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Amazon sale knocks book pricing strategies out of the window
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Great. Guess who just raised her prices? :( Will I ever get it right?
Mod
Ah bloody hell, was hoping for some good millage October, what with it being Halloween...
Mod
"I'm done looking for price gimmicks to attract readers. Call me Mr. Slow and Steady. My sales may slump in the interim, but my focus is solely on increasing my output. I've got tons of books to write and fussing over pricing isn't going to get them written."
Andre Jute wrote: "Kevis Hendrickson says:"I'm done looking for price gimmicks to attract readers. Call me Mr. Slow and Steady. My sales may slump in the interim, but my focus is solely on increasing my output. I'v..."
Sounds like the best way to go.
Andre Jute wrote: "October is the wrong month to have sales come to a standstill, with probably a hangover into November, too close to Christmas for comfort.Smart indies will act accordingly to reduce prices."
Andre, my book High Road To Tibet - Travels in China, Tibet, Nepal and India is $2.99 on the Kindle and I was thinking about making it 99 cents for the month of October. Is that a good idea or not? John
I'm also skipping out on the price high/price low/sale now/no sale later thing.My current plan is that my books will go for $3.99, except the first book of any series, which will sell for .99, or any compilation book, which will be priced depending on how many stories are in it.
Likewise, if I offer illustrated or "deluxe" editions, the price will go up.
But trying to anticipate the market, when others will be running sales, etc... That's for guys with number crunching degrees, and I don't have one.
Mod
The writers who survive these constant sales and other upheavals are the ones who use Amazon purely as a distributor rather than as a salesman, who find their own markets and just direct their buyers to Amazon to effect the delivery.
The people I was addressing with "Smart indies will act accordingly to reduce prices," are the undistinguished indies who produce me-too fiction in the genres, homogenous commodity white sliced loaf, easily digested and as easily forgotten. Those people have nothing to work with but price. Clearly your book doesn't fall in that class.
Mod
I have some of those, and a big rep for anticipating markets. (For a lark, I once cornered the hops market and was burned in effigy by angry beer drinkers. Screw those yahoos.) But anticipating what Amazon will do is like trying to anticipate when an elephant will roll over its sleep, a fast way to be crippled or killed.
Andre Jute wrote: "Not necessarily, John. It sounds from the title like the sort of book that has a niche market of its own. Ask yourself: will it attract any more buyers at 99c than at $2.99? I suspect not. Ask your..."Great advice Andre, thanks. I guess travel is a bit niche but I am curious about what might happen if I did offer the book for 99cents for a month anyway. I might give it a go and report back on my findings later.
John
Mod
Continuing its policy of making authors and publishers pay for market share for the Kindle, Amazon is pressuring publishers to supply front list and key backlist titles at 90% off recommended price.
Of course, Amazon will protect its own profit margin by not reducing the price of the Kindle by 90%....
As at other sales by Amazon, indies who don't join this race for the bottom will see their sales come to a standstill.
October is the wrong month to have sales come to a standstill, with probably a hangover into November, too close to Christmas for comfort.
Smart indies will act accordingly to reduce prices.