Is This Legal?
How we keep our books affordable
At McMouse Publishing, affordable pricing is intentional. We actively look for books that can be lawfully published, distributed or resold at favourable costs. By keeping our sourcing costs low, we can keep our prices low too.
Our catalogue now includes both ebooks and pre-loved physical books, with different sourcing models for each.
Our prices reflect how efficiently we can source and prepare a book—not how much we think reading should cost.
Why are some McMouse ebooks so affordable?
Not every ebook has the same cost behind it.
Some works in our catalogue are sourced from editions or underlying works that are available for lawful republication, including qualifying public-domain works. Others may be available under favourable publishing, distribution or licensing arrangements.
When a book costs us very little to legally source and prepare, we pass that advantage on to our readers instead of adding a large markup.
That's why you may find ebooks at McMouse Publishing for considerably less than you would normally expect.
What about pre-loved books?
McMouse Publishing also sources pre-loved physical books for resale.
These are genuine second-hand books that have previously been purchased and owned. We source them at low cost, check their condition and make them available to readers again rather than republishing or reproducing their contents. Our pre-loved books are sold in bulk bundles rather than individually, allowing us to combine multiple affordable books into a single order.
Because every pre-loved book is different, we photograph each individual copy and clearly describe its condition. Signs of previous ownership such as shelf wear, marks, creasing, yellowing or edge wear may be present.
The photographs on each listing show the actual book being offered for sale, so customers can review its condition before purchasing.
What about newer ebooks?
More recent ebooks are different.
Copyrighted titles—particularly books published within the last decade—may require specific publishing or distribution rights, licensing agreements, royalties or other rights-related costs. These costs can affect the price at which we are able to offer the ebook.
Our goal is always to make books as accessible and affordable as reasonably possible, but this means a newer or specially requested title may cost more than other books in our catalogue.
Can I request a book?
Absolutely.
If there's a book you'd like to see at McMouse Publishing, you're welcome to request it.
For ebooks, we'll consider whether we can obtain the appropriate publishing or distribution rights, any licensing or royalty costs involved, whether the title can be prepared as a clean and reliable EPUB, and the price at which we could reasonably offer it.
For pre-loved books, we can also keep an eye out for second-hand copies that can be sourced at a reasonable cost.
What we look for
For ebooks, we ask:
- Can we lawfully publish or distribute it?
- Can it be prepared as a clean, reliable EPUB suitable for modern reading devices?
- What will it cost us to source, prepare and distribute?
- How affordable can we make the final ebook?
For pre-loved physical books, we ask:
- Can we lawfully acquire and resell this copy?
- Is the book in a condition we're comfortable offering to a customer?
- Can we source it cheaply enough to keep the final bundle affordable?
- Can we accurately photograph and describe its condition?
Whether digital or physical, the principle is the same: source carefully, keep unnecessary costs down and pass those savings on to readers.