What methods of distribution do publishers use to get on store shelves. I have heard of a few 'catalogues' for books, but I am unsure whether this is the typical method for books and what the prescribed route for software is. Please don't deteriorate this into 'Online sales only!'. I am specifically interested in how a publisher gets a game on the shelves at Best Buy and at all the independent small game stores, as well as how books go to Barnes And Noble and John's Bookstore. (I actually know how to go through B&N for this, but only specifically for B&N--how do you reach the many small, 1 store independents?) --OctDev [edited by - OctDev on May 7, 2002 5:40:16 PM]

The following is how it works in the UK but I think the US works along basically the same principles of publisher - distributor - retail store.

There are a mixture of routes but they all work in basically the same way.

Direct - The publisher sells direct to the stores. This is usually only with large chains. There is a sales/distribution account between them and the publisher ships product from their primary distribution to the stores or the chains own distribution warehouse.

Non-exclusive - The publisher sells to a number of distribution companies. The publisher ships the product from their primary distribution point to the various distributors. These companies have accounts with the various retailers and in turn sell/ship the product to these stores.

Exclusive - (not sure if this happens in the US but it does here in the UK). Publisher signs and exclusive deal with one distributor. Any store wanting to buy the publisher's games must have an account with that distributor. The publisher ships product to that one distributor who then sells to the stores or (sometimes) to other smaller distributors.

Dan Marchant
Obscure Productions

[edited by - obscure on May 8, 2002 3:50:36 AM]

What Dan very accurately and eloquently describes is the general way in which these things happen. However OctDev probably wants to know how publisher A can get Best Buy to stock game B. Am I right?

Well, Best Buy for example have a direct account with certain publishers but usually they buy from Navarre Corporation. Navarre are one of North America''s largest distributors. Any new publisher needs to go through them in order to even be able to sell into a store like Best Buy. You can sign up with Navarre for the princely sum of $5.000,- to $10.000,-, depending on how badly they want your business (if at all). But does this buy you distribution? Is all you have to do just ship an X number of units of your product to Navarre and they make sure they sell it to Best Buy? Nope. If it only were that simple... Navarre are just order takers. They get paid handsomly just for doing logistics and you yourself have to beg Best Buy for a purchase order for your title which Navarre in turn deliver to them (and believe me, they even screw up simple stuff like that sometimes...). Then you wait 90 days for Best Buy to pay Navarre for the products they sold for you and then another eternity for Navarre to pay you.

It''s crazy stuff like this that makes me feel depressed sometimes when developers think you can simply produce a ton of units, ship it to a store and get paid by the end of the week. It doesn''t work like that unfortunately...

Alex

Oh, and I forgot to mention that Best Buy and all other stores charge a fee for listing new titles. CompUSA charge $20.000,- in advertising fees, EB charge $7.000,- for their catalogue and i believe the going rate for Best Buy was $5.000,- last time I checked.

Alex is right it isn''t simple like that. It''s a difficult business.

Adrian Cummings (Proprietor)
Mutation Software
EMail: arc@mutationsoftware.com
URL: www.mutationsoftware.com
URL: www.dweebs.info

quote: Original post by Anonymous Poster
It''s a difficult business.

''Difficult'' is one word that can describe it.

There was an interesting documentary on TV last week about the big supermarket chains and how some of them have started asking their existing suppliers to pay for the privilige to place products on their shelves. In the UK, some suppliers have reported this practice to the office of fair trading.

I see little distinction between this supermarket practice and the ''backhanders'' you have to pay out to get games on shelves. I personally think that the whole practice stinks.

What about the whole issue of making the CDs, etc? How would one go about doing that, and about how much does it cost?

A couple of thousand dollars depending on the number of units you produce. Then you add shipping, storage, ESRB and UPC/EAN costs to it.

A couple of thousand can mean anything from $2k-$999k. Lets say I want to produce 300k units.. what would the total costs be?