Amazon Says Goodbye to California and New Online Tax Law

July 1, 2011 at 10:49 am | Posted in Books | 1 Comment
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California passed a billed yesterday that requires all out-0f-state retailers with a presence in California to collect sales tax on California sales, effective today. This also includes online referral links, such as Amazon’s Affiliate program where sites can post links to Amazon and earn money if a consumer buys the product after clicking on the link. Obviously Amazon is one of the prime targets of this bill, or at least one of the biggest online retailers that will be affected by it, but it will also include others such as Overstock.com. In response to the bill, Amazon has said the following “We oppose this bill because it is unconstitutional and counterproductive,” and is severing it’s ties in California. According to the Los Angeles Times, Amazon is breaking away from 10,000 small business and individuals in California in retaliation to the new bill. For some small businesses Amazon is a significant source of their income and customer volume. Now that Amazon is leaving they may be forced to do the same. Continue Reading Amazon Says Goodbye to California and New Online Tax Law…

Why you don’t want 99 cents eBooks

July 1, 2011 at 9:45 am | Posted in Books, eBooks | Leave a comment
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Author Dean Wesley Smith wrote an interesting article that takes a mathematical approach to the debate on book pricing. The debate at hand is the bottom dollar pricing of books at just 99 cents. Mr. Smith averages that at four novels a year an author can make over $100,000 in their sixth year by only selling 120 books per month at $4.99. On the other hand if the books were sold at a mere 99 cents each, you would have to sell 1,200 books each month. That’s a factor of ten difference between the two. Further more Mr. Smith points out that the sales numbers differentiate between a low midlist sales number and a toplist/bestseller number. To make the same amount of money with 99 cent books, you would have to maintain the volume of sales of a toplist/bestseller.

Now this pricing outlook equally applies to eBooks. If you peruse the online market places, prices do indeed fit between that 99 cent to $4.99 pricing scheme (for independent publishing). A lower price might entice more readers to purchase your work but using Mr. Smith’s numbers it becomes apparent that in the long run deep discounts don’t pay off as well as a nice, respectable $5 price tag. Overall it makes sense. A book is a book whether it’s in electronic format or not. If it’s a good book there is no reason to discount it to bargain bin prices.

From a buyer’s point of view cheaper always looks better. However the authors we love can’t stay in business if they give their work away for free. As a reader it’s a trade off between wanting cheap books and wanting more books. Paying a little bit more for a book could mean the author will get to continue writing that series you so thoroughly enjoy. And remember: preview the book before you buy! Some people might feel that wasting 99 cents on a book isn’t so bad, but there’s no reason to waste any money at all when most online sellers offer free previews and excerpts from eBooks.

You can read Dean Wesley Smith’s article here where you’ll be able to see all the mathematical figures he put together. I also recommend checking out his other articles on writing as he has some very good advice and insight.

Note: Dean Wesley Smith is a science fiction author known for his Star Trek novels, licensed property novels such as Smallville, Spiderman, X-men, etc, as well as his original novels. He is also married to fellow author Kristine Kathryn Rusch who wrote Star Wars: The New Rebellion.

Posted By: Skuldren

Happy Birthday, David Prowse

July 1, 2011 at 12:01 am | Posted in 501st, Movies, Star Wars News | Leave a comment
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Today at Roqoo Depot, we wish a very happy birthday to Lord Vader himself, actor David Prowse. Mr. Prowse portrayed the iconic Darth Vader in all three of the original films: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. He also played parts in memorable films like A Clockwork Orange, Vampire Circus, and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, which also starred his fellow Star Wars actor Peter Cushing (who played Grand Moff Tarkin, and this was prior to A New Hope!). Aside from film, David is the honorary leader of the 501st Legion and is the vice-president of the Physically Handicapped and Able-bodied Association.

On having to choose between playing Darth Vader and Chewbacca in Star Wars… “I took the part of the villain because everyone remembers the villain.”

As Star Wars fans our favorite role of David Prowse is of course that of Darth Vader. The 6’6″ actor played the man behind the suit, and though his voice was never used in the films, he did say the lines during filming with the other actors. Interestingly enough the famous scene in The Empire Strikes Back when Vader reveals to Luke that “I am your father”, the only people who knew the secret were George Lucas, Mark Hamill, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan (screenwriter), and Gary Kurtz (producer). Right before the scene was filmed, Mark Hamill was taken aside and told the secret. When the shot was filmed, David Prowse delivered a different set of lines in the script which indicated that Obi-Wan had murdered his father, not knowing that the dialogue would later be changed.

If you’d like to find out more about David Prowse, you can visit his official website here.

Posted By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot. For the latest Star Wars news.

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