Amazon put my book on sale without my consent?

[ErikT]

Forgive me if this is a novice question; couldn't find anything searching the existing threads.

So my first book has been active on Amazon for almost a week, and Amazon just put the paperback (ASIN 172917728X) on sale for 10% off. They did this without notifying me, without my consent, and against my desires.

Is this 'normal' for Amazon? I e-mailed KDP customer support thru their Help page and they replied saying the KINDLE version is priced correctly. I already knew that. My issue is why they are showing a 10% discount on the paperback that I never agreed to.

I suppose if this is some sort of Amazon promotion they want to offer while still commissioning me for the full-price sale, I would have no objection. But somehow I doubt that's it.

Any ideas? Like I say, I already e-mailed them and they responded to a question I didn't ask while ignoring the one I did. I wrote back with screenshots circled in bright red to make the obvious painfully obvious, but so far no reply.

Thanks,
Erik

[Michelle Louring]

Generally, if Amazon discounts your books without your acceptance (and not through price-matching), they will pay you royalties for the full retail price.

[ErikT]

Thanks Michelle, that's very helpful. Can't be price-matching, as I'm not listed anywhere else. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Is this something they do a lot? I'm having a hard time understanding their motivation for dramatically reducing their own margin while continuing to pay me full commission.

Thanks,
Erik

[Michelle Louring]

I haven't kept an eye on their sale techniques lately, but Amazon as a company has always been known to sell products at aggressively low prices to undercut competitors.
That's how they came to be the number 1 place for shopping online.

Maybe someone with more recent knowledge can chime in - I remember them doing it with indie books in the past, but I must admit that I'm not following the market as closely these days 

[Bill Hiatt]

Amazon does this frequently, but not in a way I can figure out the pattern for. Sometimes all of my books are marked down; sometimes none of them are. The fluctuations don't seem to have much to do with sales. Occasionally, I've had a book marked down below the production cost, though I think that has to be a glitch.

Amazon built its market share by offering lower prices. When, it does that, however, it still gives the vendor the full royalty, so no worries there.

[ErikT]

I totally forgot this is Thanksgiving week in USA, and so my guess is this has to do with "Black Friday" sales. They finally replied and confirmed that they will pay full royalties based on MY asking price, so with that confirmation they can give it away free so far as I'm concerned!

Thanks again for the info guys!

Erik

[veinglory]

Per their TOS they are taking the 10% out of their share, so this is a win for you.

[Vijaya]

Yes, when this happened to me, I was assured it is a good thing! Happy sales!!!

[IW Ferguson]

This happened to me as well. As a new author, I'm selling more paperbacks than e-books, partially because friends-n-family, and partially because I launched during the holiday shopping season. I recently sold a bunch (by my prawny standards) at my two local stores.
My first reaction to the sale was happy, knowing Amz is eating the 10% loss, and I want to tell everyone. My second reaction was, oh, right, that's how they get me to shill for them instead of directing potential buyers to their local stores. Clever.

[Bill Hiatt]

This happened to me as well. As a new author, I'm selling more paperbacks than e-books, partially because friends-n-family, and partially because I launched during the holiday shopping season. I recently sold a bunch (by my prawny standards) at my two local stores.
My first reaction to the sale was happy, knowing Amz is eating the 10% loss, and I want to tell everyone. My second reaction was, oh, right, that's how they get me to shill for them instead of directing potential buyers to their local stores. Clever.

As with all things Amazon, yes, there is something in it for Amazon. However, if it moves books without losing you any royalties, it's generally a good thing.

And yes, Amazon would like it if all book sales in the universe happened on the Amazon website, but that doesn't need to affect your marketing strategy. Some people will prefer to shop on Amazon. Others will prefer to shop at local bookstores if they are lucky enough to still have any. Advertise your local stores to book-buying locals. Advertise Amazon to your mailing list and others who aren't going to be shopping in your local stores.