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Amazon Prices

edited June 2018 in Writing
I have recently uploaded an edited version of my book A Volcanic Race.
With the line spacing reduced there are now fewer pages,
so I was able to reduce the price from £8 to £7.
After waiting for it to be re-released, I planned to advertise the new lower price but,
lo and behold! Amazon have reduced it even further to £6.73.
What's that about? Will it stay at that price or what?
#ampuzzled

Comments

  • They will change the prices but it will not affect your royalty return. Can I suggest you opt for £6.99? Round figures aren't traditional.
  • What line spacing did you go for in the end Lizy?
  • edited June 2018
    Baggy, I shall take your advice, though it really bugs me to have to toe the line!

    1.5, Carol, and it looks much better.
    It was originally double-spaced, I think because that's what most agents ask for, but printed in book form it looked wrong.
  • I find reading e-books on my Kindle that have used single line spacing tiring to read.

  • Yes - 1.5 is best, I think.

  • It's back up on Amazon - at £6.99, reduced by them to £6.73 - so I've advertised it again on FB. Now to do the same on Twitter. You never know!

    BTW - I haven't lost any of my 5* reviews yet. Fingers crossed.
  • Agents (and publishers) only ask for double space because it means they can add remarks in between the lines. It has no bearing whatsoever on how the finished product should be printed.
  • People are reporting that reviews are returning. It seems to be just a glitch that begins with the reviewer and not with the product.
  • I hope so. I have lost two precious reviews and feel very disheartened. They are so hard to get.
  • Nil illegitimus carborundum
  • I hope it is just a glitch.

    I've lost more reviews today. They're on different books and, I think, from different reviewers.
  • Elsewhere it's been reported that it is the reviewers' accounts which are losing the reviews. Amazon aren't picking out authors at random, it is the buyers' accounts that are being affected. And it isn't just authors – if you see you have lost a review by someone, all that reviewer's reviews will have gone, irrespective of the product. I suspect authors monitor their reviews more often, are aware of their importance and are making the most noise about it.
  • So it might not be because you have a friend reviewing your book, but because they have seen a connection between that reviewer and multiple suppliers?
  • I have suddenly lost three. I have contacted Amazon.
  • edited June 2018
    So it might not be because you have a friend reviewing your book, but because they have seen a connection between that reviewer and multiple suppliers?
    Not even that. A glitch in Amazon's system where accounts have been cleared of reviews, temporarily. It's not just authors that are losing reviews. As I said earlier, authors check their reviews regularly and that's why they noticed it. Joe Bloggs selling garden furniture might not notice or care. If you look at some reviewers' profiles there is an error message saying the reviews – all their reviews – cannot be displayed.

  • I remember a glitch once before - and they came back. There's lots of talk on social media about a cull. I hope they're wrong.
  • Aaah. That sounds much more likely. I mean, who has time to look through a bazillion author accounts and check each reviewer. It's ridiculous to think they could, when you think of it.
  • They come and go. This isn't a new problem. It's been happening for years.
  • Aaah. That sounds much more likely. I mean, who has time to look through a bazillion author accounts and check each reviewer. It's ridiculous to think they could, when you think of it.
    It wouldn't be a person. It would be a computer programme (with no sense).

  • Algorithms...
  • I say, Carol!
  • No, it wouldn't be A Person. That's why all a reviewer's reviews go.

    Some people are getting replies to their complaints and are being told they are working to fix the problem. However, unless the reviewer complains I doubt little will happen - it is, after all, their account that is affected.
  • It's OUR books that are making them money - in penny numbers, in my case - but even so they should be more polite.
  • edited June 2018
    Do they need to be, Lizy? From their POV that is.

    They are huge and we are little.
  • I know, Dora, but politeness shouldn't be dictated by such considerations. That's Mum talk, I know
  • Amazon have reduced my book further, to £6.40.
    Is this a slow slide to the bargain basement?
  • No, it's because people have clicked on the link but not bought. Lowering the price is their way of tempting them.
  • Ooh. So if I see a book I like, keep going in and clicking every so often to get a reduced in price copy. Is that what people do?
  • Sometimes it does the opposite.
  • No, it's because people have clicked on the link but not bought. Lowering the price is their way of tempting them.
    I find it astonishing that Amazon make these decisions without consulting the author. Surely the author should be in control of their pricing? I'd be very unhappy about relinquishing control of my book - after all isn't that why people self-publish in the first place?
  • It's no different to any shop - the owner sets the prices. The authors always get their royalties no matter how the price is affected.

  • One of my novels (paperback version) is currently being offered for £1.78 – that's £s less than the lowest price they'd have allowed me to set.

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Year-Day-Patsy-Collins/dp/151742478X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1529050399&sr=1-23
  • Same happened to me - one of my paperback short story collections is now cheaper than the kindle edition!
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