Question about selling ebooks via your website - Page 2

Steven Lake · 09-03-2010, 09:30 AM

Yeah, that's kinda where I'm leaning with this. So far the only advantage to hosting the ebook files myself is that I get 100% of the money from each sale instead of the typical 50%.

Valmore Daniels · 09-03-2010, 12:07 PM

My thoughts on that were, how much extra marketing will I have to do to get that extra 50%, and how many sales would I actually get from my efforts. I read through every page on http://www.fonerbooks.com and used some of their sales figures. Since I write fiction, I doubt I would have nearly enough sales to make it worthwhile. Plus, if I push people toward amazon or smashwords (for example), that increases my rank on that site and increases the change a casual browser will see my title and click through. That was just my reasoning why I decided not to pursue selling directly on my website.

David Derrico · 09-05-2010, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Wood

I don't know if David Derrico posts here, he does at Kindleboards, but he has a nice website with ebook purchasing:

http://www.davidderrico.com/

Maybe ask him for some advice?

Thanks for the kind words, Tom.

I just use PayPal, and I set it up so that completed orders route purchasers to a download page on my site.

Of course, if people who purchased my e-books decided to email their friends the link to the download page, they could grab my e-books as well. But, since I trust my readers and don't attach DRM to my e-books, they could just as easily email the e-book file itself to all their friends anyway, so I don't lose sleep over it.

If I noticed a bunch more hits on my download page than purchases, I'd switch the download page URL.

It's not rock-solid security, but it's convenient for my readers, because they can grab their e-books instantly after paying -- they don't have to wait for me to email them anything.

mr ploppy · 09-05-2010, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valmore Daniels

My thoughts on that were, how much extra marketing will I have to do to get that extra 50%, and how many sales would I actually get from my efforts. I read through every page on http://www.fonerbooks.com and used some of their sales figures. Since I write fiction, I doubt I would have nearly enough sales to make it worthwhile. Plus, if I push people toward amazon or smashwords (for example), that increases my rank on that site and increases the change a casual browser will see my title and click through. That was just my reasoning why I decided not to pursue selling directly on my website.

Are you allowed to sell them on your own website as well as on Amazon, Smashwords, etc?

Valmore Daniels · 09-06-2010, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

Are you allowed to sell them on your own website as well as on Amazon, Smashwords, etc?

As a micropublisher, we can sell our books anywhere we please. The only stipulation Amazon has is that we do not sell our books on other online sites for less than what we sell them for on the amazon site.

If a retailer asked for exclusivity, I would certainly look for some guarantees in marketing, etc. I believe if you are signed up through Amazon Encore (invitation only) then there is some degree of exclusivity, but they become more like a publisher than a retailer in that sense.

mr ploppy · 09-06-2010, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valmore Daniels

The only stipulation Amazon has is that we do not sell our books on other online sites for less than what we sell them for on the amazon site.

Would that include your own site, or just other ebook distribution sites? I notice Konrath and Doctorow give away free ebooks that are also for sale on Amazon.

Valmore Daniels · 09-06-2010, 11:14 AM

It includes your own site. Now, whether Amazon follows up on every book is a different matter, but if someone complained that the book was cheaper someplace else, Amazon will either discount it to match the price, or pull it until the matter is resolved. If it is a coupon, or a time limited sale, I don't think Amazon will do anything.

As for the freebies, I don't think I've ever heard of Amazon pulling a listing because it was free on the author's website ... that might be construed as a promotional effort and overlooked.

David Derrico · 09-10-2010, 01:06 AM

I've wondered at Amazon's policies myself … considering that they made my book unavailable for a week when they saw a lower price elsewhere (which turned out to be just a glitch where their crawler didn't pick up the updated higher price on other sites), I find it interesting that they let some authors give their work away for free through Apple or their own websites. But it's against Amazon's stated terms.

Steven Lake · 09-10-2010, 06:38 AM

Amazon is a bunch of pricks. They've got the same attitude as Walmart (We don't need you. You need us. So deal with it, pinky!), which makes working with them a royal pain in the butt! Personally, I would love to see someone come alone and smack them down hard.

nomesque · 09-10-2010, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Derrico

I've wondered at Amazon's policies myself … considering that they made my book unavailable for a week when they saw a lower price elsewhere (which turned out to be just a glitch where their crawler didn't pick up the updated higher price on other sites), I find it interesting that they let some authors give their work away for free through Apple or their own websites. But it's against Amazon's stated terms.

Possible legal loophole - the agreement specifically says that the suggested retail price you give Amazon must not exceed the suggested retail price elsewhere. 'Free' could be considered 'no price', hence not against the terms of the agreement. *shrug* I'd certainly would have offered at least one ebook on Amazon for free if they'd allowed.

MrPLD · 09-17-2010, 09:41 PM

Hello all, Hello nomesque (fancy seeing you here

) -

We (my wife and I - wife is the novelist, I am the slave) put our eBook out via multiple sources for the exposure but we primarily am trying to get people to buy via our own WWW site which is using a simple PayPal buy-now button and a small server-side PHP script to validate the purchase, update the Database and give the client access to the book.

Of course, if you're not a WWW-server person then I'm not sure what else to suggest outright other than what other people have mentioned in this thread already.

It is painful to see some places taking 50% of the price for what is essentially a non-work transaction (as opposed to physical books sales which have to be packed/shipped etc) but I guess everyone wants their cut.

Paul.

Steven Lake · 09-18-2010, 08:42 AM

MrPLD, I'm actually a part time cloud programmer, so I know how to code PHP server side scripts. The only issue I'm having is figuring out how to get the script to realize who's a returning client from paypal, and who's a scammer trying to get a free ebook. Once I can figure that out (and paypal's sandbox isn't much help), then I'll be golden.

MrPLD · 09-18-2010, 10:51 AM

Steven,

When the PP payment is made, a separate connection can be made (within the script) to the PP site and through that backchannel you can 'confirm' the validity of the transaction.

If you require it, I can send a couple of sample scripts.

Paul.

Steven Lake · 09-18-2010, 12:22 PM

Sure, that'd be cool.

jaxx6166 · 09-18-2010, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Wood

I don't know if David Derrico posts here, he does at Kindleboards, but he has a nice website with ebook purchasing:

http://www.davidderrico.com/

Maybe ask him for some advice?

Oh wow. I love his website. It's so clean. While on the topic, I like David Dalglish's as well.
http://ddalglish.com/

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09-03-2010, 09:30 AM	#16
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,158 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	Yeah, that's kinda where I'm leaning with this. So far the only advantage to hosting the ebook files myself is that I get 100% of the money from each sale instead of the typical 50%.

09-03-2010, 12:07 PM	#17
Valmore Daniels Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,592 Karma: 2822668 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kindle	My thoughts on that were, how much extra marketing will I have to do to get that extra 50%, and how many sales would I actually get from my efforts. I read through every page on http://www.fonerbooks.com and used some of their sales figures. Since I write fiction, I doubt I would have nearly enough sales to make it worthwhile. Plus, if I push people toward amazon or smashwords (for example), that increases my rank on that site and increases the change a casual browser will see my title and click through. That was just my reasoning why I decided not to pursue selling directly on my website.

09-06-2010, 11:14 AM	#22
Valmore Daniels Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,592 Karma: 2822668 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kindle	It includes your own site. Now, whether Amazon follows up on every book is a different matter, but if someone complained that the book was cheaper someplace else, Amazon will either discount it to match the price, or pull it until the matter is resolved. If it is a coupon, or a time limited sale, I don't think Amazon will do anything. As for the freebies, I don't think I've ever heard of Amazon pulling a listing because it was free on the author's website ... that might be construed as a promotional effort and overlooked.

09-10-2010, 01:06 AM	#23
David Derrico Connoisseur Posts: 59 Karma: 510132 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: South Florida Device: Kindle 3 & Kobo Wireless	I've wondered at Amazon's policies myself … considering that they made my book unavailable for a week when they saw a lower price elsewhere (which turned out to be just a glitch where their crawler didn't pick up the updated higher price on other sites), I find it interesting that they let some authors give their work away for free through Apple or their own websites. But it's against Amazon's stated terms.

09-10-2010, 06:38 AM	#24
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,158 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	Amazon is a bunch of pricks. They've got the same attitude as Walmart (We don't need you. You need us. So deal with it, pinky!), which makes working with them a royal pain in the butt! Personally, I would love to see someone come alone and smack them down hard.

09-17-2010, 09:41 PM	#26
MrPLD Author's pet-geek Posts: 933 Karma: 1040670 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: North Queensland, Australia Device: Kindle 3 Wifi, Onyx Boox M96	Hello all, Hello nomesque (fancy seeing you here ) - We (my wife and I - wife is the novelist, I am the slave) put our eBook out via multiple sources for the exposure but we primarily am trying to get people to buy via our own WWW site which is using a simple PayPal buy-now button and a small server-side PHP script to validate the purchase, update the Database and give the client access to the book. Of course, if you're not a WWW-server person then I'm not sure what else to suggest outright other than what other people have mentioned in this thread already. It is painful to see some places taking 50% of the price for what is essentially a non-work transaction (as opposed to physical books sales which have to be packed/shipped etc) but I guess everyone wants their cut. Paul.

09-18-2010, 08:42 AM	#27
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,158 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	MrPLD, I'm actually a part time cloud programmer, so I know how to code PHP server side scripts. The only issue I'm having is figuring out how to get the script to realize who's a returning client from paypal, and who's a scammer trying to get a free ebook. Once I can figure that out (and paypal's sandbox isn't much help), then I'll be golden.

09-18-2010, 10:51 AM	#28
MrPLD Author's pet-geek Posts: 933 Karma: 1040670 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: North Queensland, Australia Device: Kindle 3 Wifi, Onyx Boox M96	Steven, When the PP payment is made, a separate connection can be made (within the script) to the PP site and through that backchannel you can 'confirm' the validity of the transaction. If you require it, I can send a couple of sample scripts. Paul.

09-18-2010, 12:22 PM	#29
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,158 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	Sure, that'd be cool.

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