Same book: 2 different copies, 2 different prices, 2 different ISBNs?

[kcwilkerson]

Can I make another copy of my published book using a new lulu ISBN but keeping the same title and format? I want to offer my book with a lower price, for schools and small distributers, using a direct link instead of a public link.

[james_denham]

What would be the point? You can discount the book on the Lulu Marketplace to the minimum allowed. Even if you did do what you are asking, to use a new ISBN, you would have to change the format ie to hardcover or a slightly different size. You could go on and publish a book and make it private to yourself with no ISBN but you would still not be able to buy it from Lulu at any less than you can buy it now. My advice would be to stick with what you have and discount  to the minimum allowed.

James

[Ken Anderson]

If the book is the same it would be a bit naughty to replicate with a different ISBN.
Why not just set a discount on the Lulu price and drive those customers to the project URL to buy from Lulu.
My preferred solution (that I use everyday) is to drive customers to my own website.
e.g. www.kenandglen.com/pgr.html
Compare that to www.kenandglen.com/ppug.html
They place their orders on me, I buy from Lulu and ship direct to them.
That way by having different web pages I can offer a number of discount options to different customers and maximise my revenue.
It also generates a customer list I can use for marketing new books.

[james_denham]

Very interesting Ken. I take it, I could order books from Lulu and have them sent direct to the customer? - good idea, I didn't realise you could do that that.

Thanks, James

[Ken Anderson]

James,
Yes I do that every day.
It takes a bit of effort as once I receive an order from a customer I immediately place an order on Lulu. I buy at "my price" and obviously pay the shipping charge.
I then send an email to my customer thanking them for the order and explaining that as every book is printed to order it will be a few days before it is shipped but I tell them that I will send them an email when it is shipped.
Once Lulu give the 'good news' then I send an email telling my customer the book has shipped and asking them to be kind enough to let me know when they receive it.

One has to be careful to include a shipping charge in what the customer pays. 95% of the time it's okay but occasionally one gets an overseas customer where the shipping is going to be a lot higher than what they have paid for. In such cases I normally bite the bullet and ride with it rather than go back and ask for more - good customer relations.

[james_denham]

Great idea for us all. I had been ordering for customers and having the books sent straight to me thus incurring double postage charges therefore lowering revenue substantially. I think I shall be setting a new paypal button on to my website.

It is a question I, we all, should have asked and I bet Ken has posted it before.

Thanks a million Ken, best news I have had since joining Lulu.

James

[ricks99]

That's a great idea (wish I had thought of it!). How do you capture mailing address info from folks who order directly from you?

-R

[Ken Anderson]

They complete the order on Paypal and their order is then emailed to me.

Simpler than you thought  

[harryat28]

Ken, picking up on the way you do things your method is more or less what I planned to do when I start trying to sell my book. This will not be until next spring, as I'm one of those folks who winter abroad - mainly because of my wife's health. I could see no point in starting to try to sell copies and not be in a position to do it properly by being AWOL. The hope for then  is to persuade a local bookseller to display and offer copies, while I try doing something through the post and by other means.

Doing some homework beforehand, I see that - for my book, 312 pp - the postage goes down from £2.99  a single copy (this is the UK Eastbourne printer) to 74p if I bought 25. Obviously 25 is a challenge but it gives and idea of the savings on P & P.

Questions. 1. Where can one buy the dedicated book boxes in which the books arrive - I can't find them anywhere so far? If not available, do you find the ordinary Jiffy bag suitable?,

2. I can see that the buying of copies at author's price would be attractive. As a relative newbie, the discount Lulu have offered so far in my time have been 20%. Does that offer ever get better?

3. I was hoping to manage without a website. Would that be asking too much do you think?

Incidentally, for anyone desperate to buy a copy of my masterpiece, it is a thriller "And this little piggy." - under my real name Harry Downey . The Lulu ref no is 11022401

Best wishes to you and everyone out there,

Harry

[Ken Anderson]

Well we Winter, Spring, Summer & Autumn abroad!
My option is to use Lulu to do the shipping.
But buying in bulk and shipping yourself is an alternative.
You can shipping materials from the big stationery DIY found in many out of town shopping centres or a good old fashioned stationer if your town still has one.
A word of caution - I still find Lulu's per copy shipping cost cheaper than doing it yourself.