Online Bookselling and International Orders – Is it Worthwhile Anymore?

When I started in online bookselling, I listed everything in my inventory for sale everywhere my listing marketplaces sold. Sometimes it was not very profitable to sell a book and ship it internationally, but I wanted to make the books I was selling available all over the world. I guess I really thought of it as part of the "service" I offered.

In the past couple years, the options and costs of shipping books everywhere have changed drastically. I am beginning to wonder what the USPS definition of "service" really is, probably something similar to what we all think when we hear, "Internal Revenue Service." Both are gaining a negative connotation when it comes to the word "service."

All of the online bookselling discussion boards I have visited are buzzing with discussion about how the postal changes have affected the online bookselling business. Since there is no longer an option for economy international mail, most booksellers have either opted to completely eliminate international sales or limited it to only the smallest books which will fit in the flat rate international priority mailers. Even sellers that use online postage services which prepare all the USPS postal forms for them are questioning whether or not international sales are worthwhile.

Personally, I have become much more selective about which books I will even offer for expedited delivery within the U.S., and have eliminated all but the smallest books for sale internationally. It is a shame the USPS has eliminated international economy mail, it was a great way to help promote reading through the low cost acquisition of books that may not otherwise even be available in parts of the world. Does this come as any real surprise? Not really, our postal system, like any other business, is always looking for ways to cut costs and increase profits, and service is what always suffers.

When I go in my post office there is typically a line of at least twenty people and while there are positions for six postal clerks, there are rarely more than three working and the pace they work at hardly constitutes working. Just getting a parking space at my post office is a challenge because the people standing in line inside the post office have occupied all of the parking spaces available. This leads to lines of cars waiting in the street in front of the post office waiting for other customers to get served and leave. Service is lacking and the post office wants to build a new facility in my home town, but I cannot see how they could justify one when they are not making use of the capacity they have by putting enough clerks in positions to help customers. Does this get any better when the USPS raises their rates? No, it only gets progressively worse.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the post office and I think the value of their "service" is second to none, but I would like to see efficiency gains that do not require more rate increases and/or delivery options eliminated. My bookselling business, like thousands of others across the country, depends on the USPS. I have found ways to avoid having to stand in line to ship my books, but I still need to park in order to carry my packages into the post office. If one of the other delivery systems were to make a move and offer affordable international delivery options, e.g., UPS, DHL, or FedEx, the financial impact to the USPS would be staggering. I doubt this is going to happen because like all other business decisions nothing is based on service, it is all based on the bottom line and double-digit shareholder return expectations will not allow "service."