Sorry for the lengthy title of this post. I've just discovered a problem for Canadian readers who purchase books through Amazon.ca from self-publishing authors who print with CreateSpace. And many of us do. It's a print-on-demand company with a wide distribution system. FYI, American readers using Amazon.com do not have this problem.
Today, a Canadian library told me that they had purchased 4 copies of my book, Framed for Murder, through Amazon.ca, and had been told that the expected delivery date would be January, 2 months from now. Horrified, I contacted Amazon and then CreateSpace to find the reason behind the lengthy delay.
What I discovered is that CreateSpace does not distribute books directly to Amazon.ca (Canada) as it does for many other Amazon sites. Nor does it do this for China, Japan, and Brazil Amazon. Instead, a wholesaler purchases books from CreateSpace and distributes them to these Amazon sites. So, when the library tried to purchase 4 copies, Amazon Canada had only 1 copy in stock and has to wait for the wholesaler to purchase more copies from CreateSpace. Timeline: 2 months. Not a good situation when Canadian readers want to purchase my books.
There is a solution, however. CreateSpace has its own online store. So, if you're a Canadian reader and your author publishes through CreateSpace, you can receive your purchases in a timely manner by purchasing directly from the CreateSpace store. Here's their link. Search for books by typing in the title at the top right of the page beside the magnifying glass, and then click on the magnifying glass. You'll have to create an account to purchase books, but you have to do that for any online store.
I've just finished adding the CreateSpace links for my books under my "Bookstore" tab. I have also contacted CreateSpace and suggested that they distribute books directly to Amazon.ca. Hopefully, they will someday .
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yes - shipping is an issue. Even when ordering your own books it can take 6 weeks to get to Canada. I have direct links to CreateSpace on my page for ordering paper copies.
ReplyDeleteHi Mahrie. Fortunately, I haven't had to wait that long yet, either ordering my own books through CreateSpace or other's books through Amazon. It's all such a steep learning curve, figuring this stuff out.
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