Author Topic: Amazon will pay your usual royalty if it discounts your paperback.  (Read 2207 times)

Kay Inglis

I don't often check my books, but happened to look on my paperback today and apparently it is only 61 pence!

Can this be right? It is Print on Demand, so Amazon would make a loss.

I have it priced at £4.73.

Paperback

« Last Edit: November 20, 2018, 08:29:55 PM by Kay Inglis »

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EllieL

Re: Is Amazon discounting my paperback to 61 pence?
« Reply #1 on: November 20, 2018, 03:26:41 AM »
That's what I'm seeing. Same price as your ebook. Double check your pricing page and make sure it wasn't inadvertently changed. Then, if all fails, contact Amazon and ask if they are making up the difference for your royalties because you didn't set that price.
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Kay Inglis

Re: Is Amazon discounting my paperback to 61 pence?
« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2018, 03:42:12 AM »
I checked my own pricing and it is correct.

I assume that if it is Amazon's discount they won't make me pay for the production of any books that do sell!

It must either be a glitch or some sort of automatic, random discount, perhaps linked to Black Friday.

Pity they couldn't do it on one of my pen names which actually have an audience, but all my other paperbacks (9 of them) are set as usual.

The only difference is that this is the only paperback I generated on KDP. The rest were from CreateSpace.

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Bill Hiatt

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Re: Is Amazon discounting my paperback to 61 pence?
« Reply #3 on: November 20, 2018, 06:01:51 AM »
Occasionally, I've had situations in which Amazon priced one of my paperbacks lower than the printing price. I assume that's the glitch rather than a conscious choice--one of the bots slipped a cog. I've resisted the temptation to order twenty of them while they were at that price.

Unless something's changed, the discount comes out of Amazon's share, not yours. You get your full royalty regardless.


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Re: Is Amazon discounting my paperback to 61 pence?
« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2018, 06:03:21 AM »
I think the algorithm is related to sales.  From time to time, I think Amazon gives a little push to paperbacks that haven't sold in a while. I recall doing Amazon giveaways on paperbacks that had been lightly discounted, and as soon as I did that, the discount disappeared.


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Re: Is Amazon discounting my paperback to 61 pence?
« Reply #5 on: November 20, 2018, 07:59:07 AM »
Amazon will also heavily discount books that they've got taking up shelf space in a warehouse and they want to move them. This can happen when customers return POD books. If that's the case, the author has already received a royalty when the book was originally produced and shipped and wouldn't receive a second royalty when Amazon resells the copy.
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Kay Inglis

Re: Is Amazon discounting my paperback to 61 pence?
« Reply #6 on: November 20, 2018, 08:23:38 AM »
I emailed Amazon and the price is now restored to normal. Looks like a glitch where the eBook price showed up on the paperback.

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Kay Inglis

Re: Is Amazon discounting my paperback to 61 pence?
« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2018, 08:28:37 PM »
I just received this response from Amazon:


Greetings from KDP support team.

Given your query, yes, you will still receive the royalty amount based on the list price you've selected and not the promotional price reflected on Amazon. A customer might purchase your book at a discounted price that’s lower than your list price due to promotions, but it won’t impact your royalties.

Per our terms and conditions, we retain discretion to set the retail customer price for the books we sell. Our decision to discount products is based on a number of considerations which vary over time. Royalties you earn from books printed to fulfill orders through Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es and Amazon.it will be based on the list prices you set for your book, not the retail customer price.



So I will be paid for books sold whilst the price was discounted.

But since the book went back to its normal price after I emailed them, perhaps I should have left well alone and the discount might have stayed in place!

Still, worth knowing in case of anyone having their paperback discounted in future that you will be paid the usual royalty.

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