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Drop Shipping
Direct Mail/Order Fulfillment
Click her for more about book selling.
Click here for shipping materials.
Click here for sticker or label materials.
We can also drop ship general or personalized letters, cards, etc.
More on Postal Explorer  | More user friendly see - Postal Pro
Note USPS will be increasing many prices 1-21-2018

Many people think that once the book is written, the manuscript prepared, and the publishing completed a book project is complete. Some authors may have added a pre-publication marketing campaign that culminates in a single event where all books are picked up. This doesn't maximize getting the book out to every interested individual, but it does eliminate the need for shipping (if everyone shows up).

However for the rest, marketing is a continuing process and getting the books in the customer's hands often involves shipping of some sort, and probably some mailing of marketing material. Each book should have it's own customized plan of marketing, based on the book and it's author. However shipping process services - order fulfillment, pick and pack, etc. can be easy to define and a real time saver for the author.

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Shipping and handling costs usually include: Planning time deciding on package design, carrier and services. Time taken to choose and acquire packaging/mailer, tape, labels, etc. as well as any further cost(s). actual (+) shipping cost from publisher (if not included in publishing free of charge) +shipping cost to the customer +insurance cost (if choosing to insure beyond any included) any optional tracking - including time to prepare and report to customer time needed to address, pack and ship (time spent with boxing/printing & affixing labels, even if at-home pick up) travel time/resources (gas, parking, etc.) may be involved - even staying home to hand off to the mailman various time and paperwork associated with sales (whether being shipped or not). time to design and expense to produce any marketing materials mailed should be counted as cost because it's goal is to realize sales (shipping)

Gregath can take as much or as little of the work load as the customer has budget for. Generally speaking, order fulfillment can be tailored to your given need. A light-service example: 100 page, 8.5x11", softbound book with Microsoft Excel sheet of individual customers is provided (or production contracted) for a "blast" (all books shipped at the same time) shipping through USPS Priority mail (tracked and insured up to $50.00) padded envelope from $7.50 per address for individual orders - including actual shipping costs and customer tracking notification with provided emails. Mailing in quantity, using variable data, can price even lower. A "bulk" mailing of 200 or more (brochure, press kit, launch mailing, etc.), may be lower than first class postage (no more than 13 ounces), per piece - including design and production.

It is important to remember, if shipping is rarely free with publishing, shipping directly from the publisher to the end client is often less expensive than shipping twice (once from the publisher to you and then on to book buyer).

Customer defined packages will be quoted, but basic per address service fee may be as low as $1.00 per single mailed item (plus exact shipping), if limited storage and individual preparation is involved. Drop-ship plans integrated into the publishing process - such as eBooks packaged in self-mailer storage, can run much less and may be combined with every door direct mail or permit imprint discounts. Gregath can warehouse all stock, take orders, ship, etc. but this type of service is ongoing, thus the charges are as well.

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Page Last Updated: January 09, 2019