Amazon losing money

zpeteman · Jul 18, 2010

Last month I lowered the list price of the Kindle version of my book to 2.99. Saw a huge increase in sales.

Now that the new royalty system is in place, Amazon has discounted the book to 1.99 which is fine by me because that means they are paying me 2.10 for every book even though they are only selling it for 1.99. (Royalty is based on the price set by the publisher(me), not on the actual sales price.)

So then I thought, wait a minute, what if I bought a million copies of my own book. I'd make $110,000. But wouldn't you know it, Amazon won't let you buy multiple copies of ebooks. Argh. I got excited for a minute there.

Guardian · Jul 18, 2010

Haha. It's good to see an author in the position of gaining more than Amazon can gain.

littlebear91 · Jul 23, 2010

Well the difference of 30 cents is paid by whom? that is a thoughtful question.

orion_mk3 · Jul 23, 2010

We're in the "explosive growth and competition" phase of e-book and e-reader technology right now. With the Nook and iPad out now, the Kindle has its first real competition, so Amazon is likely selling Kindles and e-books at a loss (which can be made up from its other lucrative businesses) to try and grab/maintain market share.

Luckily, their loss can be a consumer's gain in the form of lower prices...unless it means they start dramatically slashing royalties too!

James D. Macdonald · Jul 25, 2010

Let them corner the market and then see what happens to royalties.

KMTolan · Jul 26, 2010

James D. Macdonald said:
Let them corner the market and then see what happens to royalties.

Best quote ever. Anyone on any end of the supply chain who thinks Amazon is a good corporation is in for a savage wake-up call. The only thing holding Amazon at bay is competition.

Kerry

Library4Science · Aug 6, 2010

I would check on that if I were you. If you are getting the 70% royalty then the calculation is based on the discounted price. If you are getting the 35% royalty then the calculation is based on your set price.

efkelley · Aug 6, 2010

There's money to be made in eBooks. There will be competition.

I don't believe there's such a thing as a good or evil corporation. They're in it for the money. If that means throwing you under the bus, they surely will. Just be prepared to do the same to them.

amused · Aug 6, 2010

James D. Macdonald said:
Let them corner the market and then see what happens to royalties.

Amazon *already* has 70-80% of the eBook market.

Old Hack · Aug 6, 2010

Amused, are you sure of that? It's a tempting statistic but I'd like to see its source.

amused · Aug 6, 2010

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-18438_7-20012381-82.html

CNET: Well, Apple's saying it's got 20 percent market share and I've heard Barnes & Noble saying it's got 20 percent as well, so that would leave you guys with...
Freed: Honestly, something doesn't add up because we're pretty sure we're 70 to 80 percent of the market. So, something, somewhere isn't quite working right. I encourage you to do some more research. Obviously, from the beginning of Amazon we've been very metrics-focused and we don't typically throw out numbers we don't firmly believe in. Take that 70 to 80 percent number and add up all the others and something somewhere isn't going to add up.

http://www.tbiresearch.com/amazon-selling-90-of-all-e-books-2010-1

Several publishers and distributors tell us that Amazon is currently selling upwards of 90% of all e-books sold.

efkelley · Aug 7, 2010

Ha. Freed said 'Honestly'. Take a drink.

Seriously, though, the question: Is that percentage on the rise or on the decline?

Given the iPad release this year, several publishers expanding their eBook libraries, and additional tablet/reader devices coming out, that number won't hold. As I say, there's money in eBooks. There will be competition.

Amazon losing money

zpeteman

Natural born...

Guardian

just the worst honestly

littlebear91

Never Let Go

orion_mk3

Ne Cede Malis

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

KMTolan

No drama

Library4Science

efkelley

ow

amused

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

amused

efkelley

ow