Forum: Author Hangout

Here in Australia the GST (Goods and Services Tax = VAT here in Aus) is included in the price.

Yeah, but the question is: Did Amazon add the GST to the price? If not, the author is paying the tax not the customer..

The Australian GST for ebooks is 10%. What Amazon should do when converting U.S. dollars for the U.S. market to Australian dollars for the AU market is to add that 10%. If not, the ebook is 10% less than what it should be and therefore the author pays the tax rather than the customer.

In the U.S., the tax is added at checkout. But in markets that have a VAT, the tax is already included in the price. Nothing is added at checkout. So if the VAT isn't included in the price, the author ends up paying it. It would be equivalent in the U.S. if, at checkout, the sales tax is charged to the author and not the customer.

When I first started publishing on Amazon KDP I believe the appropriate VAT was added for each market that had it. But I think that changed. I just don't remember.

That's correct, but with Kindle Print, the give you the option, showing YOU the Vat, already adjusted for, but you can always adjust the initial default settings, thus ensuring you're earning the whole price, so you can go either way.

I've long done this, as I'll often monkey with the default prices to end up on the price I want and not what Amazon prefers. Amazon always prefers books prices in cents (ex: $1.99), as that indicates it's 'cheaper' than it actually is. Unfortunately, while that does bring in more purchasers, THOSE buyers are focused entirely on the discount, and will rarely pay the full retail price.

Yet Amazon is and always has been a retailer, and not and never has been a serious publisher!

So, if you're happy earning fractions of a penny on every dollar you earn, or earn several dollars for your every purchase, then $.99 is nowhere as good as a solid $20. So, as an independent publisher, I split the difference, usually publishing at $15.00. As 'discount' books signify 'cheap', while whole dollars signify 'quality' purchases, worth the extra expense.

But, regardless of what I charge, for me at least, I actually sell MORE by charging more than I do when charging only a pittance, as you'd expect, those looking for discounts aren't interested in quality, so by charging more, I also attach the more discerning readers—interested in the more detailed and unusual novels I typically focus on.

Again, I'm a niche publisher, yet it's a very dedicated niche following, as I'd NEVER attract of large volume of sales, or I'd have sought to be professionally published initially. Instead, I self-published because I could gain more experience publishing multiple novels a year than a could one every several years.

And again, these are the issues that authors never think of, which is what publishers, and KDP depends on! Luckily, I have an economics background (economic theory, rather than the more focused economics).

That's correct,

By "that's correct" I assume you mean the VAT is automatically included in the price by Amazon.

a solid $20

Almost all the books on Amazon are not for sale at a whole number. They don't always end with .99 but hardly any end with .00. I don't believe your logic works from a marketing perspective.

The length of my novel typically dictates the price.

Well, if you're already making the adjustment, then it's not an issue. I was just pointing out why those posting should consider it, which again was the original question.

As for not believing in economic theory (i.e. Supply and Demand), most economist's don't believe in it either, arguing that it's like driving only using the rear view mirror. So, it works for me, which is why I first started making the adjustment. In short, it worked for me, and improved my sales, as expected. If you got there without even considering economic theory, it really makes no difference. What works, works, yet it's not always obvious which strategy does for most 'self-published' authors. Again, the reason why self-published books now have such a terrible image, is because so many who do publish via KDP simply don't know much about a whole score of things (i.e. their just not that good of storytellers, not that they don't know the proper way of doing things).

As noted, in a compelling story, you can forgive a lot, yet if it's not a good story, why would anyone even consider reading those authors. Again, until a couple of years ago, KDP was a well-regarded publishing source. Now, there such a prevalence to terrible books, the whole industry is no longer much respected.

By the way, I quit using ANY for of Kindle a long time ago, mainly using Bookapy. But, once I've completed posting and I'm no longer updating the story, then I post to KDP so readers who didn't purchase it WHILE I was posting, can access it Amazon. But again, the profit discrepancy, at least for me, is abysmal on KDP compared what I earn on Bookapy.

But then, being 'on the spectrum', I'm in a niche market, simply because my books are NOT easy to read. However you read it, few will EVER read my writing, just because of that alone. People avoid me as much as they can anyway, so why should the marketplace? I'm used to it, as it's merely a fact of life.

Which again, is WHY I get so much flak on the forums, it's not my points, it's simply the way I talk, think and deal with life. Yet again, thanks for reminding me, once again, I'll simply quit the Forum entirely, as I've long done.

As I've noted before, I learn more, writing for myself and not publishing anywhere, so in that case, why even bother publishing anywhere. Again, I've got a niche following, but the vast majority of readers, authors, can't STAND anything I say, do, say, or my mere existence—which include here as well.

Posting on SOL boosts my Bookapy sales, but … I'm much happier NOT conversing with anyone. Friends are beneficial, yet for me and 'my kind', friends have always been an extremely rare event anyway.