Unlike a distributor, which is essentially a sales and marketing arm for publishers, a wholesaler is a consolidated ordering service for book buyers. Wholesalers stock titles from thousands of publishers on a non-exclusive basis, and order those titles they do not stock as needed. Any marketing they do tends to be passive, such as catalog listings.

Two wholesalers dominate the U.S. market: Ingram and Baker & Taylor. Ingram is the larger of the two, and also a giant in the distribution of software and video. It lists hundreds of thousands of titles and mainly serves the retail market. Baker & Taylor sells mostly to libraries and schools, and has over 1.5 million active books in its database.

Wholesalers rely on the economies of scale. They offer bookstores and libraries the following conveniences:

• One-stop shopping. Buyers can often find every single title they need to order.
• Easy ordering. Most wholesalers have 1-800-numbers, instant stock verification, electronic ordering systems, and customer service staff.
• Quick and cheap shipping. Ingram, for instance, has a warehouse within one-day shipping range of 95% of U.S. bookstores. Consolidating shipping reduces freight and handling charges.

Discounts

Wholesalers' income is the difference between the discount they demand from publishers and the discount they give to retailers: typically 46-55% and 33%, respectively. Retailers accept the reduced discount (40-50% is their preference) because of the cost savings and convenience of consolidating ordering and shipping.

Mass-Market Wholesalers

While most wholesalers make mass-market titles available to their customers, the placement and sale of these books is different from those of "trade" titles; the former are much more likely to be found in the company of magazines on racks in supermarkets, drugstores, airports, etc. The business of placing these titles requires knowledgeable regional buyers and very efficient ordering and shipping. "Independent Distributors (IDs)," or "jobbers," are the wholesalers who dominate mass-market distribution. There are hundreds of regional IDs in the U.S. The largest one, with regional offices nationwide, is Anderson News.

Mass-market wholesalers deal directly with publishers, from whom they ask a 46-55% discount.

How to List with Wholesalers

Most publishers have distributors, who take care of listing with wholesalers. However, wholesalers do deal directly with small publishers.

Ingram must be convinced that a publisher's books will be in demand before it accepts them. It has several customer-oriented programs, which may cost extra. Go to their Web site or call 1-615-321-3110 for the Publisher Relations department.

Baker & Taylor is easier to list with. For their FAQ on how to establish a relationship with them, click on this link.

All wholesalers will require books to have an ISBN, Library of Congress number, and EAN bar code (see How-To>Publishers>Marketing and Promotion).

For a list of wholesalers and links, see Resources and Professional Organizations.