Errors on the distance D_V for various survey geometries as a function of maximum redshift. For comparison the error induced by the finite number of BAO modes in the corresponding full sphere volume, calculated with the fitting formula of Seo & Eisenstein (2007), is shown (insufficient volume). This error is about a factor of 10 bigger than the error from the local volume distortion caused by inhomogeneities that we calculated. Adding a shot noise term, corresponding to a galaxy density of n = 3 × 10^-4   h³   Mpc^-3 typical for SDSS and BOSS, we find that the cosmic variance of D_V is a subdominant contribution to the error budget.