Infinity

What Becomes of Returned Books

Wednesday, 03 August 2005 20:00

“Returned books that are in perfect condition are returned to our on-shelf inventory,” Mark explained in a recent interview.  “Then the bookstore’s account record and the author’s royalty statement are adjusted to reflect the returned books on which the author has already received royalties – because we pay royalties on all books sold, even though the books are guaranteed returnable.  There have been a few Infinity authors who have received negative royalty statements because of returns; however, we’ve never had to send an author a bill to recover royalties that were paid on books that were later returned.  We’ve designed our return program to work without any cost to our authors and we believe future sales will balance out the returned books.”

Damaged or soiled books that are returned to Infinity are destroyed.  We do not sell used or remainder books.  When you see your book available as a used book listed on Amazon.com, it is most likely a review copy that was sent to a reviewer.  There’s also the possibility that the book is an actual used copy that the individual who purchased your book is offering for sale after they’ve finished reading it.  Naturally, no royalties are paid on used book sales.

Also, no royalties are paid on books that Infinity uses for selected promotional purposes.  We reserve the right to provide complimentary copies of any of our titles when we have opportunities to stimulate interest in our authors’ books and to expand the general awareness of Infinity Publishing in the marketplace.  Care-fully targeted promotional efforts benefit us all.  We earn our profit selling books – which is a refreshing trend in book publishing today.