggydoll]

If its the mass produced version you are after, then I would buy from amazon. And if its the indie 2nd edition, then I would go to Little Red Tarot Shop  ;)

[Alta]

Check carefully, as the poster above comments they may be selling different runs of the deck.  Maybe email the artists and ask.

[AJ-ish/Sharyn]

no one is really ripping off the artist, wholesale vs retail is just business of sales.

 

That said, I have a friend who has had five books published. When one of them sells on Amazon etc, she gets 98 cents. That amount may differ from author to author, I don't know.

 

She buys from the publisher at 40% off and promotes buying from her which grosses at 60% of the sale. The net sale comes sometime later. She also has a sales table everywhere she is hosted and shipping boxes of books is a Lot of work and expensive even at media mail prices.

 

She has the initial outlay of  1000 books at a time which actually comes as 1033, some to balance shipping damage..

She has to take a trailer down to the trucking company dock and load and bring them home herself.

 

I enjoy her products and always buy directly from her. My choice.

 

I don't know if Amazon still does it, but they will list and sell books  the publisher refuses to do the deep discount Amazon requires of them. The book is there in the returns, but it is separate listing that requires a second click to see price and shipping.

 

There are many authors/artists I won't be bothered to do this for, but if I were given the opportunity there are many decks I would buy from the artist. That additional? I don't do Starbucks, I don't drink or smoke, I'm not a shopper of any kind, the only bills I have are utilities and insurances. So I think if I want something nice and it supports the work where it came from, I don't complain. I think it is good use of my funds.

 

[sandrang123]

In my opinion, it's always best to buy from the original source or smaller retailer.

 

I loathe Amazon, but I'm now working on my fourth book (the first three out or coming out (third book) from major publishing houses (Random House)). Amazon's tactics with the book industry (notably Hatchette) have been horrible. They don't give a crap about authors or publishers' production costs. Ebooks (and Amazon's price undercutting) greatly contributed to the major downsizing in NYC from five major publishing houses to three, and that greatly impacts how much "risk" publishers will take with authors who don't have major platforms. Amazon greatly impacted whether authors get hardcover deals in addition to softback (or softback if hardcover sales aren't high enough, etc.). Having both allows authors to build a better base and gives books that, for a variety of reasons, might have been overlooked a second chance. Last, Amazon's mission is to wipe out small bookstores so that they control pretty much all book sales and can, in turn, control publishing houses and those choices they make in acquiring books.

[Guest]

I would buy it from the artist if I knew them. Otherwise, i would have to assume the artist expects me to purchase from some other vendor.

[gregory]

As long as they are genuine decks (and I do check wherever I can) I will buy anywhere. BUT (HUGE but for UK readers) - if it is a deck that costs more than $30 USD, I will buy from amazon if at all possible. Because they manage to deal with customs in advance. Buying from the artist almost always incurs customs fees (fair enough) and also there's a whacking fee that the post office adds for collecting that - an £8 flat fee. I have paid it on customs fees of £1 ! It can double the price of a deck. That hurts big time. Limits for importing goods are £15 for merchandise and £39 for gifts. AND they include postage and packing in there. How they assess the packing is anyone's guess.

 

I do use Little Red - she sells a lot of indy decks and that is a good way to bypass all this.