: Re: New CreateSpace books appearing on Amazon from book resellers? Here's the general question: How does a book published via CreateSpace end up being sold blindingly fast by other booksellers? I

@Murray831

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They make their profit either by buying at a discount the same as other retailers, or by selling at a premium to buyers who don't notice that the book is available at a lower price.

How they buy books:

At the retail price from CreateSpace's or Amazon's store, same as any other retail customer.
At the wholesale price (60% discount from retail price) through CreateSpace's extended distribution program, same as any other retailer.

How they do this:

They use automation or cheap labor to watch CreateSpace, and when a new book appears, they use automation or cheap labor to list it. So their cost to list a new book is very, very low.
Because the books they list are print-on-demand, they do not need to stock books. So their cost to carry a book in their "inventory" is very, very low.
They often apply a large markup. I have seen some of my .99 books listed at or more.

Why they do this:
Their costs are so low that they can make a profit even at very low volume, even at very low markup.

How this affects your royalties:
Your royalty is the same as any other book sold through CreateSpace (retail or wholesale) or Amazon:

If the bookseller buys the book through CreateSpace's retail store, you get the same royalty as if CreateSpace had sold the book to any other retail customer (list price minus printing costs).
If the bookseller buys from Amazon, you get the same royalty as if Amazon had sold the book to any other retail customer (list price, minus Amazon's 40% cut, minus printing costs).
If the bookseller buys through CreateSpace's extended distribution program, you get the same royalty as if CreateSpace had sold the book to any other retailer (list price, minus the retailer's 60% "extended distribution" discount, minus printing costs).

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