I was listening to Mark Lefebvre (Director of Self Publishing/Author Relations at Kobo) chat with the gang on the Self Publishing Roundtable the other day (link: Horror Writing And Selling More Books On Kobo), and one of the things that Mark mentioned is that you can choose different prices for your ebooks for the different countries where they’ll sell.
You’ve doubtlessly noticed this in your dashboard before (not just at Kobo, but at Amazon and Barnes & Noble as well), but have you ever done anything besides let the computer choose the price based on the exchange rate? I usually pick my own price, just so it will end in a 5 or a 9, a typical number, but I’ve rarely thought about pricing a book significantly higher in another country. (I’ve gone lower in countries such as India where the average book price is much less than it is in the U.S, but not higher.) Mark pointed out that in some countries, readers are used to paying more than in the U.S., so a Canadian or Australian reader might not bat an eye if your USD $4.99 ebook is $5.99 or $6.99 there.
I haven’t gone in and bumped up the prices of any of my ebooks in those countries, as I tend to be a fan of fairness whenever possible, but it’s interesting to think that my policy may be causing me to leave money on the table. It’s interesting to think, too, that a reader might be less likely to trust that a cheaper ebook will be a high quality ebook, because they’re used to paying $10 and up to read books in their country. (Lower prices and reader perceptions get debated a lot when it comes to 99-cent ebooks on Amazon, so I won’t get into that further here.)
The $9.99/70% Ceiling
One other thing that Mark mentioned on the show is that Kobo doesn’t have the $9.99 limit that Amazon imposes for authors who want to earn the 70% cut on ebook sales. Even if your ebook would sell wonderfully at $12.99 in Australia, for example, there’s little point in pricing it that high, since you’ll receive a lower sales percentage than you would selling it at $9.99. But on Kobo, you can go ahead and list your ebook at that higher price point, if you wish.
This would mostly apply to authors publishing non-fiction, since readers are accustomed to paying more for that, but it could also apply to those of you putting together boxed sets. I have one for my first three Emperor’s Edge books, but I’ve never seriously considered putting together a set for the whole series, because I wouldn’t want to sell over $20 worth of books for a mere $9.99. I may have to rethink that and put together that boxed set for Kobo users (and perhaps sell it on my own website as well).
But that’s a bit of a diversion. As far as pricing ebooks differently in different countries, what do you think? Is it something you’re doing? Something you’d consider? Something you don’t want to do? Let us know in the comments!
I do it some, but I start out by considering the exchange rate (and, in the case of Amazon, VAT). My general goal is to end a price in 9, but some currencies more commonly end in 0 or 5 (like the Japanese yen) and I aim to reflect that.
I’m seriously looking into globetrotting, so the price variances are something I’m currently mulling on as a consumer, as well. I think it’ll be interesting and useful to have first-hand experience in how that affects things.
This is really interesting that you posted this, because I was just reading in “The Naked Truth About Self Publishing” how different countries view the ebook market. For example, the UK prefers lower priced books and books with “cleaner” covers (as in no naked couples gyrating on it). It was an interesting chapter to read, since I’ve always let my U.S. price be automatically adjusted for the foreign prices. But in the end, I honestly still have no idea what to do!
Thanks for this post, Lindsay. As an Australian I can tell you that while we are used to being gouged on price, that doesn’t mean we don’t bat an eyelid.
In fact, we DEEPLY DEEPLY resent the price discrimination we have faced for decades due to publisher monopolies on imports, and there is of course absolutely no justification whatever for higher pricing of electronic books.
With my reader hat on, I don’t buy any ebooks over $8.00 AUD, and that would have to be something exceptional. I feel my resistance rising fast at around $5.00. Much more than that and its the total price that’s left on the table, not just some perceived market opportunity to extract a few more bucks.
I don’t buy paperbacks, usually priced here at around $18.00, and certainly never hardbacks, at $29.00 or more. If it isn’t in the library I never get to read it. And the author gets nothing at all.
And when people do free or cheap promotions, but only in the US market, this is very annoying. Why tweet the promotion worldwide if it isn’t available worldwide? That’s just taunting your customers, definitely not promoting reader goodwill. (Not that I’m saying you do this, but it is quite common.)
Oh, wow! I’d always assumed that if I do a free promo or a countdown deal on Amazon, it translated to all of the Amazons. But…this just occurred to me…if you’ve set the prices for the different different countries – even if only to have them end in 9 or 5 – will the promo automatically show on all the Amazons? Or do you need to put the prices back to automatic? Anyone know?
As another Australian, I agree totally with Jai’s comments. Not only do I resent the higher prices, I won’t pay them because a higher price also means a higher exchange rate, something else I resent and which translates into a higher total cost.
I should perhaps clarify that I buy from the US site, not the Australian site. Even with the exchange rate it’s often cheaper. Having said that, I sometimes compare prices that I see on the US site with what my American friends see for the same title and my prices are often higher, generally only by a dollar or so but on occasion significantly higher. I don’t know if that’s an Amazon thing or a publisher thing (I suspect publisher). It doesn’t usually happen with self published work.
I know Amazon adds a VAT fee in some places (I’ve had European readers tell me they had to pay 2.99 for a story I priced at 0.99), so I’m not sure if that might be what you’re seeing. Also, when I publish an ebook, if I want the 70% royalty, the lowest I can price an Australian ebook at on Amazon is 3.99 (it’s 2.99 in the U.S. store). I don’t know why they do that for electronic goods.
No, me either. Thanks for the new book, I’ve just bought it from the US site. 🙂
Thank you, Carole. I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Personally, I’d show good form and not gouge people in Oz or Canada. I mean, if they’re used to paying higher prices for so many things, doesn’t it stand to reason they deserve a break? 😉
I’m curious as to whether you think changing the ending numbers to 5 or 9 really makes a difference. I’m not saying it doesn’t . . . I’ve just always taken the lazy way out. ;-P
In another interview I heard with Mark, he said that because their merchandise people hand-select ebooks to feature, they tend not to choose ones with weird prices. If everything typically ends in a .99 there, and here’s your book costing *.38, that would weird in the catalogue.
Good to know. I’ll probably keep mine the way I’ve been doing it, then, only because I’m not sure it’s worth the effort on the very off chance my books will be chosen by Mark and his crew. I don’t think the average reader would bat an eye paying *.38 for a book they really wanted. I know I wouldn’t. But that’s up to every writer to decide for themselves!
This may be a silly question, but if you did set a different price on Amazon UK, for example, wouldn’t you have to match that price on Kobo UK, in keeping with the terms of these companies? And if so, how do you do that? I tried once to set the UK price on Amazon to something that ended in 9, but then it added VAT or some fee that made the price different (and one that did not end in 9). In addition, I wasn’t sure if the same tax/fee would apply if I set the same price in Kobo. If not, then the price would be different across different retailers in the UK.
I usually lower all of the prices in the dashboard if I’m doing a promo, especially if it’s going to last more than a day. I’m not sure at all if Amazon lowers prices in every country if you’re in KDP Select and do a countdown deal. I don’t have any titles in that program, so I’m not sure how that works exactly. And yes, the taxes Amazon adds makes it tough to get the price you want. I believe that what you set in Kobo is what the book will sell for.
Thanks, Lindsay, for the response and for the thought-provoking post. I might experiment more with international pricing in the future to make the price end with a 5 or 9.
Hi Lindsay! I’ll just add my comments to those of Jai’s above, as another Australian whose been getting the short end of the stick as far as pricing goes for years (and that’s for EVERYTHING, not just books).
I’d have to say, with all due respect, that Mark is entirely wrong if he thinks an Australian reader wouldn’t bat an eyelid at higher prices just because they’re used to it. 😛 The ease of internet access is such that it’s awfully easy to run price comparisons between different sites (including different Amazon sites), and it’s not really a good way to build reader trust if it’s obvious an author’s trying to price-gouge them. The result is that the reader simply won’t buy.
Regarding the issue of whether a reader might be less likely to trust that a cheaper ebook will be a high quality ebook, I don’t think it’s really a factor for most people unless we’re talking a REALLY cheap ebook – say, priced at $0.99 or for free. Most Aussies are fairly familiar with the fact that we’re paying far too much for something others pay for less worldwide due to all those import taxes and so on, so I’m fairly sure many others would be like me – finding something priced more fairly online would be a relief, not an a shocker of a change that would cause me to hesitate.
I’d be more likely to throw down money on an ebook that I perceive to be cheaper than usual, actually (compared to what I’d be paying in Australia for a paperback or hardback, for example). In fact, that’s precisely what I did on Kobo books for your latest Dragon Blood releases and the latest Flash Gold! 😛 Rather than feeling the pressure I’d feel if I’m paying $5-8 for an ebook, I saw all the prices at around the $4 and ended up splurging on the whole lot – granted, I love all your books and knew they’d be well worth my money, but the end result is still the same – I spend more money buying more books if the individual prices are lower than if one single book was priced high enough that I’d hesitate over buying a second.
Thank you for chiming in on the issues, HP! I’m glad you’re enjoying the books too. 🙂
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Price gouging just because we’re “used to it” as we live in Australia causes a great deal of resentment, especially when you then factor in the exchange rate. The internet lets us know when it’s happening and we have memories & choices to make with where we spend.
Oh, and the resentment on gouging when its downloaded items such as software, music & books is even greater fhan that for physical items. I just refuse to give my money when its blatant geo pricing of 50% or more above.
Hi Lindsay,
I read this blog entry yesterday evening and it gnawed at me. First I want to tell you that I really enjoy your work and have purchased every one of your titles save ‘The Goblin Brothers Adventures.’ In short, I am a big fan.
I would like to offer however, that as a Canadian I would not be pleased to be expected to pay more for the same title that is marketed at a lower price just across the nearby border. We already pay more based on the exchange rate (currently about 10 percent). The higher price on paper books and magazines marketed here is in local currency, not in US dollars. More importantly, there has been real resentment at the dual pricing policy and there have been steps in recent years to reduce or eliminate those differences. Canadians are very concious of dual pricing and are not happy when the cost differential cannot be tied to some concrete reason, such as increased distribution costs. The potential to gain a dollar is likely to cost many more in lost potential sales.
Thanks for letting your readers have a say. Not all advice from other authors, even normally wise writers is sage, even from otherwise great sources.
Keep up the good work,
Dana
Yes, price hiking over here (AU) is well known and lamented (think angry lamentation…). Or did you guess 😛