A publisher asked me if it’s possible to set up an Amazon Advantage account if they already have a distributor. The publisher had seen some of my Amazon Deep Dive videos about Amazon Advantage.
My answer: Assuming the distributor already handles sales through Amazon, if the publisher were to set up its own Amazon Advantage account and start selling books through the account, it would almost certainly conflict with the distribution agreement. I advised the publisher to check the contract with the distributor or have a quick consult with her lawyer to verify what’s allowed and not allowed.
Are there exceptions? Certainly. Some imprints may not be covered by the distribution agreement, or for some reason the distributor doesn’t handle Amazon sales. In those verified cases, the publisher could create an Amazon Advantage account and start selling books through it.
I also noticed that this publisher sells non-book products. I told her that this could be a huge opportunity, as book distributors almost never handle products that don’t have ISBN numbers. Such products are therefore outside of the scope of standard book distribution agreements.
As many of my YouTube and blog followers know, I have created several spinoff products that I sell on Amazon through a pro-level Amazon Seller account. My Amazon Deep Dive videos about ancillary products cover this strategy in more detail, for those who are interested.
