Section 02
Distribution
The arrangement that killed the newsstand. Copies that could be returned for credit, then an arrangement that took the right of return away and handed the risk to the shop instead — four entries on how the trade reorganised around it.
- 02·1
The returnable copy
Newsstand copies were returnable for credit, and often only the cover came back as proof, which is why so much was destroyed.
- 02·2
Sea Gate Distributors
Phil Seuling's arrangement in the 1970s let specialist shops buy direct at a deeper discount, non-returnable, and the whole trade reorganised around it.
- 02·3
Non-returnable, deeper discount
Taking away the right to return shifted the risk to the shop and, in exchange, made print runs predictable for the first time.
- 02·4
The shop as a market
Once the buyer was a specialist shop rather than a newsagent, publishers could print for a known audience.