Quote Originally Posted by GailSimone View Post
They are estimates of a narrow but significant number. They are valuable mostly in comparison to other numbers estimated the exact same way, ie. month by month for the same title, or in overall comparison to other titles. They can be useful determining market share (though it’s still a guess), but are less valuable in determining dollar share (for which they are pretty much useless).

It’s data, but it’s not hugely useful for the result people most often use it to express. Anyone calling themselves an expert based on these numbers simply doesn’t know the full picture. Retailers know more, publishers know more still, and even creators don;t get a full picture until MUCH later. In some cases, we never really do get the full picture. So we can be completely in the dark for months at a time. There’s no condescension here, it’s just multiple revenue streams and the fact that many purchase outlets are not included in this estimate.

It’s odd. And honestly, we are often just as in the dark as anyone. Insider sales knowledge can be hard to come by and very slow to arrive. But when it does arrive, there are a lot of outlets that this estimate doesn’t cover.

Hope that makes sense. It’s good information, and on the whole it can be meaningful, but some books are hugely profitable in ways this list doesn’t even cover. The reverse is also true, some sakes numbers are inflated and don’t actually get purchased.

I wish this stuff was a lot more transparent. Hope that helps!
Best answer ever. Thanks for the inside insight, Gail Simone