Help Centre - Selling Digital Editions

Selling Digital Issues
Introduction As well as enabling Sellers to offer print edition magazine issues (ie., original paper copies) the Magazine Exchange system also allows the sale of digital editions – ie. magazine issues which are stored, distributed and viewed electronically rather than being a physical item that needs to be sent to the customer by post.
From the Seller’s perspective digital editions also have the major advantage of being infinitely reproducible – in other words a Seller will never run out of stock of a digital edition no matter how many copies they sell. Of course magazine issues that consist of nothing but a computer file also have their share of drawbacks when compared to the traditional paper version, and indeed it’s common for the same magazine issue to be available to purchase on the Magazine Exchange website in both formats, often from the same Seller.

Who Can Sell?

All Seller account holders are able to offer print editions for sale by default, but the additional ability to also sell digital editions must be applied-for; Magazine Exchange welcomes such requests from both private and trade Sellers, with the only requirement being a confirmation from the Seller that they possess reproduction copyright of the digital items they intend to offer.

Existing Sellers visiting the Items for Sale > Digital Magazines section of their Seller account for the first time will find that they are required to complete an additional registration form before being able to access the facility, and by submitting this form the Seller indemnifies Magazine Exchange from any claims that might arise from their subsequent use of it.

Copyright law has many nuances and Magazine Exchange is not in a position to judge the correctness of any copyrights claimed by it's users - but of course any parties who believe their rights are being infringed by items offered by sale on the website should contact Magazine Exchange as a matter of urgency.

Not withstanding the above it should be noted that - particularly in the case of older magazine issues which typically will pre-date the concept of digital reproduction, and where in many cases the original rights holders may no longer even exist - it can be entirely legitimate for third parties to create new digital versions, and claim copyright thereof.

File Formats & Watermarking

Digital editions may be be uploaded and offered for sale in a wide variety of file formats, but PDF is by far the most popular choice and is the format which the system is set-up to accept by default; Seller wishing to upload files in other formats should contact Magazine Exchange beforehand.

When a customer purchases a digital edition the Magazine Exchange system automatically adds a security watermark to the file during the download process, which protects the Sellers' interests by greatly reducing the likelyhood of the customer subsequently reproducing and re-selling the file themselves. The watermarking process is provided explained in more detail here and Sellers should familiarize themselves with how the process will affect their files.

To maximize reliability and robustness, and in particular to reduce the likelyhood of customers encountering problems when opening and viewing files, Sellers are strongly recommended to ensure their files are PDF version 1.4 or later and contain minimal dynamic or interactive elements, and to also make use of the download testing facility provided - see >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Listing digital editions for sale <<<<<<<<<

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Help Centre - Selling Digital Editions - Introduction