In a September 26, 2005, article in PW, adjectives like "quietly" and "understated" were used to describe Random House's and Simon & Schuster's initial forays into selling directly to consumers from their Web sites. Nearly a year later, the D2C game hasn't changed all that much, but another player is upping the ante: Penguin.

Late last month, Penguin launched a highly visible effort to promote direct sales. The publisher distributed 5,000 hand fans to Manhattanites over a four-day period. The fans—which advertised 25% off online purchases made at us.penguingroup.com on one side and displayed branded nonbook items (including a tote and a "Miss Spider Plush Gift Basket") on the flip side—were handed out at three different spots in the city in order to drive consumers to buy from Penguin's Web site.

Though a Penguin spokesperson would say little about the promotion—in fact, no one at the big houses seems to want to publicly discuss what is or is not going on with D2C—the intent was clear and, presumably, marks the beginning of a larger effort on Penguin's part to become a more viable retailer.A survey of the five major houses' Web sites found that Penguin, unlike Random and S&S, sells branded gear (Penguin's homepage features a "Penguin Gear" link that sends customers to a page offering clothing, gift baskets and other items); and all three steer consumers to buy direct when they go online. Penguin is also running other online promotions and is currently raffling an iPod Nano as part of a back-to-school campaign.

At HarperCollins and Hachette, there is no option, much less push, for D2C sales. "Buy this book" links on their sites send consumers to a list of retail options, from the online giants (Amazon, bn.com) to the large independents (Cody's, Powells). In a recent interview with PW, HC CEO Jane Friedman said the company has no immediate plans to add a selling option to its site. "We're not a retailer," she said.

Speaking to the lack of movement in the push to sell direct, Random House's Stuart Applebaum said that RH's "modest online direct-to-consumer program remains in the incubation stage." Perseus Books Group also lacks an online sales option; president David Steinberger said his house has "no plans to sell direct at this time." Steinberger noted that getting into the sales side of the book business has its hurdles. "Being successful as a destination site for consumers requires an offering of either low price, broad (multi-publisher) selection or customization to the specific needs of a consumer niche. Publishers are generally not set up to do any of these things that well."

Maybe not. But that doesn't mean they've given up on the possibility. Some comics and graphic novel houses, mostly independents, have been much more comfortable with D2C sales from the beginning. Still, a recent direct-to-consumer sales effort by one manga publisher is raising a hue and cry from some comics retailers, who claim the publisher is stealing customers from them. Tokyopop recently announced a plan to offer a group of poorly selling titles exclusively through its Web site. The publisher, which has been selling direct for years, is describing the effort as an experiment, according to Tokyopop editor-in-chief Mike Kiley, to see whether it can find support for titles that aren't gaining traction in the traditional market. The move has angered comics retailers, with many complaining that the house is competing with them and taking away titles they helped create the market for.

with reporting by Calvin Reid