Thanks to everyone asking about shipping costs and a pdf version of the
book, Quantitative Trading Systems.
The book is priced at US$49.95 and
is sold only through the book's website -- www.quantitativetradingsystems.com
-- and at meetings where I am a speaker. As I explain on the /pricing
page of that website, the cover price would be about $100 if it was available
through Amazon, and the "street" price to customers would probably be about
$65. There are other issues with selling a book through Amazon and the
major book distribution channels that work against the author.
Shipping within the US via Media Mail is included in the price of the
book. The cost to me is $2.47 plus packaging materials, packaging time,
and standing in line at the Post Office. Media Mail typically takes one
to two weeks, depending on the Post Office work load and the region of the
country. We have not yet had a book go missing, but delivery has taken
as long as 21 calendar days.
Shipping within the US via Priority Mail
is priced at $4.00 extra. The cost is $4.60 plus packaging and
waiting. Again, delivery is dependent on the Post Office, but is usually
within one week, and has been as long as two weeks.
Shipping to Canada
or Mexico is $15.00 extra. The cost to me is a small (about $.50)
currency conversion charge from PayPal, $9.00 postage, packaging, customs
forms, and waiting. Delivery takes one to two weeks.
Shipping to
anywhere else in the world is $20.00 extra. The cost to me is a currency
charge, packaging, customs forms, waiting, and a postage charge that ranges
from $11.00 to over $25.00, depending on the country. Most packages go
for $11.00, and I absorb those charges that are higher. (For a few weeks
early in the shipping, I was charging $25.00 extra because the postage rate I
was being charged was often much higher than $11.00. A friendly Post
Office employee helped me change my packaging so that I could use the flat
rate envelopes, which reduced the postage rate, so I reduced my
charges.) Delivery takes one to two weeks. A customer recently
told me that my book arrived in perfect condition, faster, and with absolutely
no customs hassle or charge -- all of which compared favorably with books
ordered through Amazon.
Should I set up another category of shipping
for those people who think the $20.00 is too much? First, some carrier
other than the US Post Office would be involved. The US Post Office has
discontinued many of their cheaper, slower surface mail options. Here is
the URL to the information for shipping to Australia:
http://pe.usps.com/text/Imm/ab.15.12.htm#ep1572941
I
am using the Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelope for $11.00.
The package weighs 1 pound 15.3 ounces. There is not a lower rate
listed.
Second, if there was surface mail, delivery times expand from
weeks to months. Third, costs would drop very little. How many
people would prefer to pay $15.00 and wait two months instead of $20.00 and
wait one to two weeks? Is there a method of shipping overseas that I
have missed? Fourth, I would have something else that complicates the
process.
There have been very few requests for pdf file versions of
the book. And most often, the person asking orders a printed copy when I
explain that there is not a pdf version.
My own experience with pdf
versions of books is that reading them ties me to the computer.
Personally, they do not work for me.
Crack websites advertise software
that will break the encryption of pdf files. Friends who publish copy
protected software tell me that cracked versions of programs and documentation
are often available within a week of the release of a new version from the
publisher.
Am I charging too much for shipping? I don't think
so. Is the book overpriced? Comments from customers indicate that
it is a good value. Should I offer it through Amazon so that I can lose
money on every copy sold and customers can pay $65 plus shipping?
Probably not. Is it a good business decision to create a pdf
version? I am not convinced that it is.
Thanks for
listening,
Howard
On 7/15/07, SIEW Hon
Foong <siewhf@xxxxxxcom>
wrote:
Hi
Howard,
I have interested
in the book, is there any way to get cheaper (i.e., PDF version)? The
shipping fee is not cheap.
Regards,
Siew,
From Singapore
From:
amibroker@xxxxxxxxxps.com
[mailto: amibroker@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Howard B
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 1:42
AM
To:
amibroker@xxxxxxxxxps.com
Subject: Re: [amibroker] Learning
AFL
Hi Amo
--
I am the author of a book, Quantitative Trading Systems, that you
might find helpful.
Here is the URL to the book's home
page:
http://www.quantitativetradingsystems.com/index.html
Thanks,
Howard
On 7/15/07, Amohedas <agustins.stocks@gmail.com >
wrote:
Hey
Guys,
I have been reading the User Guide, but have found it does
a
relatively poor job in teaching the AFL language. Is there any
other
resource I can consult, or just trial and error.
:-)
Thanks guys/gals you are very
helpful.
Amo