Pricing E-Books - Page 2

mr ploppy · 06-09-2011, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VydorScope

So are you saying 2.99-4.99 is a good range? Not sure I know which range your referring to.

I'm saying price won't be much of a factor in its first few months. Book 2 is something people either want or don't want. If you make it appealing to people who haven't read book 1 at best you will generate new free downloads of that one.

VydorScope · 06-09-2011, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

I'm saying price won't be much of a factor in its first few months. Book 2 is something people either want or don't want. If you make it appealing to people who haven't read book 1 at best you will generate new free downloads of that one.

That seems like a valid point since it is a series. I guess I'll price it at 2.99 then and see how it goes.

Anke Wehner · 06-09-2011, 06:30 AM

To me $2.99 is a nice price for a novel, not greedy - at least if the proofreading is on par. With a second book in a series (and, again, if the editing/proofreading is good), if I liked the first one, I wouldn't mind 3.99 or 4.99, either.

For some reason my gut feeling says that the difference between 3.99 and 4.99 is bigger than between 2.99 and 3.99. Apparently my impulse buy threshold is closer to 4 than 5.

Andrew Ashling · 06-09-2011, 03:10 PM

I have put my price at $2.99 for novels ranging between 80k and 140k words, and 99¢ for a collection of short shorties of about 20k.
I like to specify the word count since the words 'novel,' 'novella,' 'novelette,' and 'short story' have a tendency to be used arbitrarily.
I recently saw a publisher sell a 6k short story for $1.85. At that rate I should be charging $43,00 for my 140k novel.

peterjmerrigan · 06-09-2011, 05:41 PM

Do all you guys in the US have to worry about tax, too? In the UK, I've priced my novel at 99p but with VAT (tax) it's on sale for £1.14p. It's a bit of a nuisance, I can tell you! (Paperbacks aren't subject to tax, but ebooks are)

crich70 · 06-09-2011, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peterjmerrigan

Do all you guys in the US have to worry about tax, too? In the UK, I've priced my novel at 99p but with VAT (tax) it's on sale for £1.14p. It's a bit of a nuisance, I can tell you! (Paperbacks aren't subject to tax, but ebooks are)

Not having published an ebook I don't know if authors have to take that into account when pricing but we do have sales tax on most things. I've never paid more than the actual price shown on Amazon for an ebook (i.e. .99 = .99 not $1.05 or something) though.

VydorScope · 06-09-2011, 10:04 PM

Sales tax depends on the seller and various opinions on the laws but no one takes that in account when pricing/selling because the buyer can normally find a store that does not charge THEM tax, and tis outside the author's control.

The simplified explanation is that. If I live in NJ, and the seller is in TN then its a FEDERAL sale, and not subject to any state taxes of any kind. If I live in TN and the seller is in TN then its a in-state sale, and subject to state laws and taxes.

Thats how stores like Amazon get away with not charging tax, while the local brick and motar stores have to charge tax. Some day that will change I am sure, but for now everyone takes advantage of it to pay less for stuff.

peterjmerrigan · 06-10-2011, 04:25 AM

Thanks Crich and Vydor. Here in the UK, ebooks aren't listed as "99p + 15p VAT", they're just listed as "£1.14p", so the reader/purchaser never knows. It does say in small print underneath the price that "digital editions are subject to tax, unlike paperbacks" or words to that effect.

It's just interesting that 'physical' books (as well as CDs and DVDs, I believe) are not subject to tax, but ebooks are. It means we have to take that into account when pricing - I wanted my book up for 99p, but with tax, it means I'll have to reduce the price to get it under £1...

VydorScope · 06-13-2011, 10:40 PM

well I just released at 2.99... so I guess we will see how this goes....

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Agency pricing (almost) 1 year on...how many e-books have you NOT bought?	sufue	General Discussions	132	04-18-2011 11:00 PM
Weird two tier pricing for some Kindle books?	bfollowell	Amazon Kindle	17	09-29-2010 05:51 PM
Unutterably Silly Amazon's 9.99 Pricing Strategy vs Publishers Pricing Models	poohbear_nc	Lounge	0	04-12-2010 10:32 AM
Angry Robot Books Want Your Opinion on Ebook Pricing	garygibsonsf	News	112	06-03-2009 08:03 AM
interesting discussion on pricing of fiction books	Liviu_5	News	4	10-10-2007 09:27 AM

06-09-2011, 06:30 AM	#18
Anke Wehner Addict Posts: 249 Karma: 177956 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Germany Device: PRS-650	To me $2.99 is a nice price for a novel, not greedy - at least if the proofreading is on par. With a second book in a series (and, again, if the editing/proofreading is good), if I liked the first one, I wouldn't mind 3.99 or 4.99, either. For some reason my gut feeling says that the difference between 3.99 and 4.99 is bigger than between 2.99 and 3.99. Apparently my impulse buy threshold is closer to 4 than 5.

06-09-2011, 03:10 PM	#19
Andrew Ashling Connoisseur Posts: 60 Karma: 549264 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: I divide my time between Ormidon, Ximerion and Antwerp, Belgium Device: Kobo Glo HD, Kobo Aura H2O, Kobo Clara, Kobo Aura One, Kobo Libra H2O	I have put my price at $2.99 for novels ranging between 80k and 140k words, and 99¢ for a collection of short shorties of about 20k. I like to specify the word count since the words 'novel,' 'novella,' 'novelette,' and 'short story' have a tendency to be used arbitrarily. I recently saw a publisher sell a 6k short story for $1.85. At that rate I should be charging $43,00 for my 140k novel.

06-09-2011, 05:41 PM	#20
peterjmerrigan Member Posts: 17 Karma: 20000 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: West Yorkshire, England Device: Kindle	Do all you guys in the US have to worry about tax, too? In the UK, I've priced my novel at 99p but with VAT (tax) it's on sale for £1.14p. It's a bit of a nuisance, I can tell you! (Paperbacks aren't subject to tax, but ebooks are)

06-09-2011, 10:04 PM	#22
VydorScope Wizard Posts: 3,418 Karma: 35207650 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad	Sales tax depends on the seller and various opinions on the laws but no one takes that in account when pricing/selling because the buyer can normally find a store that does not charge THEM tax, and tis outside the author's control. The simplified explanation is that. If I live in NJ, and the seller is in TN then its a FEDERAL sale, and not subject to any state taxes of any kind. If I live in TN and the seller is in TN then its a in-state sale, and subject to state laws and taxes. Thats how stores like Amazon get away with not charging tax, while the local brick and motar stores have to charge tax. Some day that will change I am sure, but for now everyone takes advantage of it to pay less for stuff.

06-10-2011, 04:25 AM	#23
peterjmerrigan Member Posts: 17 Karma: 20000 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: West Yorkshire, England Device: Kindle	Thanks Crich and Vydor. Here in the UK, ebooks aren't listed as "99p + 15p VAT", they're just listed as "£1.14p", so the reader/purchaser never knows. It does say in small print underneath the price that "digital editions are subject to tax, unlike paperbacks" or words to that effect. It's just interesting that 'physical' books (as well as CDs and DVDs, I believe) are not subject to tax, but ebooks are. It means we have to take that into account when pricing - I wanted my book up for 99p, but with tax, it means I'll have to reduce the price to get it under £1...

06-13-2011, 10:40 PM	#24
VydorScope Wizard Posts: 3,418 Karma: 35207650 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad	well I just released at 2.99... so I guess we will see how this goes....

Advert

Advert