How do I check a small publisher’s print run history and returns?
Ask for each title’s print run history next to its sales and returns by channel. Check whether printing decisions matched demand or left piles of unsold books. Look at how returns are recorded, what reserve is held against them, and whether credits are still coming from retailers or distributors.
Print decisions tell you how well the publisher reads its market. For each title, set copies printed against copies sold and copies returned. A press that prints cautiously and reprints when needed is different from one that prints big and hopes.
Returns can arrive months after a sale was recorded. Ask how the publisher accounts for them. Is a reserve held? How was it set, and has it matched real returns in the past? Ask your accountant to read the statements from distributors and compare them with what the books show. Late credits can quietly cut earnings.
Then look at channels. Returns from bookstores, online sellers and special sales behave differently. Ask which ones are growing and which cause the most trouble. Find out whether the printer holds stock, and whether there are minimum orders or unpaid bills. Finally, look at what happens to returned copies: resale, remaindering or pulping. If printer invoices are unpaid or a minimum run was triggered by an earlier deal, ask for the details. Also ask what the next print run is expected to cost and when it would be due, so you are not surprised by cash needs soon after closing. A candid answer about past mistakes is more useful than a polished one.
Key takeaways
- Compare copies printed, sold and returned for every title.
- Ask how returns are reserved for and whether past reserves proved right.
- Check distributor statements against the books.
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Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentWhat is inventory
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
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