Author Topic: Odd behaviour from Amazon UK sales when reporting sales  (Read 1784 times)

garygibsonsf

Odd behaviour from Amazon UK sales when reporting sales
« on: December 03, 2018, 02:28:40 PM »
This might be just me, but putting this out there in case it isn't.

My one self-published book has been selling steadily since I released it in March, and while there have been occasions when it's stopped selling for maybe a day or two days, this is the first time it's literally screeched to a halt right at the start of a new month.

That might not be enough to draw any conclusions, but, surprised at zero sales with a book that sells so reliably and steadily, I checked my AMS UK reports (I've given up doing ads on Amazon US and, besides, nearly all my sales are in the UK) and they reported at least one sale of a paperback, and no ebooks.

But when I go to KDP and click on 'reports', it tells me two ebooks have sold - but no paperbacks.

My book's rank has plummeted as if there have been no sales. Book Report also acts as if there have been no sales, even after refreshing the data.

I can't make sense of it. Hopefully it's just a temporary glitch.
 

TimothyEllis

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Re: Odd behaviour from Amazon UK sales when reporting sales
« Reply #1 on: December 03, 2018, 02:40:42 PM »
I'm not sure what happened either.

Sales have almost died over the last week. Across almost all my books. And without the sales, ranks are tumbling, and so KU reads are going down as well.

The key thing for me is I'm not running an AMS ad at the moment. And I've seen this before, although not this fast a decline. Within days of having no AMS ad, it's like Amazon turns your books off, or imposes a rank penalty.

I'm not worried at this point, as my WIP is getting near completion, and I'll do a new AMS ad when it goes live.
Genres: Space Opera/Fantasy/Cyberpunk, with elements of LitRPG and GameLit, with a touch of the Supernatural. Also Spiritual and Games.



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Marti Talbott

Re: Odd behaviour from Amazon UK sales when reporting sales
« Reply #2 on: December 08, 2018, 12:40:33 AM »
Think they are still trying to catch up after Black Friday? I'm starting to get worried. I live off my sales. No mon, no fun.
Read The Swindler, a historical romance available at:
Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Kobo & Nook
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QG5K23
 

David VanDyke

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Re: Odd behaviour from Amazon UK sales when reporting sales
« Reply #3 on: December 08, 2018, 05:21:29 AM »
Advertising is a fertilizer. If you (general you) use the fertilizer carefully and appropriately, it can work, even long term.

If you stop using it, you fall back to your organic soil level.

If Amazon has de-emphasized organic discoverability (as it has recently, by prioritizing ads over also-boughts), then your organic level will be lower--like depleted soil without the fertilizer of advertising added.

I think the golden age of free land composed of rich soil is over with. Now, you have to add fertilizer or your yields will be poor. What's worse, unlike in the crops analogy, if you don't add fertilizer, other farmers will start crowding you off your land. Okay, the analogy is breaking down a bit, but you get the picture.
Never listen to people with no skin in the game.

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LilyBLily

Re: Odd behaviour from Amazon UK sales when reporting sales
« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2018, 09:34:10 AM »
I recently added budget and keywords to my AMS ads and am experiencing the same drop in sales in the U.S. It's Christmas shopping time, folks. No need to panic, but remember that the majority of book buyers are female and at this time of year they are BUSY. They'll be back once all the presents are bought and wrapped and all the food is made, and, and, and....
 

cecilia_writer

Re: Odd behaviour from Amazon UK sales when reporting sales
« Reply #5 on: December 09, 2018, 05:10:20 AM »
I've had something similar happen this month with Amazon UK. It's got so bad that my Amazon US sales have almost caught up with the UK ones - for no apparent reason the Christmas book in my mystery series started selling just after Thanksgiving.
I'm hoping to finish my November novel quickly to kick-start the UK.
Cecilia Peartree - Woman of Mystery
 

Marti Talbott

Re: Odd behaviour from Amazon UK sales when reporting sales
« Reply #6 on: December 09, 2018, 05:26:24 AM »
If it helps, a lot of authors are complaining about low sales for the last couple of months. Actually, it doesn't help except to know we do not suffer alone. I think the reports are screwed up now that they implemented the beta reports. Seems like something new always sets something old back a ways.
Read The Swindler, a historical romance available at:
Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Kobo & Nook
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QG5K23