---
title: How do returns work? What are returns?
description: Books are purchased returnable by most venues; this means they are allowed to return unsold copies as long as the book is in print (and are also allowed returns for several months after the book’s bee
---

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# How do returns work? What are returns?

Books are purchased returnable by most venues; this means they are allowed to return unsold  
copies as long as the book is in print (and are also allowed returns for several months after the  
book’s been taken out-of-print).

Traditionally, publishers’ returns can amount to upwards of 35% of the purchases. Because of the number of times a title is handled – they’re handled at least three times before they even leave the warehouse — damages are unavoidable. While we take the best effort to collect for damaged material, we cannot and do not guarantee that we’ll be paid for all damaged merchandise.

The vast majority of returns are overstock returns from wholesales and bookstores. No information is provided about why books are returned.

We reserve the right to discard any damaged copies of your book.

Some retailers (typically not bookstores) choose to buy books nonreturnable to receive a 50% discount.

Returns are an invetiable part of the book business. The best way to avoid returns is to sell your books—we ask all publishers and authors to have a marketing plan enacted as soon as their books are available (if not sooner)!

 

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