*Skip to the end of the post to see the answer that has since been found.*
It has come to my attention that the prices of self-published ebooks on Amazon are not the same
outside the US as they are
inside the US.
I used to look at authors' ebooks on Smashwords and Amazon and I'd think to myself,
why are they pricing their books higher on Amazon than they are on Smashwords? Is it because more work goes into formatting for Amazon? Surely anyone with half a brain cell will choose to buy from the cheaper site then?BUT after a conversation with a friend recently, and having looked at a few more author websites and then at their books on Amazon, I suddenly twigged: the authors are NOT pricing their books differently on different platforms, it's Amazon that keeps showing me a price that's $2 higher than the price the author set.
What??I contacted Amazon to ask them why this happens and they couldn't answer my question. They told me that they're unable to offer a price match with a different online retailer. Okay, I get that, but that isn't what I asked! I asked ONLY about Amazon: if I click on the exact same link that my friend in the US does, why do I (in South Africa) see a price that is $2 higher than the price she sees?
No response.
So, if you're not currently in the US (or even if you are, just so we can make sure about this), I'd like to ask you a question.
When you click on the following Amazon links, what price do you see? Book | The author says | I see |
| $3.99 | $5.99 |
| $2.99 | $4.99 |
| $3.99 | $5.99 |
| $2.99 | $4.99 |
And another important question for authors:
if you've priced your book at $0.99, but I pay $2.99, do you still only get 35% royalites (and not 70%, as you should on a $2.99 book)? Does Amazon take the rest even though someone has paid more for your book?~ ~ ~
UPDATE (22 Nov 2011)
The answer can be found on the
KDP Sales and Royalites FAQ page:
1-6. Why is the price of my book higher in other countries than in my own?There are a number of reasons why prices for Kindle titles may vary from region to region, including taxes, delivery costs, and other operating costs. We understand your concern about prices and we share that concern - we will continue our efforts to reduce costs and offer the best possible prices to customers in every region.
I guess I should have searched harder for the answer before posting about this, but I'm still glad I posted, as it seems that many people are unaware of the price difference.
