Target.com Program

Publishers can now have their books listed with Target.com

Please review the following information to make sure this is the right distribution option for you and your book.

Distribution through Target.com is not included in the original IngramSpark POD Distribution agreement. The Target.com program is different than the other distribution services offered through IngramSpark, so a separate agreement must be signed to participate. The following information explains the program and the requirements to participate. 

Frequently Asked Questions

(click on the question to be directed to the answer)

• After I sign the Target agreement, how long will it take for a book to appear on Target?
• Can I request that my books be added to the Target.com catalog?
• Does my book meet all the requirements to be distributed through Target.com?
• How much is the Target.com Digital Accrual fee?
• How often are Digital Accrual and promotion fees processed?
• How are books selected for the Target.com catalog?
• I don’t want my book listed with Target any longer. What do I do?
• Instructions: Signing The TARGET.COM DISTRIBUTION Contract
• What are Target.com's Digital Accrual fees?
• What are Target.com's promotions and related fees?
• When I uploaded my last book, the Target option did not appear as it did for the other books I published. How do I add this feature?
• Where can I see details of Target Digital Accrual fees for my sold units?
• Why can't I find the Target agreement?
• Why is the sale of the book and the Target Digital Accrual fee not reported in the same month?
• Why isn’t my book listed for sale on Target.com any longer?
• Will all my books will be available through Target.com?
• Will distribution to Target.com result in me potentially having a negative balance and owing money back to Ingram rather than me profiting?
• Will my book be available on the Target website and in the stores?

IMPORTANT NOTE: Digital accrual fees are charged a month or more AFTER the sale of your book is reported. You may see a negative deduction of 6% of the retail price, or more if the book was part of one of the promotions Target offers, and no sales for that same month. The sale of the book would have been reported at least a month before the deduction, which will be displayed in the 'Other' column of the compensation report.

 

Q: What are Target.com's Digital Accrual fees?

A: Target charges a fee for each print unit sold through the Target.com website. This is referred to as a Digital Accrual fee.

Q: How much is the Target.com Digital Accrual fee?

A: The current fee is 6% of the list price for each unit sold. This is subject to change by Target.com at any time.

Q: What are Target.com's promotions and related fees?

A: Target.com offers two types of promotions:

• Buy 2 get 1 free (B2G1)
• Buy 1 get 1 free (BOGO) 

Target assesses fees for both types of promotions. Target will cover fifty percent (50%) of the suggested retail price of the free item (the lowest priced item), and the remaining fifty percent (50%) is charged to the participating publishers according to a book’s percentage of the total purchase at the suggested retail price, described further below.

 

Below are 3 scenarios of Target purchases and an explanation of this complex calculation.

Although publishers won't ever see the consumer's order that was placed with Target, this explains how the fees are calculated by Target. These amounts can always vary depending on the consumer's order.

This information may help you decide if this is an affordable distribution option for your book.

 

SCENARIO 1:

Buy 2 get 1 free (B2G1)

If books priced at $24.99 (Book 1), $12.99 (Book 2), and $8.99 (Book 3) were included in a buy 2, get 1 free promotion, the publishers of the books would pay as follows: $2.39 for Book 1, $1.24 for Book 2, and $0.86 for Book 3. The publisher is also charged a 6% fee. These fees are deducted from compensation earnings and appear in the column "Other" on the compensation report.

Using the information in the chart below for Scenario 1, this is how the fees are calculated for each publisher's book:

$46.97 is the total list price or retail purchase amount for a reader’s Target order (before tax).

The list price for the book (2nd column) is divided by the order total ($46.97) and equals 19.14% of the total purchase (3rd column) for the free item (Book 3).

Multiply the % of the total purchase amount (3rd column) by the list price of the book (2nd column) to get the total amount of the free item and divide that amount by 50%. This equals the 50% billed to the publisher (5th column) and adds the 6% fee (6% of the list price for the book - 6th column) which gives us the total amount the publisher is billed (7th column). 

$8.99 (book 3 list price) divided by $46.97 (order total) = .1914 (%of total purchase)

.1914 x $8.99 = $1.72 (total amount of free item) divided by 50% = $0.86 total billed to the publisher, plus 6% = $1.40.

SCENARIO 2:

Buy 2 get 1 free (B2G1)

If a Target guest purchases three books at a suggested retail price of $10 during the Buy 2 Get 1 Free promotion, Target will cover $5 (50%), and the remaining $5 would be divided equally among each publisher resulting in $1.66 being invoiced per Publisher. The publisher is also charged a 6% fee based on the list price of their book. These fees are deducted from compensation earnings and appear in the column "Other" on the compensation report.

$10 (list price of the book) divided by $30 (total order) = .33 (% of total purchase) x $10.00 (list price of the book) = $3.30 (total amount of free item) divided by 50% = $0.60 total billed to the publisher, plus 6% of the retail price = $2.26.

 

SCENARIO 3:

Buy 1 get 1 free (BOGO)

The book with the lower list price will be the book the consumer receives for free. Target and the participating publishers split the cost of the free book.

If books are priced at $30.00 (Book 1) and $20.00 (Book 2) were included in a buy 1, get 1 free promotion,  the $20 book is the free book and the publishers of the books would be charged as follows: 

Publisher A, Book 1: $30 (list price) divided by $50 (total order) = .60 (% of total purchase) x $20 (list price of the FREE book) = $12 (total amount of free item) divided by 50% = $6 (total billed to Publisher A) plus 6% of the  retail price = $7.80 

Publisher B, Book 2: $20 (list price) divided by $50 (total order) = .40 (% of total purchase) x $20 (list price of the FREE book) = $8 (total amount of free item) divided by 50% = $4 (total billed to publisher B) plus 6% of the  retail price = $5.20 

These fees are deducted from compensation earnings and appear in the column "Other" on the compensation report.

 

Q: Why is the sale of the book and the Target Digital Accrual fee not reported in the same month?

A: Target sends a report of Digital Accrual fees to Ingram the month after Target sells the books.  Therefore, a publisher may see Target fees deducted from their Pub Comp statement in the 'Other' column, in a month when no sales occur for an ISBN.  These fees can be deducted months after the Publisher's Compensation statement reported the ISBN being sold depending on how long it takes Target to sell the books to their customer.

Q: I signed the Target agreement, but I was curious if all my books will be available through them or only the one I listed in the title field on the agreement.

A: If your books have a valid ISBN, and U.S. market pricing, and are available through Ingram's Global Distribution Network, they are available for sale to Target.com.

The "Title" field on the last page of all agreements is where you list your position or role in your publishing business, such as owner, author, publisher, sole proprietor, etc. You would not list the title of your book in the Title field.

Q: How often are Digital Accrual and promotion fees processed?

A: Digital Accrual fees are processed monthly and applicable throughout the year. You will only be charged Digital Accrual fees against units sold through the Target.com channel unless your book was part of the promotions Target offers. Promotion fees apply during the promotional periods only and there are a total of 9 promotions per year:

• One per quarter for all books (2 for Q4)
• One per quarter for children’s books

Q: Where can I see details of Target Digital Accrual fees for my sold units?

A: You will see these deductions in the ‘Other’ column on your publisher's compensation statement.

Q: Will my book be available on the Target website AND in their stores?/span>

A: Our agreement with Target.com is they will list the books they select on their website as available for sale.

Q: Does my book meet all the requirements to be distributed through Target.com?

A: To have your book available for sale through Ingram's Global Distribution Network, including Target.com, you need a valid ISBN for the book that you own (or use a free IngramSpark ISBN), and the book must be printed in one of the standard trim sizes we offer.

You can find the list of trim sizes in the File Creation Guide and in the Pricing and Services Guide located in the Tools & Resource section of your IngramSpark account. Target is very selective of the books they choose to sell, and we have no way of knowing the criteria they use to select the books. 

There is no guarantee Target.com or other retailers will pick up your book and sell it through their website.

Q: After I sign the agreement, how long will it take for my book to appear on Target.com?

A: If Target selects your book, it will usually appear on Target.com within a few weeks.

Q: Why isn't my book listed for sale on Target.com any longer?

A: Target selects the books they want to sell based on the content and consumer preferences. Throughout the year, Target reviews and refreshes its catalog of books. Books may be listed on their website and then removed because Target decided against selling them and did not give a reason.

There is no guarantee any reseller or retailer will make any book available.

Q: Will distribution to Target.com result in me potentially having a negative balance and owing money back to Ingram rather than me profiting? The profit I make is already very low after the wholesale discount.

A: Target.com takes 6% of the list price as a Digital Accrual fee for each book sold. If the book is purchased by a consumer taking advantage of the promotions offered by Target.com, then yes, you could fall into a negative pub comp balance and owe money. Since we have no way of knowing what books were purchased by the consumer, we have no way of knowing what this will cost each publisher. If you are not earning much in compensation, carefully consider if you should participate.

Q: When I uploaded my last book, the Target option did not appear as it did for the other books I published. How do I add this feature?

A: Target.com is part of the U.S. distribution market. Your books are available to Target.com if you have:

• Provided U.S. pricing for your books
• The books are available through Ingram's Global Distribution Network
• You signed the Target agreement

Target is very selective about the books they sell and won't pick up all the books that are available for distribution.

Q: I don't want my book available on Target.com any longer. What do I do?

A: A member of the IngramSpark support team can remove the Target agreement from your account, so your books will no longer be available to Target. You can contact the support team through this link: CONTACT US.

Q: How are books selected for the Target.com catalog?

A: Target.com uses a limited catalog based on the retailer’s content and consumer preferences. The catalog is reviewed and refreshed throughout the year. You will not be notified of changes made to the catalog or about books they select.

There is no guarantee that any given reseller or retailer will make any book available.

Q: Can I request that my books be added to the Target.com catalog?

A: You can submit a request for consideration through the link HERE. But please be aware, that not all books will be considered.

Signing The TARGET.COM DISTRIBUTION Contract

Log in to your IngramSpark account and you may see a NEW button on the home page. Click on that button to access the Target Distribution agreement.

If you do not see the button, then you have probably already signed the agreement. (Instructions on how to see the signed agreement are further below)

To accept and sign the agreement, follow these instructions:

A) Click on the link for the Target.com distribution agreement and review.

B) After reviewing the agreement click the box I ACCEPT

C) Type in your name and your title (Owner, Sole proprietor, CEO, President, etc.) Please don't type in the title of your book.

D) Click the SIGN AGREEMENT button

 

Q: Why can't I find the Target agreement?

A: You may have already signed and accepted the agreement. 

To view the agreement, follow these instructions:

A) Log into your IngramSpark Account

B) In the top right corner, click on the drop-down arrow

C) Click on the link for the paperwork

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