Sooo you published a poetry collection, set your sale price, and now you notice that your book’s price dropped. The list price is now lower than the price you set it at. WTF is up with that!?
Here’s the deal. KDP chooses what they charge customers. That means that even when you set a book for $10, they can go ahead and sell it for $1. Why? Because they can. No, but really…why?
Because they noticed “competitors are selling the book for a lower price” (thanks KDP for this info)
Will this influence royalties?
For paperbacks, nay. They will discount the book at whatever you want, and your royalties will be calculated based on the list price that you set. That’s great news for you because it means that you’ll get the same amount of cash money if the book is sold, but the customer gets a sweet discount. Win win win.
What if someone is selling my book for a higher price?
It’s rude. But also.. it’s allowed. If you choose Expanded or Global Distribution, third-party sellers such as Barnes & Noble and all the others purchase your book for the set price and they can re-sell it at whatever the heck they want. So like…there’s nothing you can do except direct people to the links you want them to use to buy your book. That’s it.
Does the same thing happen if I use Lulu, IngramSpark, BookBaby, or Blurb?
Yes. If you choose to allow third-party distributors to purchase and re-sell your book, you basically allow them to do just that. So they can buy your book for the retail price and sell it for $19,000. Or they can buy it at the retail price and sell it for $1. It’s all fair game.
So if my book’s price dropped what does this mean for me?
This means that if your book is offered at a discount, you should tell your friends. For paperback books, you’ll get the same royalties, so heck yeah! Let everyone win.
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