Buying books on amazon

Long before kindle versions of books existed, and well before the print-on-demand option, amazon had the Advantage program.  If a person ordered my books on amazon, amazon notified me that I had an order for specific titles of the series.  I would go to the boxes of individual books that I had gotten from my publisher that I kept in my condo, gathered up the title or titles ordered, packaged them for shipment, drove to the post office, paid the postage, and off the books went to the reader.  (Amazon did maintain for a few years a small stash of my books in one or more of their warehouses, but then they decided they did not want to do that for book titles that they did not sell in large quantities.  They returned to me most of the stock they had.)   It wasn't particularly efficient, but it was the only option.  Besides, I was getting most of my sales through Category Six bookstore in Denver, CO, and a few sales through some book signings I did around the country:  Seattle, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego and Phoenix.  And, of course, the two SDCCs that I attended in 2004-5. 

But then the gay bookstores such as Category Six and others around the country closed.  As I mentioned, amazon did not want to maintain any small stock in their warehouses.  Gay publications ceased to exist so there was no easy way to announce or publicize new titles in the series.  Things looked mighty bleak for Rainbow Arc of Fire.

However, with the arrival of kindle versions of the series, I was able to publish the final two volumes in the series that way.  People seemed enamored of digital copies of everything such as books and music.  The sales of physical books of RAoF pretty much died, but digital copies did maintain a small market for some time.

Mark and I moved to Indio in 2016, hauling dozens of remaining cases of paperback copies of the series with us.  There were four small comic book conventions in the Coachella Valley, primarily in Palm Springs during 2017-2018.  In 2018 and 2019, we were able to be a part of Prism Comics at SDCC.  So rather than maintain a huge stash of my own books when readers could finally, and more easily, buy print-on-demand copies, I started giving away hundreds of books at the various Cons.  A MILE-HIGH SAGA (red) and AUTUMN SAGA (orange) were gone by the end of the Palm Springs Comic Convention.   SOULS WITHIN STONE (yellow) and WORLDS BENEATH US (green) are now almost gone after SDCC Special Edition 2021.  Maybe a couple dozen copies remain of each title, if that.  I may have a case or two of SLIGHT OF MIND (blue) and HARMONY OF SPHERES (purple) left to give away.  There are 3-5 cases each of WHO HAS DOMINION? (fuchsia) and A HOUSE DIVIDED (turquoise) remaining.  (SHATTERED DAWN and OLIVE BRANCH never had paperback copies from my previous printer.)

Unfortunately, I was notified this morning that someone has been able to order copies of the series using the old amazon Advantage program.  And I cannot, even with some help from amazon, access my Advantage account.  I have followed directions to delete cache, changed my password more than once, use Firefox instead of Explorer, whatever.  Nothing works.  I have sent a note up the chain of amazon help but have heard nothing yet.  And, as I have described, I have no copies of the first two books to sell.  I figured the print-on-demand option and kindle editions were the only two types left for readers to acquire books in the series if I did not give, or sell, them personally at a convention.  Oh, well, we shall see what someone is trying to order if I am ever able to access my old Advantage account.