Staggered by Createspace's distribution costs

James_Wilde · 01-04-2011, 08:47 AM

Wow! Just approved the proof of my book and ordered 20 copies, 6 for the statutory library copies here in Sweden, five for the local library, and some over for marketing, and they want a fortune.

My son went into their site and, for a $12.99 book weighing maybe half a kilo, they want $42.80 for standard shipment to Iceland - same price to Sweden, and even in the US. Hope Amazon ships it cheaper.

Now I know where they make their money!

kcmay · 01-04-2011, 09:24 AM

Did you choose the quickest shipping option? I always choose the slowest/cheapest, but the longest it has ever taken was 5 business days. Usually it's 4. IIRC, they are printed in California.

HarryT · 01-04-2011, 09:40 AM

20 copies of a half-kg book is 10kg (22lbs). That's a pretty heavy package. $42 doesn't seem that unreasonable for shipping it internationally.

rhadin · 01-04-2011, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

20 copies of a half-kg book is 10kg (22lbs). That's a pretty heavy package. $42 doesn't seem that unreasonable for shipping it internationally.

Harry, I suspect that the price is per book, not $42 for the entire shipment.

James_Wilde · 01-04-2011, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcmay

Did you choose the quickest shipping option? I always choose the slowest/cheapest, but the longest it has ever taken was 5 business days. Usually it's 4. IIRC, they are printed in California.

Nope, KC, I chose standard. Economy took about three weeks to get my proof here. I think they say 7-11 days.

When I chose standard for the first proofs they got to Sweden in about 5 days. I have an idea mine were printed in one of the eastern states.

James_Wilde · 01-04-2011, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

20 copies of a half-kg book is 10kg (22lbs). That's a pretty heavy package. $42 doesn't seem that unreasonable for shipping it internationally.

The 20 copies I paid $186 in standard shipping for, which is more than the books, which cost me something over $6 each.

For my son in Iceland, for my granddaughter in LA and for my sister in the UK they wanted $42.80 per book for one book! I think they have one rate anywhere in the world, and it's based on the price for delivery to the moon, or at least Outer Mongolia.

khalleron · 01-04-2011, 11:20 AM

James, I paid $7.47 shipping on 10 books from Createspace. Admittedly, I'm not shipping to Iceland, but If your grand-daughter is paying $42.80/book, she's checking off the wrong shipping option.

Sounds to me like your best choice would be to take your files to a local printer and have the work done locally.

The only advantage of Createspace to you would be having your book available through Amazon, but it's non-exclusive. You can still have your book there and print local copies.

HarryT · 01-04-2011, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhadin

Harry, I suspect that the price is per book, not $42 for the entire shipment.

Ouch! In that case, it's completely outrageous.

mr ploppy · 01-04-2011, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khalleron

James, I paid $7.47 shipping on 10 books from Createspace. Admittedly, I'm not shipping to Iceland, but If your grand-daughter is paying $42.80/book, she's checking off the wrong shipping option.

Sounds to me like your best choice would be to take your files to a local printer and have the work done locally.

The only advantage of Createspace to you would be having your book available through Amazon, but it's non-exclusive. You can still have your book there and print local copies.

If you printed them locally, how difficult would it be to get them listed on Amazon? Presumably they would want a massive discount, but you would be able to send them to your local Amazon rather than America?

khalleron · 01-04-2011, 02:57 PM

Mr. Ploppy, I was suggesting he use Createspace's POD feature to get the book on Amazon - no cost to him directly, any costs would be deducted from the sale.

For copies he wants himself, it seems that having them printed locally would be a better option than paying for international shipping. He already has print-ready files from formatting the book for Createspace. Any decent local printer ought to be able to run copies of similar quality for him.

It's worth looking into, anyway.

DMSmillie · 01-04-2011, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khalleron

James, I paid $7.47 shipping on 10 books from Createspace. Admittedly, I'm not shipping to Iceland, but If your grand-daughter is paying $42.80/book, she's checking off the wrong shipping option.

Not necessarily. Both CreateSpace and Lulu are known for charging massive amounts for shipping books outside the US. By comparison, their shipping costs for US addresses are pretty reasonable.

DMSmillie · 01-04-2011, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khalleron

Mr. Ploppy, I was suggesting he use Createspace's POD feature to get the book on Amazon - no cost to him directly, any costs would be deducted from the sale.

For copies he wants himself, it seems that having them printed locally would be a better option than paying for international shipping. He already has print-ready files from formatting the book for Createspace. Any decent local printer ought to be able to run copies of similar quality for him.

It's worth looking into, anyway.

Get's complicated if you're using a CreateSpace supplied ISBN for the book - you can't use that on a locally printed version. Similarly with the cover if you use the CreateSpace cover "wizard". I'd imagine that, for copies for national/local libraries and local promotion, you'd want identical books with the same ISBN and outside cover as the ones produced via CreateSpace and available for purchase on Amazon.

James_Wilde · 01-05-2011, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DMSmillie

Get's complicated if you're using a CreateSpace supplied ISBN for the book - you can't use that on a locally printed version. Similarly with the cover if you use the CreateSpace cover "wizard". I'd imagine that, for copies for national/local libraries and local promotion, you'd want identical books with the same ISBN and outside cover as the ones produced via CreateSpace and available for purchase on Amazon.

Thanks again, Donna, you're earning lots of Brownie points!

I have used the ISBN I got from Swedens national library, so that's no problem, but, yes, I used the Createspace cover designer, and I was actually wondering if there was any way to get that out of there. I have a copy downloaded, but I don't suppose that will be of good enough quality.

I contacted Createspace about the postal charges - was a bit acidic, I must admit - but haven't heard anything from them yet.

khalleron · 01-05-2011, 11:45 AM

James, I did my cover in Gimp, from an original idea by Moejoe, and I knew *nothing* about working with graphics before that.

Yours, if your avatar is your cover, looks pretty straightforward - you could probably recreate it, or something close, if you can't download the original in high enough definition.

Books change covers all the time without changing ISBNs - you could do something completely different if you wanted to, as long as the contents stay the same.

James_Wilde · 01-05-2011, 06:44 PM

Thanks, Kate. I'll take a look at that. Yes, my avatar is the front cover. Actually I was admiring your cover.

01-04-2011, 08:47 AM	#1
James_Wilde Guru Posts: 802 Karma: 4727110 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Sweden Device: Iriver Story	Staggered by Createspace's distribution costs Wow! Just approved the proof of my book and ordered 20 copies, 6 for the statutory library copies here in Sweden, five for the local library, and some over for marketing, and they want a fortune. My son went into their site and, for a $12.99 book weighing maybe half a kilo, they want $42.80 for standard shipment to Iceland - same price to Sweden, and even in the US. Hope Amazon ships it cheaper. Now I know where they make their money!

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01-04-2011, 09:24 AM	#2
kcmay Addict Posts: 363 Karma: 500001 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Georgia, USA Device: Kindle2	Did you choose the quickest shipping option? I always choose the slowest/cheapest, but the longest it has ever taken was 5 business days. Usually it's 4. IIRC, they are printed in California.

01-04-2011, 09:40 AM	#3
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	20 copies of a half-kg book is 10kg (22lbs). That's a pretty heavy package. $42 doesn't seem that unreasonable for shipping it internationally.

01-04-2011, 11:20 AM	#7
khalleron Kate Posts: 1,700 Karma: 3605799 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oregon, United States Device: MeeBook, Kobo Libra Colour	James, I paid $7.47 shipping on 10 books from Createspace. Admittedly, I'm not shipping to Iceland, but If your grand-daughter is paying $42.80/book, she's checking off the wrong shipping option. Sounds to me like your best choice would be to take your files to a local printer and have the work done locally. The only advantage of Createspace to you would be having your book available through Amazon, but it's non-exclusive. You can still have your book there and print local copies.

01-04-2011, 02:57 PM	#10
khalleron Kate Posts: 1,700 Karma: 3605799 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oregon, United States Device: MeeBook, Kobo Libra Colour	Mr. Ploppy, I was suggesting he use Createspace's POD feature to get the book on Amazon - no cost to him directly, any costs would be deducted from the sale. For copies he wants himself, it seems that having them printed locally would be a better option than paying for international shipping. He already has print-ready files from formatting the book for Createspace. Any decent local printer ought to be able to run copies of similar quality for him. It's worth looking into, anyway.

01-05-2011, 11:45 AM	#14
khalleron Kate Posts: 1,700 Karma: 3605799 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oregon, United States Device: MeeBook, Kobo Libra Colour	James, I did my cover in Gimp, from an original idea by Moejoe, and I knew nothing about working with graphics before that. Yours, if your avatar is your cover, looks pretty straightforward - you could probably recreate it, or something close, if you can't download the original in high enough definition. Books change covers all the time without changing ISBNs - you could do something completely different if you wanted to, as long as the contents stay the same.

01-05-2011, 06:44 PM	#15
James_Wilde Guru Posts: 802 Karma: 4727110 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Sweden Device: Iriver Story	Thanks, Kate. I'll take a look at that. Yes, my avatar is the front cover. Actually I was admiring your cover.