Seeking advice on POD Paperback availability on Amazon

[eivanov]

Context
My co-author and I recently self-published a non-fiction book using Draft2Digital (D2D). We chose D2D for one simple reason: we need the royalties to be split 50:50 automatically to our respective bank accounts, without manual intervention on our part. Unlike Amazon KDP, D2D offers a service, which automatically splits the royalties between the two authors. The publishing of the Ebook went smoothly and without any glitches. However, the publishing of the Paperback displayed a problem, which I am seeking your advice on.

Problem
After D2D submitted the paperback version of our book to Amazon for distribution, the various Amazon sites displayed it differently:
- On Amazon.com, it says that the book is temporarily out of stock.
- On Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.fr, it says that the book is usually dispatched within 1 to 3 months.
- On Amazon.de, it says that the book is usually dispatched within 4 to 5 days, but the listed price was €25.99, instead of €18.99, which is what we instructed D2D to charge.

All of the above is very concerning, because we absolutely cannot plan any marketing campaign for the paperback version of our book with such messages on display.

When we asked the D2D Customer Service what the problem was, we were basically told that Amazon can do whatever they want on their websites with regard to availability and price, just like any other retailer. This is fair enough, but it does not make sense when the Paperback is printed on demand and there are no inventory issues for the retailer. In other words, the marginal cost to the retailer for stocking the book is close to zero, unless of course, this is somehow a counter-competitive measure.

Questions to the Community

1. Is this strategy by Amazon a way to dissuade self-publishing authors like us to avoid services like D2D and go straight to Amazon KDP? Maybe it is just a glitch or an operational issue?
2. Has anyone else encountered this issues and how did you get over it?
What is the best strategy for us to resolve the issue? Will any of the below solve the problem above?

a) Delist D2D and go straight to Amazon KDP for the Paperback but keep the Ebook on D2D
b) Move move both the Ebook and the Paperback to KDP
c) Anything else?

Thank you in advance!

[motiferous]

Here's my take:

1. It's hard to say if Amazon's strategy is intentional or not, but it wouldn't be surprising if they favored their own platform, KDP. It could also be a simple operational hiccup, though.
2. I haven't personally encountered this, but I've heard of similar issues from other authors. Some resolved it by reaching out to Amazon directly to clarify the situation, while others decided to switch platforms.

As for the best strategy, it really depends on what's most important to you and your co-author. If the automatic royalty split is crucial, then sticking with D2D might be worth the hassle. However, if the distribution issues are too damaging, then moving to KDP could be the better option. Here are a few suggestions:

• Contact Amazon: Try to get a clearer explanation or solution directly from them.

• Community Feedback: Reach out to other authors in forums or groups who might have faced similar issues.

• Hybrid Approach: Keep the Ebook on D2D for the royalty split and move the Paperback to KDP to see if that resolves the availability issues.

Ultimately, you might need to weigh the benefits of the royalty split against the potential sales impact of the distribution problems. Good luck!